Participation (15%)

In-Class Participation (2.5%): Class involvement is a small part of your grade that typically makes a big difference. Class involvement means, first of all, coming to class. This also means always having your course reading with you in physical form. (Not having your course materials is like coming to soccer practice without your cleats or a ball.) Missing three or more classes will result in an automatic zero for your in-class participation grade. Missing more than 6 classes will be grounds for failing the course. Secondly, it means coming to class prepared, and preparation needs to bear fruit in the classroom. In other words, you need to strive to be an asset to the class. At times we will have opportunities for discussion; someone who is involved in class will be a thoughtful and engaged participant in that discussion. At other times, lectures will solicit your input and/or questions; an engaged student will bring up helpful and appropriate questions and be able to make a positive contribution when class input is called upon. (Using cell phones or laptops in class, unless as an approved DSS accommodation or otherwise directed by the instructor, will result in an automatic 0 for this portion of your grade. See "Computers and Cell Phones" policy below. Do yourself a favor and put your laptops and cell phones away and out sight for the duration of our class.)

I will give three marks for participation, one after each midterm and one after the final. 80-85 indicates approaching expectations. It indicates that you are regularly attending, but not necessarily a regular contributor to the class discussion. 85-90 indicates meeting expectations. It indicates that you are not only regularly attending, but that you always have your assigned reading with you, and you are regularly contributing to the class discussion. 90+ indicates exceeding expectations. Above 90 is reserved for participation that is regularly elevating the classroom discussion. This does not mean that you are always talking or dominating the discussion. But it means that, in addition to meeting expectations, your regular contribution to the class discussion habitually shows evidence of purposeful preparation of the assigned course material and reflection on previous course lectures/discussions.

Reading Quizzes/Responses (5%): Approximately once a week we will have reading quizzes and/or responses. These are low-stakes quizzes or in-class writing responses designed to motivate you too keep up with the reading and stay engaged with the course. There will be 8-12 of these quizzes throughout the semester. Because I know that everyone has busy weeks or has to miss a class, I automatically drop two quizzes. (Note: Quizzes cannot be made up, but that's why I drop two quizzes. If you have to miss a class in which a quiz was given, don't worry. That will just be one of your dropped quizzes.)

Participation Worksheets (7.5%): At various times (especially during our logic unit) you will be asked to turn in worksheets as homework before the assigned class.

Argument Analyses (15%)

Two times throughout the semester you will be asked, in class, to write an "argument analysis." This assignment is designed to help you develop the skill of tracing complicated arguments and communicating those arguments to others. Specific assignment instructions will be distributed in advance our first analysis.

Responses will be graded out of 100. A score of 90-100 indicates that the response exceeds expectations, a 80-89 meets expectations, and 79 or below does not meet expectations.

Exams (70%)

Mid-Term Exam 1 (20%): This exam will focus on the central problems of epistemology, basic logic, and common logical fallacies.

Mid-Term Exam 2 (20%): This exam will focus on the central problems of metaphysics. It will expect that you can articulate the basic metaphysical problems posed by the early pre-socratic thinkers and can generally explain how Plato and Aristotle responded to these problems.

Final Exam (30%): The longer, cumulative final exam will include short fact-based questions, quotation identification, argument analysis, and essay responses on core concepts and problems discussed during the course of the semester.

Week 1

Tue Sep 1 - Introduction.

Thu Sep 3 - Plato, Apologia (FD), pp. 21-44.

Week 2

Tue Sep 8 - "On bullshit" (M) Skepticism and the Sophists (PR), "Introduction", pp. 144-145, "Protagoras", pp. 144-147, and "Antiphon", pp. 155-160.

Thu Sep 10 - Plato, Meno, (FD), pp. 58-69; Plato, Meno, (FD), pp. 70-92.

I. Epistemology and Logic

Week 3

Tue Sep 15 - Aristotle, Posterior Analytics , (S), Book I, cc. 1-6, pp. 37-52; Book II, c. 19, pp. 66-68.

Thu Sep 17 - Notes on Categorical Logic, "Introduction", "Categorical Propositions", and "Venn Diagrams of Categorical Propositions" (M, pp. 1-4); Notes on Categorical Logic, "Categorical Syllogisms", "Venn Diagrams of Categorical Syllogisms" (M, pp. 4-7) ; (Due: Categorical Proposition Worksheet) .

Week 4

Tue Sep 22 - Notes on Categorical Logic, "Five Rules of Categorical Syllogisms and the Formal Fallacies" (M, p. 7); (Due: Categorical Syllogisms Worksheet) .

Thu Sep 24 - Hardy, et al., "Informal Fallacies" (M); Hurly, "Extended Arguments" (M); (Due: Informal Fallacies Worksheet)

Week 5

Tue Sep 29 - Descartes, Meditations, Meditation 1 (M, pp. 1-3); (Due: Extended Argument Problems (Hurly, Problems, 3-9)) .

Thu Oct 1 - Descartes, Meditations, Meditation 2 and 3 (M, pp. 3-14).

Week 6

Tue Oct 6 - David Hume, Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, VII (On the Idea of a Necessary Connection), parts 1-2 (M, pp. 1-7);

Thu Oct 8 - Mid-Term Exam 1.

II. Metaphysics

Week 7

Tue Oct 13 - Introduction, Pre-Socratics Reader (PR), pp. 1-7; Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes (PR), pp. 13-22; Heraclitus (PR), pp. 39-53.

Thu Oct 15 - Parmenides (PR), pp. 55-65; Zeno (PR), pp. 66-72; Anaxagoras (PR), pp. 101-108; Atomists (PR), pp. 109-125;

Week 8

Tue Oct 20 - Plato, Phaedo (FD), 93-107.

Thu Oct 22 - Plato, Phaedo (FD), 107-130; Plato, Phaedo (FD), 131-154; In-Class Argument Analysis 1.

Week 9

Tue Oct 27 - Finish Plato's Phaedo; No new reading

Thu Oct 29 - Aristotle, Physics (S), Book I, pp. 83-95 and Book II cc. 1-3, pp. 95-105.

Week 10

Tue Nov 3 - Aristotle, Metaphysics (S), Book I, pp. 221-240.

Thu Nov 5 - Aristotle, Metaphysics (S), Book XII, pp. 332-344; Copleston, "Metaphysics of Aristotle," (recommended, M, pp. 287-319); Aquinas, "The Five Ways" (M, pp. 1-2); Copleston and Russell, "A Debate on the Argument from Contingency", (M, pp. 1-11).

Week 11

Tue Nov 10 - "Personal Identity", Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (M, pp. 1-14);

Thu Nov 12 - Exam 2

III. Ethics

Week 12

Tue Nov 17 - Aristotle, N. Ethics (S), Book I, cc. 1-10, pp. 347-363; Aristotle, N. Ethics (S), Book I, c. 13, pp. 363-365 and Book II, cc. 1-7, pp. 366-376.

Thu Nov 19 - Aristotle, N. Ethics (S), Book III, cc. 1-5, pp. 376-388; Aristotle, N. Ethics (S), Book VI, pp. 398-410.

Week 13

Tue Nov 24 - Aristotle, N. Ethics (S), Book III c. 7, pp. 389-391; Irwin, "Homer" in Classical Thought, (M, pp. 6-19);

Thu Nov 26 - Thanksgiving Break (No class)

Week 14

Tue Dec 1 - Aristotle, N. Ethics (S), Book VIII, cc. 1-3, 9, pp. 417-422 and Book IX, cc. 4, 7-9, 12, pp. 423-432; Aristotle, N. Ethics (S), Book X, cc. 4-5, pp. 433-438; In-Class Argument Analysis 2.

Thu Dec 3 - Finish Aristotle's Ethics; No new reading

Week 15

Tue Dec 8 - Wellman, "Famine Relief: The Duties We have to Others" (M, pp. 313-325) and Cohen, "Famine Relief and Human Virtue" (M, pp. 326-342).

Week 16

Sat Dec 12, 1:00pm - Final Exam.