Welcome to the Hi-Tech Version of a Long-Time Favorite Course, Here at Montgomery County

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MONTGOMERY COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE
BLUE BELL AND POTTSTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA
Philosophy 100 On Line Course Syllabus
Professor James P. Cooney
Fall 2011

Welcome to the hi-tech version of a long-time favorite course, here at Montgomery County Community College:Introduction to Philosophy.

Be assured that your on-line course will have the integrity and quality of the classroom version. You will be expected to do considerable reading and writing and take the same (proctored) exams as students in our classroom courses. My Compectures and our on-line communications will substitute for the lectures and discussions of the classroom.

In addition, I am providing a comprehensive, on-line, supplementary textbook with readings that will broaden your experience with philosophy and offer extra resources for understanding of this difficult material.

As we work, together and apart, at our computers, you will examine the ideas of selected major writers in the Western tradition – men who have earned the distinction of being called philosophers. Our approach is a historical one, providing a sampling of the important ideas from different periods -- beginning with the Ancient Greeks and extending into the 19th and 20th centuries.

Caution:Even good readers find reading about philosophy to be difficult. You will often want to read a chapter in the text -- or one of my instructional essays (Compectures)-- two or three times to be sure you understand the material. Sometimes, you will want to read supplementary information in the On-line Textbook to clarify or deepen your understanding. I will also add material to your weekly assignments that I discover in my reading and think might be useful to you.

Students with serious deficiencies in the skills of reading or writing should delay taking Philosophy 100 until those deficiencies are addressed.
Textbook: Samuel Enoch Stumpf and James Fieser. Socrates to Sartre and Beyond: A History of Philosophy, 8th ed. New York: McGraw Hill, 2008. The textbook is available at the Barnes and Noble MCCC College Store in Blue Bell, PA. If you wish to purchase your book at the West Campus Barnes and Noble Bookstore, please e-mail the store manager, David Moffitt, at .
I caution you not to order textbooks on line; it takes far too long for the book to be delivered. Students who order on line invariably fall behind in their work.

The best way to absorb the material you need to read about philosophy is tounderline and highlight, as you read, the points you think to be most important. Doing so will also aid you when it comes time to review what you have read in preparation for the Mid-term and Final Examinations.

Tentative Schedule:

Note: Assignments are due frequently in the form of Discussion Forum contributions, two essays (one early on), and two exams.Printthe schedule below-- and keep it handy so that you can easily keep track of when your assignments are due.

For each unit, you should read carefully the appropriate Compectureand all of the textbook material assigned. (Compecture, explained below, is my term for "Computer Lecture." All of the Compectures are published in the Compectures section of Blackboard.)

The dates in parentheses are the dates your Discussion Forum contributions (and the two papers) are due by midnight. (Note: midnight comes at the end of a day.) You should type your essay in a word processing program.Microsoft Wordworks best with Blackboard and is preferred.

Three assignments will need to be submitted to me through the Assignments section of Blackboard:

1) Your Introductory mailing to me, including your contact information and a brief autobiographical sketch;
2)the Required Papersummarizing Plato’s Cave Allegory and Divided Line; and
3) your Required Paper on Marx or Kierkegaard.

ALL other correspondence to me should be e-mailed FROM YOUR COLLEGE E-MAIL ACCOUNT (i.e. the one that ends with @students.mc3.edu). The reason for this is that I have established a separate folder for course correspondence. Your material will get to that folder ONLY if you send it from your MCCC account.

Note Well: PLAN AHEAD TO BE SURE YOU GET ALL ASSIGNMENTS POSTED ON TIME.

All assignments are required to pass the course. A late paper will be penalized one letter grade. Late postings may result in a reduction of the final course grade.

Unit and Due Dates:

1(8/31 – 9/3)Introductions and Orientation to the Course
* Readthis PHI 100 ONLN Syllabus TWICE -- carefully and completely. It is critically important that you understand the terms of the course and your obligations as a student in it.
* Purchase immediatelythe James Fieser and Samuel Enoch Stumpf textbook for our course, and look it over. ALL assignments are geared to this textbook – it must be used for the course.
* Write a short autobiographical note with a short narrative about your background and interests. In addition, please include contact information -- name, address, phone number, and e-mail address.
* Mail this information to me through the Assignments section of Blackboard.
Sending me this sketch and info is required; your doing so will serve to affirm that you have read the syllabus in its entirety, accept the terms of the course, including the “Grading Policy and Criteria,” and understand your obligations as a student in the course.
* Post a greeting to your fellow classmates in the Welcome Forum on the Discussion Board. (You should not post addresses and phone numbers to the Discussion Forum.)
2 (9/10)Classical Philosophy I: Earliest Western Philosophers and Plato

* Read Compecture #1 and then Chapter 1 --12-15.
* Read Compecture #2 and then Chapter 3 -- 41-67.
* Post at least three (3) substantive and separate Forum Contributions commenting on the early philosophers and Plato. Be sure to include at least one comment on Heraclitus’s theory of Logos and Fire/God as the essential cause and substance of reality and one on Plato’s political philosophy. Make Forum contributions BEFORE writing your summary paper.

3 (9/14) Required Paper

* Submit Paper -- Summary/Explanation (about 600 to 800 words). In specific terms and in your own words, summarize Plato's Cave Allegory and comment on how it parallels his Divided Line.
Your essay should be submitted to me through the Assignments section of Blackboard.
Be aware that this paper is expected to be flawless in regard to grammar, punctuation, and usage. Mistakes in those areas will result in lowered grades.

4(9/20)Classical Philosophy II: Aristotle

* ReadCompecture #3 and then Chapter 4 -- Required pages: 68-71; 73-79; 82-89. (Entire chapter recommended.)
* Plus Aristotle on Friendship (See On-line Textbook--Aristotle).
* Post at least three (3) substantive and separate Forum Contributions –including one addressing Aristotle's Four Causes and the Unmoved Mover, one on his ethical ideas, and one on his political philosophy.

5(9/25)Christian Philosophy I: Saint Augustine

* Read Compecture #4 and then Chapter 6 -- 113-128.
* Post at least three (3) substantive Forum Contributions – includingone addressing Augustine's understanding of God, another on his Doctrine of Illumination, and another on his teaching about Disordered Love.

6(10/1)Christian Philosophy II: Aquinas

* Read Compecture #5 and then Chapter 8 --151-166. (Entire chapter recommended.)
* Post at least three (3) substantive Forum Contributions – including oneaddressing Aquinas’s “proofs” of God’s existence, another about his theories regarding creation, and another on his elaboration of Natural Law, including the four types of natural law.

7(10/8) Modern Philosophy: Descartes

* Read Compecture #6 and then Chapter 10 -- 205-215.
* Post at least three (3) substantive Forum Contributions. Focus on Intuition and Deduction, how Descartes moves from doubt to acceptance of his thinking self (Cogito) to “proofs” of God’s existence to affirmation of the existence of his body and other things.Also, address the Mind/Body problem.

8(10/10 – 10/15) Mandatory Mid-term Exam. Make appointment by calling college. [Blue Bell: Testing Center (215) 641-6646; Pottstown: (610) 718-1906].

9(10/22) British Empiricism: Locke, Hume, and Reid

* Read Compecture #7 and then Chapter 11 -- 230-239 and 244-253. Chapter 12 -- 266-268.
* Post at least six (6) substantive Forum Contributions – includingoneaddressing John Locke’s political theory, another on David Hume’s theory of the Self, and one on Thomas Reid’s Direct Realism.

10(10/29) Critical Idealism: Kant(Difficult Material –READ WITH GREAT CARE)

* Read Compectures #8 and then Chapter 13 – 271--290.
* Read Compecture #9.
* Post at least three (3) substantive Forum Contributions – including oneaddressing Kant's categories of thought, another on the distinction between the noumenal and phenomenal worlds, and one on his concept of the Categorical Imperative and how it differs from other kinds of imperatives.

11(11/5) Utilitarianism: Bentham and Mill

* Read Chapter 15 (318 – 331)
* Read Compecture #10
* Post at least six (6) substantive Forum Contributions – includingone addressing Bentham’s notion of Sanctions and another on his theory of punishment. Also, address Mill’s Qualitative Utilitarianism.Make your contributions over the course of the week and in the manner previously established.

12(11/12)Nineteenth Century Sampling: Kierkegaard and Marx

* Read Compectures #11 and #12 and then Chapter 16 -- 340-358.
* Post at least three (3) substantive Forum Contributions– including one on Kierkegaard’s Three Stages and another on Marx’s theory of the Alienation of Labor.
Then--
* Re-read syllabus section on The Two Summary/Explanation Papers

13(11/13)Required Paper
* Submit MajorSummary/Explanation (600-800 words) Due: Explain in your own words Kierkegaard's Three Stages or Marx's theory of why and how the laboring class becomes alienated.
Your essay should be submitted to me through the Assignments section of Blackboard. Be aware that this paper is expected to be flawless in regard to grammar, punctuation, and usage. Mistakes in those areas will result in lowered grades.

14(11/20) Nietzsche and James
* Read Chapter 16 – 359-367. Then readCompecture #13 and Chapter 17-- 375 – 380.
* Post at least three (3) substantive Forum Contributions – including oneon Nietzsche’s concept of the Superperson and one onJames’s theory of the Will to Believe.

11/21-11/26 --- HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

15(12/3)Existentialism: Heidegger, Marcel, and Sartre

* Read Compecture #14 and then Chapter 18 -- 430-439 (Pages 425-428 recommended.)
* Post at least three (3) substantive Forum Contributions – including one on Heidegger’s notion of Dasein, one on Marcel’s notion of fidelity, and one on Sartre’s notion of personal responsibility.

16(12/5 - 12-10) MandatoryFinal Exam—Make appointment by calling college. [Blue Bell: Testing Center (215) 641-6646; Pottstown: (610) 718-1906].

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Compectures

I have posted a series of Compectures (my coinage for a combination of the two words “Computer” and “Lectures”) that address the concerns of all philosophers dealt with in the course, as well as a few others about whom you will not be asked to read.

These Compectures are found in the Compectures section of Blackboard. The Compectures will assist you in understanding those parts of your readings that I consider most important.
It is a good idea, for each unit, to read each Compecture (or Compectures) TWICE. Read the Compecture[s] BEFORE reading the assigned readings from the textbook. Doing so will help you to better understand the material in the textbook as you read it. Also, read the Compecture[s] AFTER you have read the assigned readings. Doing so will help you to bring it all together.

On-line Textbook

This course contains a supplementary textbook consisting of material available on blackboard and/or on the Internet. This valuable resource consists of biographical information about the philosophers, primary source material, and critical information about the philosophers, their ideas and works.
This resource is NOT a substitute for the paper textbook, Socrates to Sartre and Beyond, by Stumpf/Fieser.
Consulting material in the On-line Textbookwill not usually be required (one exception is Aristotle on Friendship). It is designed to be supplementary and optional. However, it also can be very valuable. You should certainly be quick to read it whenever you feel the desire or need for more information about a philosopher and his works. For example, our textbook gives us some basic biographical information about Plato and a summary of what his Divided Line Allegory and his Cave Allegory.
In the on-line textbook, you will find more extensive information about Plato’s life and works. You also will be able to actually read (in translation) the sections of The Republic where Plato describes the Divided Line and The Cave. You will also find critical analyses of his works beyond what is available in our print textbook.
Please feel free to suggest that something be added to the On-line Textbook for the benefit of your fellow students and future students of Philosophy 100. Be alert to information in your reading that might be useful supplementary material for this course. When you spot something, let me know immediately -- and I will consider adding it to the On-line Textbook.

Forum Contributions

On-line participation, asking questions and making comments to other students, is an important factor in making this courses a quality experience for you and your classmates. You should offer at least the required number of contributions (comments, questions, or reactions) for each philosopher.You may originate a thread or comment in reaction to what someone else has posted. (Responding to the ideas of your classmates is good – because this is the way we really “discuss” the ideas –rather than each person just posting his or her own reaction.)
Forum contributions approximate class attendance; I look to the depth and detail you bring to your Forum contributions for evidence that you are reading the material and keeping up with the course. These contributions are a fundamental course requirement.
Missing more than six substantive postings of the thirty-four (34) required overall is the equivalent of over-cutting a classroom course. Accordingly,a student who misses more than SIX (6) of the required Forum postings will not be eligible to pass the course.
Please avoid frivolous questions or comments. (Comments like “I agree with you” or “I really like what this philosopher thought” are fine; but don’t count comments like those among your required contributions.)
Rather, be thoughtful in the questions you pose -- and careful to respond intelligently.
My involvementin the Forums, beyond monitoring them, will be ONLY OCCASIONAL—when I see the need to offer direction or advice. I will be communicating with you individually in my comments on your papers and exams.
I will jump in on the discussions from time to time, however, and you are required to read my contributions. Anything I post is fair game for you to be knowledgeable about when responding to definitions on your exams and in explanations on your papers.

The Two Summary/Explanation Papers
The objective of the first paper Required Paper (Due 9/11)is for you to summarize Plato’s Cave Allegory and Divided Line in your own words.
The second paperRequired Paper(Due 11/13) requires you to summarize some important ideas of either Karl Marx or Soren Kierkegaardin your own words.
The best approach in preparing for each paper is to read the assigned textbook material carefully, pen in hand, marking important points. Your challenge is to summarize and explain what the textbook says in your own words.
These papers will be graded both on content and form.
Care should be taken to make the essays effective. Specifically, they should be carefully organized and developed with specific references to the material read. The essays should be carefully revised and corrected so as to be free of errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
YOUR ESSAYS SHOULD BEWRITTEN IN THE OBJECTIVE THIRD PERSON. DO NOT USE FIRST PERSON (I) PERSPECTIVE OR SECOND PERSON (you).

Examinations and Study Sheets

Students must take two examinations by showing up in person at the Blue Bell (Central) or Pottstown (West) Testing Center. Upon showing satisfactory personal identification, students will be given the exams by the Testing proctor. The exams must be written by hand in the presence of a proctor. The use of textbooks, notes, and computers is not permitted for these examinations.
Study sheets will be posted to Blackboard prior to each examination.
(For students outside of the Montgomery County area, in states other than Pennsylvania, or in other countries, proctoring arrangements can be made through contacting an administrativerepresentativeat a college or university near where the student will be located while taking the course.

It is the student’s responsibility to arrange for a proctor at such an institution; the proctor candidate will then fill out an MCCCaffidavit prior to serving as exam monitor.Please contact me immediately if you need to make such arrangements. If I do not hear from you by September 10, 2011, such special arrangements will not be made for this course.)

Grading Policy and Criteria

Discussion Forum Contributions are requiredfor each unit and are a minimum requirement for passing the course. Students who miss more than six of the 34 required, substantive Discussion Forum contributions will not pass the course, regardless of other factors. (If special circumstances prevent you from fulfilling any course requirement when due, e-mail or phone the instructor ASAP. Any missed assignment must be made up promptly.)

• The Plato paper is required and will constitute approximately 20% consideration in determining your final grade for the course.
• The Kierkegaard or Marx paper is requiredand will constitute approximately 20% consideration in determining your final grade for the course.
• Both Examinations are required and will be graded A to F. (Approximate final grade consideration—30 % each)
• Discussion Forum assignments are required to pass the course – but they are not graded. Students who fail to provide the 34 required Discussion Forum contributions will receive a grade of F in the course, despite any other work they have submitted.
• The Gradebook area of Blackboard will not be needed in this course. Since students always know if they have made their forum postings and will receive their paper and exam grades promptly, they will always know where they stand in the course.

Students may withdraw from the course throughthe end of the Mid-term exam grading period and up to one week after the date on which the student’s Mid-term exam is returned. Such withdrawals can be accomplished bycontacting the Office of Student Records or by sending the instructor an e-mail indicating the desire to withdraw. When doing so, include name, course number and section, and Student College ID number.
N.B. --That “grade inflation” has manifested itself in college courses over the years is an established fact. I am pleased to report that I have been unaffected by this phenomenon.
The grade you receive in PHI 100 ONLN will be a true indication of the quality of your work as judged against standards I have developed over a long college teaching career -- now into its 46th year.
Each student starts with a presumption of C level abilities; that is, each student is assumed to have the motivation, discipline, and ability to read and understand the course material and to give clear, effective and accurate, expression to his or her ideas in writing.
A grade of B will be assigned only when, in my judgment, the student demonstrates an above-average grasp of the material and presents evidence of that above-average sensibility in clear and effective writing.
A grade of A indicates a superior grasp of the material and an ability to present the material in an exceptionally effective way.
Like a baseball umpire’s call, my judgments, though subjective, are reflective of long training and experience -- and are, in all cases, final.