Welcome to PHILOSOPHY 1 Online

INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY

Fall 2009

(THIS COURSE USES THE ANGEL LEARNING COURSE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM)

"Well, something much more painful than a snake has bitten me in my most sensitive part -- I mean my heart, or my soul, or whatever you want to call it. It has been struck and bitten by philosophy, whose grip on young and eager souls is much more vicious than a viper's and makes them do the most amazing things."

Plato, Symposium 218A

COURSE OBJECTIVES

When this class is finished, you should be able to:

1. Identify and justify various traditional and contemporary philosophical views;

2. Relate traditional philosophical views to some problems of contemporary life;

3. Think more clearly and critically (improve your “BS detector”').

GETTING HELP

Disabled students: West Valley College makes reasonable accommodations for persons with documented disabilities. College materials will be available in alternate formats (Braille, audio, electronic format, or large print) upon request. Please contact the Disability and Educational Support Program at (408) 741-2010 (voice) or (408) 741-2658 (TTY) for assistance.

TEXTS

• Donald Palmer, Does the Center Hold? Second Edition (Mayfield), or Third Edition (McGraw-Hill), or Fourth Edition (McGraw-Hill) abbreviated DP below.  The Palmer book is available in hardcopy only; it is NOT an online text. The WVC bookstore will stock only the latest edition. Earlier editions (new or used) might be available from online vendors such as Amazon or ABE books. Note that it is OK to use earlier editions; you do not need the most recent (most expensive) version.

• Steven Cahn, Classics of Western Philosophy.  Seventh Edition (Hackett).  Any edition can be used.  If you use a different edition or translation of the Hackett text, you are responsible for finding the sections in your edition that correspond to the Hackett sections below. 

The works of Descartes, Hume, Mill, and Plato assigned for this class are classics and thus available in many editions and translations.  Cahn's book contains all of these writings so it is a good source to use for the course readings on these philosophers. There are also links within the syllabus and/or Lessons for most of the works in Cahn's text.  Required reading for this class also includes a number of hyperlinked materials written by the Philosophy Department instructor, Sandy LaFave. These include many pages listed in the online study guide and the Angel "Lessons" area. The URL for the online Study Guide is

1. http://instruct.westvalley.edu/upton/phil01_online_studyguide.html

   All the files hyperlinked in the Schedule below are part of the online study guide and thus are required reading.

SCHEDULE 

EXPECTATIONS REGARDING STUDENT CONDUCT

Online Students
You should log in to Angel everyday or at least every other day.  Regular semester courses usually have quizzes once a week, sometimes twice.  If you are enrolled in a late start class with a compressed schedule, the class has quizzes usually twice a week. Information about quiz dates is available ONLY within Angel.

I will use our class entry page (under "Announcements") in Angel to post general announcements and Angel's internal email system for personal communication. Make sure to check both of these sources when logging into the course so that you don't miss any important messages from the instructor.

I will ordinarily NOT email outside of Angel. Students often change their external email names and addresses in the course of the semester. As long as you are enrolled in the class, however, your Angel email address will be stable and I will use that.

I will expect you to read all Discussion postings within Angel, and use Discussions to ask me questions about philosophical content, unless there is some compelling reason your question needs to be handled privately.  This allows all students in the course to view both the question and answer, which then helps to clarify certain philosophical ideas for the rest of the class and also avoids having me to repeatedly respond to the same question.  You should not ask me about issues already handled within a general announcement or Angel Discussion.

Naturally, you are welcome to chat and exchange private emails with one another.

Most students use computers to write their essay assignments. For an online class, you are, of course, expected to access course materials using the Internet. You need reliable computer access. If your ISP suddenly goes out of business, or your disk crashes, or your puppy pees on your modem, or you experience some other personal hardware issue, you are responsible for having an emergency alternative computer access plan. Know in advance where you can go (library, Internet cafe, friend's house, workplace) if your primary system fails!

All Students
All students are expected to know the rules regarding plagiarism. Plagiarism is a serious violation of the academic code. It is cause for expulsion in many schools. Ignorance is not an excuse. Other teachers may not enforce the rules; that is also NOT an excuse. If you are unclear about what constitutes plagiarism, educate yourself! Look closely at all the eye-opening examples here. Students are often surprised to learn that what they consider standard practice is actually plagiarism.

Any direct quote or close paraphrase without proper citation — any use of someone else’s words without giving proper credit — is plagiarism. In addition to the usual kinds of plagiarism (stealing sentences, paragraphs, papers, etc. from books or journals or web sites), it is also plagiarism to “answer” an essay question by cutting and pasting sentences from the study guide or required texts for this class; this material must  be cited along with any other sources being used!

Any student who violates the academic code (e.g., by cheating or plagiarism) will, at minimum, receive a  grade of F for that assignment or test. This rule is rigidly enforced.

According to the catalog, instructors may drop students “... when accumulated hours of absences exceed ten percent of the total number of hours the class meets during the semester.” Since this is an online course, this criteria is difficult to apply.  However, if an online student does not log into the course for more than two weeks, this will be considered enough hours missed to justify dropping this student.  But the main responsibility lies with the student. If you want to drop the class, it is YOUR responsibility to do so.

The last day to drop with a W is usually about one month before the end of the semester. Check the Schedule of Classes for the exact date.

GRADING

Please notify me immediately if you have a documented learning disability and require extra time on quizzes or exams. I am happy to give you extra time if (1) a DSPS counselor can verify your disability; AND (2) you notify me IN ADVANCE.