PHILOSOPHY : THEORIES & QUESTIONS
Grade 12 - HZT4U1 - Course Syllabus
Mr. A. Wittmann - Earl Haig S.S.
Grade 12 - HZT4U1 - Course Syllabus
Mr. A. Wittmann - Earl Haig S.S.
In this course, students will explore the origins and ongoing evolution of three (or more) of the main areas of philosophy: metaphysics, logic, epistemology, ethics, social and political philosophy, and aesthetics. Students will learn critical-thinking skills, the main philosophical ideas from a variety of the world’s traditions, how to develop and explain their own philosophical ideas, and how to apply those ideas to contemporary social issues and personal experiences.
Mr. André Wittmann, B.A., M.A., B.Ed.
Earl Haig Secondary School, Social Science Office (room 328)
100 Princess Ave., North York, ON, M2N 3R7
Tel: (416) 395-3210 ext. 20075
Email: andre.wittmann@tdsb.on.ca
Students MUST use their TDSB email account to access the Brightspace and for school communication.
All work MUST be submitted to Brightspace.
Students and parents will be invited to Brightspace at the beginning of the course.
The school library provides a research page on it's website.
All course materials are available on this website.
This course is structured as an introductory university philosophy course and will focus on note-taking, summarizing, reading, discussion, and academic-scholarly writing skills.
Learning strategies will include lectures, discussion seminars, and written assignments.
Attendance: The student is expected to attend class on time. Parents/guardians will be contacted if lates/attendance becomes an issue/hindrance. If the student knows about an absence in advance, they should contact the teacher.
Plagiarism/Cheating: A mark of 0 will be assigned for any work submitted that does not belong to the student. A mark of 0 will be assigned to a student who was found to have cheated. Parents/guardians will be informed.
Missed Work: If a student is absent from class, (e.g. illness, sports team) it is their responsibility to find out what they have missed and to catch up. The student is responsible for completing all of the work that was missed due to an absence. If a student misses an assignment or test without a legitimate explanation and documentation, marks up to and including the full value of the evaluation may be deducted. Make-up tests must be arranged to be written.
Late Work: Late work may result in a deduction of marks up to and including the full value of the evaluation.
90% of homework readings are primary source readings.
Students are encouraged to complete external research and use any aids to assist in reading these philosophical works.
Students are encouraged to read SparkNotes along with your readings.
philosophypages.com & plato.stanford.edu are very helpful websites (see Resources page for more aids).
Rich Culminating Tasks completed throughout the course
Course evaluations incorporate one or more of the achievement categories (KICA)
Knowledge and Understanding = 17.5%
Communication = 17.5%
Application = 17.5%
Thinking and Inquiry = 17.5%
You will submit, on the due date, to Brightspace.
No hard copy required.
All assignments are evaluated and included in the course mark.
Assignments will be due on a Friday at 11:59pm.
But late marks will not be deduced until Monday at 12:01am, 48 hours later.
After which, 0.5 out of 10 marks per school day will be deducted from each category.
A missed test or quiz will receive a mark of zero unless an official doctor’s note is provided.
After an official documentation is provided, a make-up test will be scheduled.
30% of your final grade
Summative evaluation held at the end of the course
Encompassing the entire course and covering the four categories of achievement
Usually an Expository Essay Assignment (15%) and a Formal Exam (15%)
Unit homework completion
Class participation
Learning skills provide Information to help students understand what skills, habits & behaviours are needed to work on, to be successful.
These are not connected with any numerical mark.
Responsibility, Organization, Independent Work, Collaboration, Initiative and Self-Regulation
E – Excellent, G – Good, S – Satisfactory, N – Needs Improvement
Marks entered into PowerSchool by category
Use this chart to track your progress
TASK (equally weighted) K/U (17.5%) AP (17.5%) CO (17.5%) T/I (17.5%) SUM (15%) EXAM (15%) FINAL MARK (100%)
1. Unit 1 Test /25 /10 /10 /10
2. Annotated Bibliography /10 /10 /10 /10
3. Unit 2 Test /25 /10 /10 /10
4. Thesis Proposal /10 /10 /10 /10
5. Unit 3 Test /10 /10 /10 /10
Total term marks /70 /50 /50 /50
Total term marks as a % /100 /100 /100 /100 /100 /100
Total term category mark /17.5 /17.5 /17.5 /17.5 /15 /15 /100
Seminars are designed as opportunities for discussion and debate of issues related to course material.
All students are required to actively participate in the discussions and will be assessed for participation according to this rubric.
Thus attendance essential.
Students divided into groups to discuss the reading and brainstorm questions for the rest of the class.
Students should connect the reading to a news item, current issue, life experience, historical event, readings, lectures, other courses.
A. Knowledge/Understanding
How well your participation demonstrates your understanding of the material from the seminar readings, lectures and homework readings.
Incomplete 0 Needs Improvement 5 Satisfactory 6 or 7 Good 8 or 9 Excellent 9.5 or 10
B. Think/Inquiry
How well your participation connects your ideas & opinions to the topics, theories and philosophers studied to the seminar topic.
Incomplete 0 Needs Improvement 5 Satisfactory 6 or 7 Good 8 or 9 Excellent 9.5 or 10
C. Application
How well your participation uses a news item, current issue, life experience, historical event, readings, lectures, and other subjects to explain your ideas & opinions about the topics, theories and philosophers studied and seminar topic.
Incomplete 0 Needs Improvement 5 Satisfactory 6 or 7 Good 8 or 9 Excellent 9.5 or 10
D. Communication
How well your participation effectively orally expressed all these connections in the discussion.
Incomplete 0 Needs Improvement 5 Satisfactory 6 or 7 Good 8 or 9 Excellent 9.5 or 10
Students should complete and submit to Brightspace the weekly review question
Responses should be 100-300 words.
A. Originality (knowledge/understanding)
Similarity to others according to Brightspace
Appropriate sources
Incomplete 0 Needs Improvement 5 Satisfactory 6 or 7 Good 8 or 9 Excellent 9.5 or 10
B. Language & Length (communication)
How effectively you answered the question
Proper citations
Incomplete 0 Needs Improvement 5 Satisfactory 6 or 7 Good 8 or 9 Excellent 9.5 or 10
C. Logic & Reasoning (application)
Clear, concise, appropriate arguments
Submitted to Brightspace on time
Incomplete 0 Needs Improvement 5 Satisfactory 6 or 7 Good 8 or 9 Excellent 9.5 or 10
D. Philosophical Inquiry (think/inquiry)
Effectively connected your ideas & opinions to the topic & to philosophers studied
Incomplete 0 Needs Improvement 5 Satisfactory 6 or 7 Good 8 or 9 Excellent 9.5 or 10
Unit 1, Lesson 2, Reflection Question: Define autonomy. How does philosophy promote autonomy?
Autonomy is the capacity for self-governance and independent thought, where an individual acts according to their own reasoned judgment rather than external coercion or unexamined biases. It signifies the ability to make choices and decisions based on one's own values, beliefs, and understanding, taking responsibility for the consequences of those actions. It necessitates a critical engagement with one's own assumptions and the prevailing societal norms.
Bertrand Russell's The Problems of Philosophy, illustrate how the study of philosophy can significantly promote autonomous thinking by fostering a critical and questioning mindset. He emphasizes the value of philosophical inquiry not for definitive answers, but for its ability to enlarge our understanding and liberate us from the confines of common sense and prejudice. He argues that philosophy, by questioning fundamental assumptions, "removes the somewhat arrogant dogmatism and it keeps alive our sense of wonder by showing familiar things in an unfamiliar aspect." This act of questioning is crucial for autonomous thought.
By engaging with philosophical problems, individuals are compelled to analyze arguments, identify logical fallacies, and construct coherent justifications for their own perspectives. This process of rigorous intellectual engagement strengthens the capacity for independent reasoning. Russell suggests that by exploring diverse philosophical perspectives, we transcend our limited personal viewpoints and consider a broader range of possibilities, thus becoming more capable of forming our own informed judgments. This expansion of intellectual horizons is essential for moving beyond simply accepting pre-existing ideas and instead, actively constructing one's own understanding of the world, a hallmark of autonomous thinking. Therefore, philosophy's encouragement of doubt, critical analysis, and the exploration of diverse viewpoints directly contributes to the development of an individual's capacity for genuine self-direction and independent thought.