Philosophy of living syllabus

The Western Identity, Honors 13597-001 (CRN 15673); Jeffrey Wattles

Monday and Wednesday, 5:30-6:45, Johnson Hall, Room 64

The Western Identity, Honors 13597-002 (CRN 15674); Jeffrey Wattles

Monday and Wednesday, 2:15-3:30, Johnson Hall, Room 55

This class helps prepare you for world citizenship. World War I (1914-18) was profoundly disillusioning in the West, since the countries that were most advanced in Western civilization had been tearing each other to shreds. In their disillusionment, many people turned against ideals of truth, beauty, and goodness as though these ideals had been tried and found wanting. In addition, then as now, the West has been found guilty of materialism, selfishness, abuse of power, individualism, false freedom, racism, and religious intolerance. Our course together will spend some time examining such criticisms; however, most of our time will be invested in responding constructively: cultivating the soil for growth in habits that may one day spread widely enough to make the criticisms obsolete. Students will design and carry out projects of living in truth, beauty, and goodness; students will adapt the ideas proposed to what they feel good about putting into practice.

Texts. 1. If you order online: W.E.B. DuBois, The Souls of Black Folk (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.

ISBN-10: 1484833392. $4.99

If you are using your financial aid in the bookstore: W.E.B. Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk (Oxford World Classic $12.95/$9.75, ISBN 9780199555833).

2. Plato, Five Dialogues (Hackett: 2^nd ed. 978-0-87220-633-5) $8.99

3. John G. Neihardt, Black Elk Speaks: The Premier Edition, State University of New York Press, 2008: 978-1438425405. List $19.95.

4. Other documents will be supplied by the instructor.

Expectations (grading). (1) Class participation includes regular, punctual attendance; reading and journaling done before class; no use of technology during class except as explicitly permitted by the instructor; coming to class with questions, comments, and experiences to share; and treating each person in the group with respect. We are a community of inquiry, and our interaction has a life of its own; so you are expected to attend regularly, be on time and biologically ready for class, have the reading done, and be ready to participate. Missing more than four classes can affect your grade. If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to get notes from someone else, to see the instructor if you still have questions, and to ask the instructor for anything handed back during your absence. In case of an epidemic or other emergency, arrangements will be made for computer-based interaction. If you miss four weeks of class, how can I pass you? (10% unless participation is quite poor).

(2) Two project reports (around 10 pages each) (30% each). One more thing about the papers. Writing is so important for your future role; English well used is important for our world, especially when so much communicating is mediated by machines; and it is a vital skill that school sometimes fails to teach. If I don’t fuss about writing, you should see what some folks hand in! So I fuss, and I generally get quite decent writing. Thus papers must be well written to receive a C or above. It’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with the Writing Center’s services and its website: http://dept.kent.edu/english/WritingCent/writngcenter.htm . Speaking of communication, the University obliges you to check your Flashline e-mail address. If I have messages to send to the whole class, e.g., about changing a syllabus assignment, or keeping in touch in the case of an emergency, I will use those addresses.

(3) Four quizzes including the final (total 30%—the lowest grade will be dropped). If you feel you have a reason to request an alternative to any of the assignments, please speak with the instructor. Third, there are three quizzes (including the final--10 points each), mostly multiple-choice; later quizzes will touch on material covered in earlier quizzes. Record grades as you receive them. I no longer provide the service of calculating the grade for students prior to the final exam.

I do not use Blackboard Learn for my classes. As I develop my own website with materials for this course, I will let you know; some of the materials I will use are listed for other courses, but there is no course page developed for you all yet. https://sites.google.com/a/kent.edu/jwattles/

Office hours in 320H Bowman Hall: MW 3:30 - 4:30, 6:45-7:15 and by appointment: jwattles@kent.edu.

University policy 3342-3-01.8 deals with the problem of academic dishonesty, cheating, and plagiarism. None of these will be tolerated in this class. The sanctions provided in this policy will be used to deal with any violations. If you have any questions, please read the policy at http://www.kent.edu/policyreg/policydetails.cfm?customel_datapageid_1976529=2037779.

University policy 3342-3-01.3 requires that students with disabilities be provided reasonable accommodations to ensure their equal access to course content. If you have a documented disability and require accommodations, please contact the instructor at the beginning of the semester to make arrangements for necessary classroom adjustments. Please note, you must first verify your eligibility for these through Student Accessibility Services (contact 330-672-3391 or visit www.kent.edu/sas for more information on registration procedures).

University policy requires all students to be officially registered in each class they are attending. Students who are not officially registered for a course by published deadlines should not be attending classes and will not receive credit or a grade for the course. Each student must confirm enrollment by checking his/her class schedule (using Student Tools in FlashLine) prior to the deadline indicated. Registration errors must be corrected prior to the deadline.

The Philosophy Department Grievance Procedure for handling student grievances is in conformity with the Student Academic Complaint Policy and Procedures set down as University Policy 3342-4-16 in the University Policy Register. For information concerning the details of the grievance procedure, please see the Dean of the Honors College.

Policy on the use of technology

In addition to specific course objectives, my goals are to foster educational growth for each student, to whet appetites and promote discovery, and to provide a classroom environment where each student is supported as well as challenged. My ethical standard is the golden rule: Treat others as you want others to treat you.

To learn effectively, we need to focus. When we focus at our best, we engage all our powers of mind, soul, and body. Focus is broken if we are distracted by cell phones and laptops. At least half of the laptops used in class take attention away from class. The user is distracted, and others are affected, too. Think about the message that this activity communicates to the instructor and conveys to other students.

My policy on technology is designed to promote the good of the whole. Research show that the widespread overuse of social media inhibits brain development in the areas that support empathy, reflective thinking, and responsible decision-making. Neuroscientists have shown that multi-tasking seriously compromises the attention to each task. Measuring distraction, researchers found that driving while talking on a cell phone is like driving drunk. Decades ago, educational psychologists said that students’ attention span in a lecture was 20 minutes; John Medina now says it’s 10 minutes. Concern is mounting about how technology use can become compulsive and addictive; many people suffer from a mild form of attention-deficit disorder. There are consequences for our ability to achieve personal goals and for our society’s competitiveness in a global economy.

For these reasons, I have decided to join the many other faculty members who are creating policies to restrict classroom use of technology. I have chosen the following policy. All cell phones and laptops are to be turned off and put away. The surface of the desk is to be clear, free of book bags, purses, and other barriers except for the textbook and writing materials. When I see a student using a cell phone or a laptop, I will deduct one percent from that student’s course grade. When such action seems necessary, I will immediately notify the student by e-mail, and there will be a chance to clear up any misunderstanding.

If you believe that there are good reasons to make an exception for you, speak with me. I profoundly regret the conditions that require me to enforce this policy and complicate our educational relationship. However, I hope that you will rise above this disciplinary aspect and help us the standard affirmed in the Kent State University motto: Excellence in action.

Schedule of activities

Week 1. 8/26. Introductions. Rabindranath Tagore’s 1915 letter to C.F. Andrews. Truth, beauty, and goodness discovered, interpreted, betrayed, recovered, and advanced—by you.

28. Read (assigned reading is always to be done before class) and prepare to discuss chapters 1, 2, and 4 in the Philosophy of Living document e-mailed to you by the instructor. Begin daily journaling of your adventure in scientific living. The journal you will not hand in, but it will support your participation in class, and it will be a prime resource for writing the Experience Report.

Week 2. September 2. Labor Day: Classes cancelled.

9/4. Read chapter 3 (same document), and hand in a 1-2 page (typed, double-spaced) discussion of your project plans and efforts thus far.

Week 3. 9/9. Read the e-mailed notes on The Souls of Black Folk, plus Du Bois, chapter V; and hand in your responses to the questionnaire on page 5 of the notes. It is suggested that you do most of the reading for the week by Monday, so that you lighten your load for the Wednesday class.

9/11. Du Bois, Chapters IX-X.

Week 4. 9/16. Du Bois, Chapter XII and the Afterthought. The concept of personality and the critique of Western individualism.

9/18. A Muslim critique of the West as embracing false freedom.

Week 5. 9/23. Scientific research relevant to aesthetics (e-mailed).

9/25. Scientific research relevant to ethics (e-mailed). Quiz #1 on the chapters on scientific living, cultural discussions, and on Du Bois (today’s reading will also be gently covered on the quiz).

Week 6. 9/30. Turn in Paper #1. Lecture on Zera Jacob, 18^th century Ethiopian Jewish feminist, who used the golden rule to criticize Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Examination of the logic of this critique.

10/2. Sharing project results.

Week 7. 10/7 We here launch a unit on spiritual experience, since spiritual experience is a primary source of our relation to value, and interpreting the meaning of value is a component in philosophical living (Project 2, which is scheduled to be completed before the last two weeks of the semester). Read the e-mailed chapter on theistic and non-theistic varieties of spiritual or peak experience.

10/9. A follow-up e-mailed chapter on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth.

Week 8. 10/14. Hand in a statement on your individual interpretation and adaptation of spirituality in practice. Note: Persons can do excellently well in every component of this course whether or not they embrace any religious belief, and no matter how they interpret the concept of spirituality. Lecture on Western Christianity among the world religions.

10/16. Discussion continued. Quiz #2 (note: this quiz and the remaining quizzes will have some questions that review material covered on previous quizzes).

Week 9. 10/21. Philosophical living #1 e-mailed.

10/23. Philosophical living #2 e-mailed.

Week 10. 10/28. The Apology of Socrates [note: “apology” means defense].

10/30. The Crito; read this as carefully as you possibly can, and more than once.

Week 11. 11/4. Selections from Plato’s Phaedo (on the separation of soul and body in death).

11/6. Read on Descartes (e-mailed); discussion of the structure of the personality and the critique of “Western dualism.”

Week 12. 11/11. Veterans Day. No classes.

11/13. Read e-mailed selections from The Golden Rule.

Week 13. 11/18. Paper #2 due. Continued discussion of the golden rule.

11/20. Sharing of the project harvest. Quiz #3.

Week 14. 11/25. Black Elk Speaks chapters 1-3 (read through the first of chapter four, until where Standing Bear begins to speak).

11/27. Black Elk Speaks chapters 13-16.

Week 15. 12/2. Black Elk Speaks chapters 24-25.

12/4. Review of our discussions of the West and its cultural interactions. Course evaluation.

Quiz #4 and discussion about our experience in the class:

Section 1: Tuesday, December 10, 5:45-8:00.

Section 2: Monday, December 9, 5:45-8:00.