IMPORTANT STUFF: There's a
quiz on the syllabus due by Thursday at 3PM.
Please take it right away. If you take the Syllabus Quiz by
the deadline, I'll add two points to your First Midterm Exam
score! That's almost half a letter grade!
If you
don't take the Syllabus Quiz by Thursday at 3pm, you will be
dropped from the class. Nothing personal. The Feds
that give you your financial aid, the State of Oregon and the
College all require me to drop "non-participating students,"
and for an online class, that means providing a "meaningful
educational activity" and dropping the ones who don't do it.
Don't be that student who contacts me at the beginning of Week
2, sheepishly asking to be let back into the class because she
"forgot."
If you decide this class is not for you, please drop yourself
right away on MyLane, as there's no
guarantee I will
drop you and there are other students waiting to get in.
If
you don't drop by 11:59pm Sunday, somebody's going to have
to pay for the class. That somebody might be you! Also,
after Sunday the class will be recorded on your transcript,
and even if you drop it will be listed with a"W" (withdrawn)
next to it. If later in the term you decide to go "Pass/No
Pass" or completely bail on the class, the deadline to do that
is always Friday of the 8th week, which this term is
November
17. If you forget to drop and forget about the class,
you probably won't like the grade I'll have to give you.
MORE IMPORTANT STUFF:
There's an internet post due
Sunday 11:55pm. Late posts don't get credit. Don't
forget. Topics will be up the first day. Every Sunday another
post will be due. Set a weekly reminder in your online
calendar. Maybe put that November 17 grading option
change/drop deadline in there, too. You'll thank yourself
later.
TEXT: Borrowdale, Ethics: An Anthology of Classical Readings,
6th Edition (available at the
LCC Titan Bookstore)
REQUIREMENTS
FORUM
POSTS
|
Due
before Sunday 11:55pm each week
|
10% of
grade
|
| FIRST MIDTERM EXAM |
Begins:
Wednesday, October 11 at 3:30pm
Ends: Thursday, October 19 at 7pm
|
30% of grade |
SECOND
MIDTERM EXAM
|
Begins:
Wednesday, November 1 at 3:30pm
Ends: Thursday, November 9 at 7pm
|
30% of
grade
|
| FINAL EXAM |
Begins:
Wednesday, November 29 at 3:30pm
Ends: Thursday,
December 7 at 5pm |
30% of grade |
WHAT PHILOSOPHY IS: Philosophy
is an attempt to come to a systematic understanding of
the objective world through the use of reason. The
philosophical approach is assumes a commitment to
follow the truth wherever it leads, however
uncomfortable it may make us and in spite of what we
may wish to be true. It strives for logical
consistency and agreement with empirical evidence.
Philosophy is about asking questions, especially
questions no one else wants to ask. Philosophy even
questions the unquestionable, including things
considered to be "common sense," such as the existence
of an external world of matter, free will, the soul,
God, an afterlife, or, in the case of this class, the
existence of universal, objective moral values (or
perhaps the unquestionable assumption of our age is
the belief that morality is relative or subjective).
Philosophy uses conceptual analysis as its tool.
Because of this, using precise language and properly
defining terms are very important to philosophers.
This goes all the way back to Socrates. Try reading
some post-modern philosophy and you'll see why this is
a good practice.
WHAT PHILOSOPHY IS NOT: Philosophy
is not about exploring your "personal beliefs." Nor is
it about your feelings (please avoid the phrase "I
feel" when expressing your point of view in the
classroom or online forums, as hopefully what you have
to say is based on more than your subjective emotional
state). Philosophy is not about your identity, your
gender, your culture or your "
race."
It's not about "how you were raised." Please avoid
referring to these things in class or online forums
unless they have some direct bearing on the issue at
hand. Although there is an historical tradition
associated with philosophy, it is not primarily about
history, and even though understanding their
historical or cultural context may help us understand
the ideas of particular philosophers, it is
the
ideas themselves with which philosophy is
concerned.
CONTRIBUTIONS OF WOMEN AND NON-WESTERN
CULTURES: There were few women philosophers of
note until the beginnings of the feminist movement in
the 19th century. This was true of most other academic
or otherwise, due to the institutionalization of
pre-modern gender roles. Because this is a survey
class concerned with major figures and concepts in
ethics, we won't be reading a lot of women
philosophers. This should in no way be seen as casting
aspersions on women as a class of people, but to
arbitrarily select a female author based purely on her
gender, regardless of objective merit, intellectual
influence or contribution to the field, would be an
act of sexism and educational malpractice. We will be
spending a significant amount of time with Ayn Rand,
who happens to be a woman and also one the most
important and influential philosophers and
intellectuals of the 20th century, especially in
ethics and political philosophy. Along those same
lines, for various complex historical and cultural
reasons, philosophy emerged and flourished in the West
and is the heritage of Western Civilization. It
uniquely sowed the seeds for the scientific and
industrial revolutions in Western Europe, leading to
our modern technological world (as well as providing
the political concepts on which the United States was
founded). The wisdom traditions of other
civilizations, particularly indigenous cultures, are
covered in history and cultural anthropology courses.
Although we may discuss some Eastern traditions, the
character of Eastern philosophy is very different from
Western philosophy and treated covered in more depth
in our religion courses (UPDATE: Religion classes were
eliminated by outgoing President Mary Spilde last
Spring in a poorly conceived plan to boost the
college's profit margin - see below).
COURSE DESCRIPTION: Ethics is the study of
morality, including an analysis of the concepts of
good and evil, right and wrong, justice and injustice,
duty, responsibility, character, and successful
living. Possible topics include whether morality is
relative to culture or to the individual, the
relationship between morality and religion, theories
about what make particular actions right or wrong,
moral skepticism, and eastern perspectives on right
action.
COURSE OBJECTIVES: The
objectives are this course are for students to (1)
come to a clearer understanding of ethical issues
through the study of classical and contemporary
theories (2) acquire some factual knowledge about the
history of philosophy and important philosophical
thinkers (3) come to their own conclusions about which
theories are best or most likely to be true, even if
those conclusions are of a tentative nature (4)
acquire critical and analytical reasoning skills along
the way (5) apply conclusions about the nature of
knowledge to their present way of assessing evidence
and worldviews.
FORUM POSTS: The
purpose of the forum assignment is to allow you the
opportunity to interpret, evaluate and apply what you have
learned, and to discuss the merits and implications of class
concepts and theories with your classmates. At the beginning
of each week, a new forum will be open for posting. To receive
credit, you must make one post (or reply) which substantially
addresses a class topic. Postings will be graded on a
credit/no-credit basis and are due
before Sunday 11:55pm at the end of each week.
Late posts will not receive
credit. An extra credit forum will be available in
Week Ten to make up for one missed post. Students are also
expected to read every post.
COMPUTER USE: This course requires you to use (but not
necessarily own) a computer. Testing, distribution and
archiving of notes and handouts and reporting and calculation
of grades are all done via
Moodle. Campus labs
are staffed with people who can help you if you are new to
computers or have difficulty using them. Visit the
Student
Help Desk (SHeD) website at
https://www.lanecc.edu/atc/student-help-desk,
call them at 463-3333 or visit them in Building 2, Room
121/122. Campus computer labs and hours may be found at
https://www.lanecc.edu/cit/computer-lab. Please make sure your current
email address is in your myLane account and Moodle profile.
EXAMS: You will have
a window of several days during which you must take each exam
in
Instructional
Testing Services in the in CEN 311 on the Main
Campus or at the
Cottage
Grove Center or with an approved proctor.
Exams
cannot be taken at home. You will need a photo I.D. and
to know your L Number and myLane PIN to log into the test. The
exam format will be multiple choice and true/false questions.
During the exam you may use a 3 x 5 card note card (both
sides) or a piece of paper measured with a ruler and cut to
the same size. The final will
not be comprehensive. Opening and closing
times of exams are in the syllabus and may also be seen by
clicking on the exam name in the main course view as soon as
the date is set. Lab hours for the
Instructional
Testing Services are posted at
https://www.lanecc.edu/learningcommons/its.
You must arrive one hour
before closing. See
http://www.lanecc.edu/laneonline/test-proctoring
for details on proctoring if you are taking the course from
out of the greater Eugene area. If you need help locating a
proctor, try The National College Testing Association at
http://www.ncta-testing.org/cctc/. A per test fee is
usually required, though fees will vary by institution.
Note: LCC Testing labs will
be closed Friday, November 10 (Veterans Day). They will also
close early at 2pm on Wednesday, November 22 for the
Thanksgiving holiday, not opening again until Monday,
November 28.
EXTRA CREDIT EXAM: There is an optional
Extra
Credit Exam, based on the material from the First and
Second Midterm Exams. It opens Monday of Week 8 and closes
Friday of Week 10. It will replace the lowest of your First or
Second Midterm Exam scores. If it is lower than either, it
will have no effect. In order for it to count, you have to
take both midterms. It is not a substitute for taking either
midterm or the final exam.
MAKE-UP EXAM POLICY:
Since you will have at least a week to take the exam, you will
be expected to meet the deadline. If you may contact the
instructor
before the
deadline via Moodle messaging or in person to
request an extension without penalty.
The Final Exam must be completed by
THURSDAY 5PM of
Final Exam Week.
Since the lab closes at 5pm and I
will be determining grades Thursday night, MAKE UPS ARE
USUALLY NOT POSSIBLE for purposes of Spring Term
grades. If you have a legitimate excuse for missing
the Final, contact me about a make-up and grade change in the
Summer or Fall.
PENALTIES FOR CHEATING: Students caught cheating will
be given an
F in the course.
GRADING: At
the end of the term, the class will be graded on the
following absolute scale. Any extra credit work (with the
exception of the Extra Credit Exam) does not count towards
the A+.
| A+ 97% -100% |
A 93% - 96%
|
A- 90% - 92% |
| B+ 87% - 89% |
B 83% - 86% |
B- 80% - 82% |
| C+ 77% - 79% |
C 73% - 76% |
C- 70% - 72% |
| D+ 67% - 69% |
D 63% - 66% |
D- 60% - 62% |
| |
F 0% - 59% |
|
AVAILABILITY
OF THE INSTRUCTOR: I am available by Moodle
messaging or in-person office visits. We can also set up an
appointment to talk on the phone or via a conferencing app
like Skype. If you are having difficulties with the class, please contact me as soon as
possible; I am here to help. If you performed
poorly on your first exam, please come by office hours or
make an appointment to see me to see what we can do to
improve your next exam score and the Extra Credit Exam,
which will replace your lowest midterm score. I am also
available to discuss any issue in the class which has piqued
your intellectual curiosity, or which you find interesting
or important, outside of the realm of assignments and
testing.
PHILOSOPHY AT LANE: All Religion classes (many of
which dealt with Eastern Philosophy) and most Philosophy
classes were eliminated by outgoing President Mary Spilde
last Spring, even though Philosophy had the highest fill
rate and lowest enrollment decline of any other Social
Science discipline and both were generating a $250,000
profit for the college every year. President Spilde believed
that by eliminating the sole full-time position in
Philosophy and Religion replace it with cheaper part-time
work in other Social Science areas, she could save the
College money, despite the fact that this is a direct
violation of the faculty contract. A grievance has been
filed. This penny-pinching scheme also had the negative
side-effect of laying off some great part-time faculty:
Caroline Lundquist (who paradoxically received a teaching
award before being laid off), Dale Lugenbehl and Jonathan
Seidel. Meanwhile, the College had huge reserves and
expanded other programs, like the First Year Experience,
Oregon Promise and the drone program, and created two new
manager positions. The college plans on offering no more
than two courses per term; otherwise, it has to pay a
full-time rate. It plans on only offering Ethics and
Critical Thinking from now on. If you find this
objectionable, write a letter to the Torch, show up at the
Board meetings or tell ASLCC that you'd like them to take
this issue up. The new President seems open to new ideas and
values student input. You can also show your support by
joining the Titan
Philosophy Club.
CLUB, CREDIT AND WORK STUDY OPPORTUNITIES: Lane has
a I am the faculty advisor for Young Americans
for Liberty, a locally controlled, independent student
club dedicated to individual rights, limited government,
personal responsibility and the principles of reason,
freedom and compassion. We meet Tuesdays 12-1 (location for
Fall Termto be determined). We're also discussing having a
second meeting so everyone's schedule can be accommodated.
For more information, check out YAL on OrgSync
and click the Join button to be updated on club activities.
You can also check out YAL
at LCC on Facebook (not much activity there lately,
but we hope to remedy that soon). If you're interested in
doing an internship through Cooperative Education (Political
Science) to earn 2 or 3 credits helping out with the club,
send me a Moodle message. Also, if you have Federal Work
Study, I could use a new Philosophy assistant to help with
some research and clerical work.