If you have difficulty handling such material, you may want to consider taking another course. For help with post-traumatic stress or emotional fragility, please contact the Counseling & Career Center.  If you would like to improve your tolerance for subject matter and ideas you may currently find distressing or offensive, I encourage you to remain in the class but with the understanding that thinking about, discussing and critically evaluating this material in a mature and responsible manner is a course requirement.

ACADEMIC FREEDOM OF THE INSTRUCTOR: "The professional freedom of faculty includes the right to explore and discuss controversial issues and divergent points of view, including evaluating, criticizing, and advocating their point of view concerning the policies and programs of the college..."-- Collective Bargaining Agreement between the Lane Community College Educational Association and Board of Education, Section 15.3. According to this section of the faculty contract, the instructor is free not only to discuss contentious, hot-button issues which have the potential to offend you, but to approach them from viewpoints which diverge from the mainstream and deviate from what you might consider "acceptable" opinion. Academic freedom is essential to fostering robust discussion of intellectual issues and the social progress that results from such discussions. Before reacting in knee-jerk fashion to an idea, please try to remember that what offends our sensibilities is often a product of our culture, mass media, upbringing, peer group and personal history rather than any quality intrinsic to the idea itself. Also keep in mind that these things change over time. Many ideas that were considered dangerous, controversial or offensive in the past are now part of the unquestioned status quo. Your job as a thinking person is to sort feeling from fact and to separate rationality and morality from cultural prejudice and personal bias. This type of self-examination is a big part of what it means to be a philosopher.

Faculty have wide discretion in how they treat academic subjects in the classroom. Although this class will explore a diversity of opinions, some ideas will be emphasized over others. Beliefs which enjoy institutional support from the college may be singled out for scrutiny, as explicitly allowed in Section 15.3 above. Ideas which predominate in academic culture and the social sciences or among college students may face special criticism, while minority or neglected viewpoints may be given special consideration. This is because thinking critically is most important when it comes to beliefs you are likely to have uncritically adopted (or dismissed) due to various dominant social influences. Considerations of "balance" in this course are approached from the institutional level. So, for example, if the college as an institution and the majority of courses favor or promote one view on a controversial issue, this class may balance that out by emphasizing an opposing view.

The instructor attempts to give the best argument for many different views. Just because an argument in favor of a particular view is given in class, podcasts, the text or other external resources does not necessarily mean that it is the instructor's view on the subject. In fact, you may notice that the instructor will make arguments for views which are logically incompatible with one another. Therefore, it makes no sense to assume that every time a view is being presented, the instructor believes it and is attempting to persuade you to accept it. It is up to you to sort through the competing claims and arguments presented in this class and decide for yourself which views to accept.
 
If you disagree with or take offense at any of the views expressed in this class by the instructor or in course materials (1) try to keep an open mind (2) reflect on why you find certain beliefs or opinions vexing or upsetting and use this as an opportunity for self-exploration, to practice self-management skills and to develop your capacity for tolerance of ideas which differ from your own (3) remind yourself that emotions are an unreliable guide to objective reality and that the feelings we associate with certain ideas are often accidents of birth, culture and personal experience (4) keep in mind that exploring or understanding an idea isn't the same as approving of or accepting it and (5) engage the instructor in civil discussion or debate in class sessions (in the case of face-to-face classes) or privately in office hours.

Another relevant section of the faculty contract is Section 16.3, Civic Life, which states, "Each faculty member is also a citizen of his or her nation, state and community; and when he or she speaks, writes or acts as such shall be free from institutional censorship." This means that faculty have an absolute right to express themselves outside the classroom without fear of retribution from the Administration. Therefore, if you encounter the instructor outside the classroom, acting in his capacity as a private citizen, you should recognize that his views do not necessarily represent those of the college and that the college recognizes his right to speak, write and act according to the truth as he sees it and the dictates of his own conscience.

ACADEMIC FREEDOM OF STUDENTS: "Each faculty member is entitled to and responsible for protecting freedom in the classroom in discussion and presentation of subject matter." -- Collective Bargaining Agreement between the Lane Community College Educational Association and Board of Education, Section 15.2. Voicing an opinion that differs from that expressed by the instructor in face-to-face sessions, Zoom discussions, online forums will never be penalized, though there may be occasions when debate must be curtailed in the interest of adequately covering course material. Please feel free to continue these discussions in the instructor's office hours. The instructor encourages the voicing of dissenting opinions, especially on controversial issues and when backed by convincing reasons and supporting evidence. This enlivens class, provides an alternative viewpoint, fosters critical thinking and may end up enlightening the instructor, who occasionally realizes he has been wrong. Please couch dissenting opinions in a constructive and respectful manner in order to keep the exchange of ideas civil.

USE OF HUMOR: The instructor frequently employs humor to lighten the mood as well as to illustrate points, add color and make learning fun. This should in no way be interpreted as disparaging any individual or group. Students will always be treated with the utmost respect and will never be mocked or ridiculed.

CONCERNS: I want this class to be a positive learning experience for you. If, at any time, you have a concern, grievance or complaint about the course, please speak with me about it directly in office hours or via Moodle message. You have my personal guarantee that I will hear you out, reflect carefully on what you have to say and that it will have no bearing on your grade. Because the class uses objective testing (with a record of scores on the server), you have additional protection. My only request is that, if I have some feedback for you, you consider it in the same spirit. I'd rather correct any problems than have you be disgruntled for the rest of the term (which is likely to negatively affect your performance in the class) only to complain about it in student evaluations. Why not alert me to a problem when I can actually do something about it? In the unlikely event that you remain dissatisfied, you can still take your concerns to the Dean of the Social Science Division. I am a reasonable, fair and kind human being and care about my students, so I'm sure we will be able to work something out. The Dean's first suggestion will probably be that the three of us meeting to discuss the issue. He is a busy man doing important work for the college. Why not see if we can work things out between us first? Addressing any concerns early, honestly and directly will result in a better outcome for both of us.

WHAT PHILOSOPHY IS: Philosophy is the attempt to come to a systematic understanding of the objective world through the use of reason. The philosophical approach 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 the 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, God, the soul, an afterlife, or, in the case of this class, the existence of universal, objective moral values (or perhaps the unquestionable certainty of our age is the dogma that morality is culturally relative or completely subjective). Philosophy uses conceptual analysis as its primary tool. Properly analyzing concepts requires the rigorous definition of terms, so the precise use of language is very important to philosophers, or at least to the good ones. This goes all the way back to Socrates. Fuzzy language evinces fuzzy thinking.

WHAT PHILOSOPHY IS NOT: Philosophy is not about exploring your "personal beliefs." Nor is it about your feelings, as reality is not based on your subjective emotional state. Philosophy is not about your identity, your sex, your gender, your sexual orientation, your culture or your "race." It's not about your faith or "how you were raised." Avoid thinking in these terms and using subjective phrases like "personally" and "in my personal opinion" when doing philosophy. Philosophy (and indeed all academic discourse) is about your impersonal opinion, i.e. your opinion backed by reasons and evidence. 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.

COURSE DESCRIPTION: Theories of Reality (metaphysics) attempt to discover and describe the underlying nature of existence. Possible topics include the nature of the self, the relationship between matter and consciousness, free will, the existence of God, death, and the meaning of life. These topics may be approached from the perspective of both Eastern and Western philosophy.

COURSE OBJECTIVES: The objectives for this course are for students to (1) come to a clearer understanding of metaphysical 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, and (5) bring their conclusions about ultimate reality to bear on their other beliefs, values, goals and way of life.