Syllabus

Phil 100A

Syllabus

H. Kornblith

Office Hours: MW 10-11 360 Bartlett Hall

kornblith@philos.umass.edu

545-5787

Philosophy 100A: Introduction to Philosophy

REQUIRED TEXTS:

Plato, Gorgias

John Stuart Mill, Utilitarianism

Bertrand Russell, Problems of Philosophy

W. V. Quine & J. S. Ullian, The Web of Belief, second edition

Please make sure that you buy the Hackett editions of Plato and Mill. In the case of Plato, it will be important that you have the same translation as the rest of the class. In the case of Mill, it will be important to have an edition of Mill with the same page numbers as the rest of the class.

WRITTEN WORK:

There will be two mid-term exams and a comprehensive final. All of these will be essay exams. In addition, there will be two one-page take-home essays. Work on the take-home exams is to be done independently: you may not work co-operatively with other students on these exams. See the class schedule for dates.

Each take-home exam will count for 10% of your grade. Each mid-term exam will count for 20%. The final exam will count for 40%.

CLASS ATTENDANCE:

Attending class, and the weekly discussion sections with your teaching assistants, is not optional; it is required. You will not be able to understand these texts on your own, and you will not be prepared for the exams, if you do not attend all lectures and discussion sections. You will be held responsible for the content of every lecture and discussion section.

LECTURE SLIDES:

Each lecture will be accompanied by a series of slides highlighting important points. These will be posted after each lecture on the class schedule: click on the date of the lecture to see the slides for that date.

READING:

Readings for each lecture are indicated on the class schedule. You are responsible for doing the reading before each lecture for which it is listed. In addition, you should then read the material again, after each lecture. If you do not understand the relationship between the reading and the lecture, bring questions about this either to the lecture, to your discussion section, or to office hours. You will be held responsible for the content of all readings.

STUDY QUESTIONS

Study questions are available on the course webpage. As we discuss each topic in lecture, you should prepare written answers to the questions. These answers should then be reviewed with the instructor or with your teaching assistant. Although the answers you prepare will not be graded, reviewing these answers provides you with feedback, prior to the exams, to let you know whether you adequately understand the material. If you can satisfactorily answer these questions–and that means to the satisfaction of the instructor or your teaching assistant–then you are well-prepared for the exam. Just looking over the questions to see if you think you can answer them is not adequate. Writing out answers which satisfy you is not adequate either. You need to bring these answers to us–your instructors–to get our feedback. Only then will you know whether you have an adequate understanding of these issues. Do not wait to do this until just before the exams. You need to do this on an ongoing basis.

ACADEMIC HONESTY

The University policy on academic honesty will be rigorously enforced. If you are not familiar with it, read it now. It is posted at:

http://www.umass.edu/dean_students/uploads/listWidget/25145/Code%20of%20Student%20Conduct%202013-2014.pdf

If you have any questions about it at all, please ask. If anyone should violate the Academic Honesty Policy in this class, I will recommend to the University Ombudsperson that the appropriate penalty is to receive a grade of F for the course.

MISSED EXAMS

Dates for the two mid-term exams are now scheduled, as are the dates for the one-page take-home exams. Look at the class schedule now to see whether you have any conflicts. If you do, contact the instructor now. If you miss the exam for any reason, contact the instructor as soon as possible to arrange for a make-up exam. Do not wait until you are back in class to contact the instructor. As soon as you know that you will miss the exam, send an e-mail to inform me that you will miss it. Unexcused absences from an exam will result in a grade of 0 on that exam. If you have an appropriate excuse, the sooner you contact me the better. If you do not contact me about missing an exam within five calendar days of the exam, you will receive a grade of 0 for that exam. As soon as the registrar assigns a date for the final, that date will be posted on the course webpage. Please notify me about potential conflicts as soon as possible. If you miss the final exam, and have an appropriate excuse, again, prompt notification is crucial. If I do not hear from you within two calendar days of the final exam, you will receive a grade of 0 for that exam.

Late papers will not be accepted for the take-home exams. These exams are due in class on the dates indicated on the class schedule. If you cannot attend class for some reason, make alternative arrangements to get your exam to your TA on time.

GRADING

Your teaching assistants will be grading your exams. If you have questions about a grade you have received, you need to speak with your teaching assistant about it.

TEACHING ASSISTANTS

The teaching assistants for this course are:

Haoying Liu haoying@philos.umass.edu Office hours: T Th 11 - 12 Bartlett 372

Hayley Webster hwebster@philos.umass.edu Office hours: M 1:00 - 3:00 Bartlett 372