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EN208 Philosophy / Syllabus
Instructor: Jonathan Gourlay
Office Hours: MWF 2-3, TTh 1-2
Telephone: 320-2480 ext. 229
E-mail: jgourlay@comfsm.fm

Course Description: EN208 Philosophy introduces the student to the nature of philosophy and philosophical thinking. Major areas of philosophical inquiry developed in the Western tradition are considered.

During the term you will examine your views on several core philosophical topics: the existence of God, the limits of knowledge, morality, and the legitimacy of government. Along the way you will:

• read philosophical texts, in order to analyze their arguments and evaluate their answers to the questions of the course;
• see how philosophical concepts can help you understand practical dilemmas;
• conduct thought experiments that apply philosophical ideas to hypothetical situations; and
• express your ideas through arguments--both verbal and written--which present your reasons for holding your beliefs.

Important – Many of the topics we will be discussing are adult, controversial, religious, or all three. Students must respect each other’s points of view, and the teacher’s, even when they disagree with them. You will not be graded on what you believe. For example: A well argued essay concerning abortion can be either “pro-choice” or “pro-life”. Another example: You may read a text like Bertrand Russel’s "Why I am not a Christian." In order to get the full enjoyment of the article you must approach it with an open mind. You may find that some people’s beliefs are weird or wrong – that’s okay, they think the same way about you!

The purpose of the class is to talk, ask questions, and not be afraid of sounding “dumb” or offending anyone. We are looking for QUESTIONS – each question leads to another one… the important thing is to keep questioning.

Required Texts:

Warburton, Nigel. Philosophy: The Classics. 3rd Edition. Routledge, 2006.

The textbook is a “meta-textbook” – a book about other books. With that in mind there will be handouts of actual, non “meta”, texts. Keep a folder for this class – I won’t have extra copies of handouts if you lose them. Keep all homework and quizzes.

Assignments:

Homework assignments are to be turned in during the class period in the homework basket. No late homework is accepted.

Tests:

There is a 10% (one grade) penalty for not taking test on scheduled date. If you miss a test, make an appointment to make up the test before the next class meeting. An additional 10% deduction will be made for each class period the test is not made up.

This is not a memorization class. In tests, you will be asked to apply the ideas of the philosophers we study. In order to do this, you must understand the ideas, not simply memorize them.

Attendance:

This is a MWF class. You may be absent six times. If you have more than six absences, you will fail or be withdrawn from the class. Three “lates” (more than 10 minutes late) equals one absence.

Plagiarism:

Anyone who willfully and knowingly uses another’s work as their own will fail this class and may face charges before the student conduct board. Depending on the nature of the plagiarism, the student may only fail the plagiarized assignment and not the class.

Classroom Rules:

Please don’t get up and walk out of the room in the middle of class (especially if
someone is talking). It’s not a huge problem, but it disrupts the class.
Your teacher expects maturity and mutual respect. Your teacher reserves the right to
remove you from class if you are disruptive.

Assessment

Each homework assignment or quiz is worth a certain amount of points, based on the importance of the assignment. Your grade is calculated by dividing your points by the total possible points. The average failure rate for EN208 is between 30%-40%. It is important that you make time for reading, have a dictionary handy, and ask questions about material you don’t understand.