CRISWELL COLLEGE
SUMMER 2016
PHI 650 T99.A Ethics, Economics, and Natural Law
Professor: Craig Vincent Mitchell, PhD
Contact: (800) 899-0012 (x1311) (214) 818-1311 (office / voice mail)
Office: E-320 4010 Gaston Ave., Dallas, TX 75246
Office hours: See posted hours outside office door, or contact Linda Carter (214.818.1328), or by appointment.
Course Description:
This course is a philosophical, theoretical, integrated, and research and writing inclusive investigation addressing how one’s understanding of anthropology, government, and the cosmos affects one’s understanding of how to help the poor and engage culture at various levels.
Course Objectives / Learning Outcomes:
The student who successfully completes this course will demonstrate the ability to:
· Analyze and process the language of natural law and economics and the classic liberal tradition.
· Investigate some of the major historical thinkers, principles, ideas, and theories in the field of economic theory and natural law.
· Link some areas of natural law, economic theory, and sound stewardship of resources to contemporary life.
· Present critical evaluation regarding one or more positions in the field of economic theory and natural law.
· Support one’s own conclusions concerning specific topics and/or questions regarding economic theory, natural law, and sound stewardship.
Course Texts:
· F. A. Hayek. The Road to Serfdom. Edited by Bruce Caldwell. University of Chicago Press, 2007. ISBN: 0226320553
· Chad Brand, Seeking the City. Kregel, 2013. ISBN 978-0825443046
Course requirements and evaluation procedures:
- Fill out the on-line application for Acton University 2016, and any other material required by Acton, the Kern Foundation, and/or any other institutions to which the professor refers students. (10%)
- Complete the required reading prior to attending the travel portion of the course. Students will sign that they have read (not “skimmed,” not “will read”) the assigned material, and turn in a note to this effect prior to the first day of the Acton conference. (20%)
- Two-hour preliminary meeting with the professor prior to the travel portion of the course. Students should attend and take notes. (10%)
- Attend Acton University 2015, and take comprehensive notes on each of the 15 talks. Convert notes to a comprehensive, well-edited document comprising all 15 talks. Notes for each talk should include the speaker’s name and the title of the talk. Edited notes should be 1-3 double-spaced pages for each talk. Due no later than one week after returning from Acton. (35%)
- As a separate, stand-alone, research component, the student will write a conclusion to the notebook comprising research, general reflections and a position on the books read and issues studied. Sources should include the required reading, the 15 talks, and two other scholarly sources (books and/or journal articles). Reflections consist of your analysis and evaluation of
the same. “Position” means that you argue for a particular position based on a general understanding of the readings and the conference. 10-15 pp. Due no later than two weeks after returning from Acton. (25%)
- Pay a $150 lab fee (which also serves as a non-refundable deposit) by March 31; and also pay for the three-hour course in full before leaving for the travel portion of the course.
All written assignments:
· Typed, double spaced, 1” margins, 12 pt. Times New Roman font, footnotes (not endnotes or parenthetical references)
· Parenthetical references for Scripture
· Proof-read, or have someone proof-read, your work (no careless errors: i.e., grammar, spelling, form, style, etc.)
· Students are encouraged to consult Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style, Margaret Shertzer’s The Elements of Grammar, and Joseph Williams’s Style: The Basics of Clarity and Grace
· Number of pages required applies only to the body of the essay (not cover page, outline page, or works cited page)
· First person preferred (if not overused)
Grading System
The significance of letter grades is as follows:
A 97-100 4.0 grade points per semester hour
A- 93-96 3.7 grade points per semester hour
B+ 91-92 3.3 grade points per semester hour
B 88-90 3.0 grade points per semester hour
B- 86-87 2.7 grade points per semester hour
C+ 83-85 2.3 grade points per semester hour
C 80-82 2.0 grade points per semester hour
C- 78-79 1.7 grade points per semester hour
D+ 75-77 1.3 grade points per semester hour
D 72-74 1.0 grade point per semester hour
D- 70-71 0.7 grade points per semester hour
F 0-69 0.0 grade points per semester hour
The following grade symbols are also recognized for transcript evaluation:
AU Audited Course CR Credit
EX Exempt I Incomplete
NC No Credit P Passed Non-credit Course
RC Repeat Course S Satisfactory Progress
W Withdrawn WF Withdrawn Failing
WP Withdrawn Passing
NOTE: An “I” will be changed to an “F” 60 calendar days after the close of the term or semester in which the “I” was awarded, if the course work is not completed by the stated date published in the Academic Calendar.
Incomplete grades:
Students requesting a grade of Incomplete (I) must understand that incomplete grades maybe
given only upon approval of the faculty member involved. An “I” may be assigned only when a student is currently passing a course and in situations involving extended illness, serious injury, death in the family, or employment or government reassignment, not student neglect.
Students are responsible for contacting their professors prior to the end of the semester, plus filing the appropriate completed and approved academic request form with the Registrar’s Office. The “I” must be removed (by completing the remaining course requirements) no later than 60 calendar days after the grade was assigned, or the “I” will become an “F.”
If I don’t understand what you are trying to say, I shall assume that you also do not understand what you are trying to say, and the grade will reflect this problem.
Institutional policies:
Academic Honesty:
Absolute truth is an essential belief and basis of behavior for those who believe in a God who
cannot lie and forbids falsehood. Academic honesty is the application of the principle of truth in the classroom setting. Academic honesty includes the basic premise that all work submitted by students must be their own and any ideas derived or copied from elsewhere must be carefully documented.
Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to:
• cheating of any kind,
• submitting, without proper approval, work originally prepared by the student for another
course,
• plagiarism, which is the submitting of work prepared by someone else as if it were his own,
and
• failing to credit sources properly in written work.
Learning Disabilities:
In order to ensure full class participation, any student with a disabling condition requiring
special accommodations (e.g., tape recorders, special adaptive equipment, special note-taking or test-taking needs) is strongly encouraged to contact the instructor at the beginning of the course or if a student has a learning disability, please inform the professor so assistance can be provided.
Auditing and Sit-in Students:
Any student may enroll in a course as an Auditor or Sit-in as long as the class is below capacity. A student’s permanent transcript will reflect which courses have been completed as audits. Sit-in students are not given grades by professors and their transcripts will not reflect enrollment in the course. Taking tests and participation in course activities are afforded to credit students in the syllabus and is at the discretion of the professor.
Changes to this document:
The instructor reserves the right to add, delete, or change any information contained in this document when he deems it necessary, with adequate notice given to the student. Students are responsible for any information missed due to absence.
Recommended bibliography:
The Holy Bible
The Apostle’s Creed
The Nicene Creed
The Chalcedonion Creed (or The Chalcedonion Definition of Faith)
The Baptist Faith and Message 2000
Audi, Robert, editor. The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy. Cambridge: Cambridge, 1995.