Philosophy 100 – Introduction to Philosophy	Karl Hillstrom
Fall Quarter 2004	Office: B100F
5:30 – 7:40 p.m. M/W in N 204	Office Hours: 4:30 – 5:15, Mon/Wed
Section D, Item # 1832	office extension: 425-564-4129 (not yet sure voice mailbox messages will get to me)
	e-mail: khillstr@bcc.ctc.edu
	Mailbox: R230

Philosophy 100 Introduction to Philosophy Investigates the problems and history of philosophy through a careful study of some original writings of the great philosophers on issues of lasting importance.

THIS SYLLABUS IS A GUIDE. IT REPRESENTS HOW THINGS SHOULD GO, BUT IT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A GUARANTEE. ALL ITEMS SET DOWN HERE ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE AT THE DISCRETION OF THE INSTRUCTOR WHEN SUCH CHANGES ARE DEEMED NECESSARY OR APPROPRIATE.

The Americans with Disability Act of 1990 prohibits discrimination in education on the basis of disability.

Students with disabilities who have accommodation needs are required to meet with the Director of Disability Support Services to establish their eligibility for accommodation. (room B233-G, 425-564-2498 or TTY 425-603-4110) In addition, students are encouraged to review their accommodation requirements with each instructor during the first week of the quarter.

WHAT THE COURSE WILL BE LIKE

The catalog course description allows the instructor the flexibility to do almost anything. I want us to explore what it means to be a human being. We will explore this with a specific focus: the self as individual vs. the self as part of a larger whole -- one's political society, one's economic class, one's species, spiritually and biologically.

We will read primary literature -- the works of famous philosophers themselves. This is usually pretty difficult. But the ideas we will explore are supposed to be basic. I will give you clues to what to look for when you read. This, combined with the practice you will get over the quarter, will make the reading easier.

In class, I will usually lecture at first, and then when we get to the main idea of the day, I will encourage discussion of it. First, we want to be sure we understand what the author is saying. Then we will discuss whether we agree with the author’s ideas.

Philosophy is about arguments -- giving reasons in logical support of one’s positions. We will explore the positions and arguments of philosophers and debate them to (hopefully) help us come up with well-grounded opinions of our own.

ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADING

There are four things that impact your grade: essays, exams, informal writing, and participation in discussion.

You must submit two essays receiving passing grades to pass the course. Essay questions and other details will be provided later. Essays should be 1000-1500 words in length.

There will be two exams. The date of the first will be announced at least one week in advance. The second will occur during our scheduled final exam period. The final is NOT cumulative. You may NOT arrange to take the final early -- NO exceptions. Exams consist of brief essays summarizing the main points of the texts covered in class. You must pass one exam to pass the class. Make up exams are only offered for extreme extraordinary circumstances. Both exams are averaged to determine this portion of your grade.

Informal writings are your reactions to the assigned readings. You may “think out loud” about parts you don’t understand, or react to the questions on the reading list or write anything else that shows that you did (at least part of) the reading and thought about what you read - your reaction, NOT a summary. You may do this as often as once a week, but quality means more than quantity. 200-600 words is a guideline, but not a requirement. Your best four will count toward this portion of your grade. You may do more to increase your chance at the participation bonus described next.

Participating in class discussions, along with the informal writing, demonstrates your involvement in creating a good learning environment in the class. After the essays and exams determine your “base” grade, you may receive up to a 2/3 letter grade bonus based on these other factors.

If the average of your exams is higher than that of your essays, then I average the exam and essay grades to establish your base grade.

If the average of your essays is higher than the average of your exams, then I use the essay average only, unless the exam average is more than a letter grade lower, in which case your base grade is one letter grade above the exam average.

ATTENDANCE

Four absenses makes a student ineligible for a grade above 'B', six absenses ... 'C', eight absesnses ... 'D', ten absenses results in automatic failure. ( Please note that arts and humanities division policy is much less lenient.) Absenses can be counted as halves for those arriving/leaving at the mid-class break.

Many actions are more disruptive than some students realize: arriving late, leaving early, packing up to leave early, obviously not paying attention, ringing cell phones or beepers, etc. The following policy applies to all those actions (and others, as necessary): (first week, no penalty, then one more for free, then …) first offense, marked absent; second offense, counts as two absences (that's three total); third offense, three absences (that's makes six!); and so on.

ACADEMIC HONESTY

If you submit an essay that is all or mostly plagiarized, you will fail the course. Submitting work that paraphrases others' work is still plagiarism. The basic substance of each essay must be your own to avoid plagiarizing, simply substituting some synonyms for words in the works of others is also still plagiarism. (So often it's just so easy to spot!)

REQUIRED TEXTS

Dawkins, Richard. The Selfish Gene (Oxford)

Locke, John. Second Treatise of Government (Hackett)

Mill, John Stuart. On Liberty (Hackett)

Quinn, Daniel. Ishmael: An Adventure of the Mind and Spirit (Bantam)

Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. The Basic Political Writings (Hackett)

Singer, Peter. Hegel: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford)