Syllabus Fall 2009

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Philosophy 110: Introduction to Ethics
Fall 2009 Syllabus

Professor Colleen Boyle
devushka99@gmail.com
510.235.7800 x4289
Office hours 8:40 – 9:30 a.m. T/Th
12:40 – 1:30 p.m. T/Th
Office: PS-117
Section # 0207
Course website: http://philosophy110ethics.blogspot.com/

Introduction
How do we live together in this world? What, if any, duties do we owe to one another? What responsibilities do we have for our actions? What is just, and how do we pursue justice in our own actions? How would we build a community that exercises justice?

The fundamental questions that the discipline of Ethics pursues are more than ever in the forefront as we think about what we owe one another, how we ought to live, and what our responsibilities are in the world; and especially as we grapple with numerous difficult, painful questions like what to do regarding the war we’ve been engaged in for close to six years; how to handle immigration; whether people have a right to healthcare; how to respond to the growing prison population, and many others.

Ethics is the discipline that tries to work out questions of justice, right, and good, and to help us apply the answers we come to in our own lives: in how we treat our friends, loved ones, colleagues and classmates; how we treat ourselves; and how we treat others in our society (through our votes, for example, or our direct help – or our indifference).

Course Description
This course demonstrates the uses of philosophy in daily life. It includes study of ethics topics, such as issues of right and wrong, differing opinions, sexual ethics, and ethical problems at work.

Course Goals
By the end of this course, you should be able to
1. understand and reiterate some of the basic parts of several foundational theories of ethics (theories that have had major influences on contemporary American thinking about right, wrong, politics, and morals),
2. apply your own experiences and insights to particular ethical questions,
3. apply the theories we’ve studied to particular ethical questions,
4. reflect on how your experiences have shaped your attitudes and beliefs about ethics
5. work productively in groups to develop thoughtful, reflective responses to particular ethical questions,
6. write three concise, detailed papers in which you analyze a situation and apply a theory or theories to help you develop an answer to an ethical question raised by the situation.

Required Books
Plato, Five Dialogues. Hackett Publishing, 2nd edition.
Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics. Hackett Publishing, 2nd edition.
Immanuel Kant, Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals. Hackett Publishing, 3rd edition.
J.S. Mill, On Liberty. Hackett Publishing Co.
Weston, Anthony, A Rulebook for Arguments. Hackett Publishing, 4th revised edition.

All of these books are available online, used, for less than $5.00 each – in some cases, for $1.00/ea. Be sure to get the correct Hackett edition so that you can follow the page numbering.

Handouts, to be given in class. You are responsible for acquiring any handouts you miss due to absence.

Course Requirements
1. You should come to every class unless you are really sick or you have a genuine emergency. All of the lectures, exercises, projects, and discussions are designed to help you learn, engage with the material, and deepen your understanding.
2. You should come to every class on time. If you’re late, you’ll miss important announcements and introductory material at the beginning of class, distract your classmates, and indicate a lack of respect for the class. When students come late it delays projects and discussions and undermines the class. Leave plenty of time to park, and assume that you’ll hit traffic on your way to school; make a genuine, good faith effort to arrive on time to every class.
3. Come prepared. Being prepared means that you’ve done the assigned reading carefully and completed any written homework assignments; that you’re mentally ready to engage the material, to raise questions and issues for discussion, and to respond respectfully to your colleagues. It also means making sure that you have the correct book with you, and that you have notebook paper, a working pen or pencil, and any required handouts. Get your book, notebook, and writing implement out at the beginning of class: assume that you’ll be taking notes and using the assigned text unless I tell you otherwise.
4. Turn all assignments in on time. If you’re having trouble completing an assignment, contact me in advance of the due date so I can answer questions, help you organize thoughts, develop a plan, and give you an extension if you need it. Everyone has trouble with an assignment, sometimes, so ask for help if you need it!
5. Make a sincere effort to engage with the material. Some of the ideas and writing we’ll be covering is complex and challenging; some of it is written in a style that’s more difficult to read than modern texts. I will break things down into smaller pieces, and try to connect more abstract ideas to concrete questions so that it’s easier to follow and more immediately accessible. But there will be times when you’ll need to concentrate on difficult material for sustained periods.
6. Treat everyone else in the class with consideration and respect. This means not just listening quietly while others are speaking and responding to others politely, but also actively working to engage with their comments, along with the material we study in the class.

Assignments and Grading
We’ll complete the following assignments:
1. 3 Term papers of 3-4 pages each 200 points each = 600
2. 3 Tests or other assessments 100 points each = 300
3. 3 Forum posts (see below) 50 points each = 150
4. 6 Forum responses (see below) 25 points each = 150
5. 4 Group projects 100 points each = 400
6. 4 Homework assignments 50 points each = 200
7. 5 Reading quizzes 30 points each = 150
8. Participation 300
9. Total = 2250

A = 2012 – 2250 points
B = 1778 – 2011 points
C = 1564 – 1777 points
D = 1339 – 1563 points
F = fewer than 1339 points

Course Standards
It is very important that your answers on the midterms and final, and your statements in your essays, are as concise, to the point, and lucid as possible. You must regularly and accurately refer to the issues and authors you are evaluating both in your recapitulation of the argument, and in your own evaluation of that argument. You may use examples from “real life” to clarify or underscore your point, but you must make it clear what point you are defending with your example. It does not matter what position you choose to defend in your writing. It does matter that you give a clear and in-depth argument for your position, take account of opposing arguments and the arguments we have covered in class, and show evidence in your writing that you have carefully reflected upon all the available arguments and let the arguments lead your thinking on the issue.

The following are general grading standards (I’ll give you more specific standards for individual assignments):
A an excellent, detailed account of the question assigned, making use of
careful and original reflection and illustrative examples
B a good grasp of the material, with some evidence of original reflection and an attempt to critically engage the assignment
C a basic grasp of the material, with no evidence of original reflection or attempt to critically engage the assignment
D failure to grasp the material
F non-attendance, or extremely sloppy writing (e.g., unfinished thoughts, excessive misspellings or grammatical errors, no attempt made to engage the assignment)

Plagiarism and Academic Integrity
The standard penalty for violations of academic integrity in this course will be an F grade for the course. Such violations include cheating on an exam, helping someone else to cheat, resubmitting a paper written for another class, and plagiarism. Plagiarism is the representation of someone else’s words or ideas as one’s own. The most egregious cases of plagiarism are easy to avoid because they are so obviously dishonest:

• turning in someone else’s paper as your own
• allowing someone else to turn in a copy of your paper as his or her own
• downloading a paper from the internet and altering it a little to fit the class
• employing a “research service”

Be warned: instructors are quite adept at recognizing cases of plagiarism.

Other cases of plagiarism are more subtle. Sometimes students plagiarize unwittingly, out of carelessness or ignorance of the standards for attributing ideas to their sources. However, ignorance is no excuse. You are responsible for knowing the standards and taking care to follow them.

Whenever you make use of another’s words or ideas in a paper, you must give proper credit. Usually this means inserting a footnote or a parenthetical reference that refers to a Works Cited page. If you’re not sure how to give a proper reference, consult a style guide or your instructor. Your instructor can also answer questions about when you must give a reference. If in doubt, play it safe.

You must provide a reference not only when you use the exact words of another, but also when you paraphrase her words, summarize her ideas, or borrow her metaphors.

When you do use someone’s exact words, be sure to mark them as such, either by putting them in quotation marks or by setting them off from the main text and indenting them on both sides. Be careful not to change the wording at all in a direct quotation; if you must change it, use square brackets to indicate your changes.

When you paraphrase, state the author’s ideas in your own words. Don’t just rearrange the words in the sentence and replace some of the words with synonyms. Note: even though you’re using your own words, you still need to give a reference, since the idea is not yours.

You may not work with anyone else on any of the assignments unless I specifically instruct you to do so. All of your written work must be original and unique.

Etiquette
During the class period, please turn off all non-medical electronic devices. Yes, your laptop is a non-medical electronic device. If you must use a laptop for note taking because of a disability, please provide the correct form from the DSPS office. For emergency contact, please instruct your contact to call police services.

We will be discussing a variety of controversial issues in this course. You may hold passionate beliefs about some or all or those issues. Please remember always to treat the opinions and beliefs of your classmates with dignity and respect at all times, even when you strongly disagree with those opinions. You may be asked to leave the class if you fail to treat any of your colleagues with civility.

Be respectful of the class and of your colleagues. You are not forced to attend class; therefore, if you would prefer to engage in other activities such as checking email, texting your friends, chatting with your friends, or surfing the web, do so elsewhere. Private conversations in class, and even quietly texting, are very distracting to your fellow students. Many students make enormous personal sacrifices to attend college: please don’t disrupt their class. You may be asked to leave if you’re disrupting class. While you are in the classroom, you are expected to make a genuine attempt to engage with the classroom activities.

Disabled Students Programs and Services
“The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 504, requires Contra Costa College to make all programs accessible to qualified individuals with learning, physical, or psychological disabilities. Students who would like to receive accommodations for their learning, physical, or psychological disabilities should contact the Disabled Students Programs & Services (DSPS) office (H-19) and schedule an appointment. (510) 235-7800 ext. 7220.”

Please feel free to come see me during office hours, or email me at devushka99@gmail.com, if you have a disability you think I should know about, or if there’s anything else I should know about.

Participation in the Forums
We’ll be watching several movies in class that raise ethical questions related to some of the material we’re covering. You’ll be asked to post at least one original response to a question or questions on each class website forum, and to post at least two responses to a colleague’s contribution on each forum.

Please contact me right away if you’ll have a problem with regular internet access.

Below is a general guideline to what makes a good contribution to a forum. There may be specific rules about particular forum questions.

An excellent contribution:
• is responsive to the question posed; you have made serious attempt to engage question
• engages the ideas and reflections of your colleagues substantively and thoughtfully
• is reflective and substantive, and often ties in question to more general ideas covered in course
• is polite and respectful of colleagues, regardless of disagreements

Group Projects
We’ll do at least 4 group projects during class. Your group project grade will have 2 parts: the overall quality of the completed project, and your own contribution to the group. The individual portion of your grade will consider:
• whether you arrived on time to begin the project
• whether you participated for the entire project, particularly if it continued over more than one class period
• whether your homework assignment in preparation for the group project was completed on time
• the thoughtfulness and completeness of your homework response
• whether you continually engaged with your fellow group members, asked questions to drive the assignment forward, and participated regularly in the group discussion
• whether you collaborated helpfully with the group: discussing disagreements respectfully, putting forward ideas, raising helpful questions or criticisms, and behaving collegially.
I’ll provide a rubric with specifics about the expectations for each individual assignment.

Fall 2009 Schedule

This schedule is provisional and subject to change. You are responsible for keeping abreast of changes to the schedule, which will be announced in class and posted on the course website.

Assignments should be completed for the day on which they’re listed. All work done outside of class should be typed.

Preparation
8.18 What is Ethics? Introduction, learning styles survey, cases.
8.20 Critical Thinking: case study.

8.25 Critical Thinking continued. Homework: read chapters 1-3 Rulebook for Arguments.
8.27 Critical Thinking continued.

Relativism
9.1 Movie: The Handmaid’s Tale (we’ll meet in a different room for movies; room TBA).
9.3 Movie continued.

9.8 Please post your response to the course website by Sunday, September 6! In class: Relativism Part 1.
9.10 Relativism Part 2. Term Paper 1 assignment given out.

Assessments!
9.15 Term Paper 1 due. In class: discussion.
9.17 In class test on Critical Thinking and Relativism.


Plato
9.22 In class: case study and discussion.
9.24 Homework: read Euthyphro. What is it to be wise?

9.29 Homework: read Euthyphro. Plato continued in class.
10.1 In class group assignment: create an assessment instrument for your classmates.

Aristotle
10.6 Movie: The Mission.
10.8 Movie continued.

10.13 Please post your response to the course website by Sunday, October 11! Discussion in class and intro to Aristotle.
10.15 Homework: read excerpts from Nicomachean Ethics. In class: Aristotle part 1.

10.20 Homework: read excerpts from Nicomachean Ethics. In class: Aristotle part 2.
10.22 In class group assignment: case study. Term Paper 2 assignment given out.

Assessments!
10.27 Term Paper 2 due. In class: discussion
10.29 In class test on Plato and Aristotle.

Kant
11.3 Movie: The Laramie Project.
11.5 Movie continued.

11.10 Please post your response to the course website by Sunday, November 8! In class: discussion and introduction to Kant.
11.12 Homework: read excerpts from Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals. In class: Kant part 1.

11.17 Homework: read excerpts from Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals. In class: Kant part 2.
11.19 In class group assignment: case studies; class discussion (What counts as treating someone as an end-in-themselves?)


Administration
11.20 Last day to withdraw.

11.24 Grade updates and counseling.

Mill
12.1 Homework: Read excerpts from On Liberty. Utilitarianism.
12.3 In class: case study and discussion.

12.8 Homework: read excerpts from On Liberty. Rule Utilitarianism. Term Paper 3 assignment given out.
12.10 Grade updates and final test review.


Final Assessments
12.15 Term Paper 3 due; final test 11-12:40.

Here's a link to get a PDF of the syllabus and schedule, in case you lost your copy.