MT. SAN ANTONIO COLLEGE | FALL SEMESTER | 2026 | PHIL 9

Professor David Christopher Lane, Ph.D.

CRN 22266 | Course Hours: 54, 3 units

Office hours via email directly and TBA

WELCOME TO PHILOSOPHY | CRITICAL THINKING and WRITING

Key Guideline: Everything you need for this course is listed on this page. Read it carefully and systematically. Each week you are provided with reading materials and films and essay questions. Your professor is here to help and available 24/7 via email at dlane@mtsac.edu.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

PHIL 9 Critical Thinking and Writing

SLO 1: Students will be able to distinguish inductive and deductive arguments.

SLO 2: Students will be able to identify the premises/reasons for supporting the conclusion within an argument.

SLO 3: Students will be able to evaluate arguments (Strong/Weak, Valid/Invalid).

SLO 4: Students will learn to analyze informal fallacies.

SLO 5: Students will be able to develop a thesis statement that advances a clear argument.

SLO 6: Students will demonstrate proficiency (precision, clarity, organization) in argumentative writing (with a min. of 6,000 words for the semester), where positions are defended and ideas are explored.

BE SURE TO FOLLOW MLA FORMAT IN YOUR WRITING.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the course.

This course is designed to help you become a more critical thinker and a more effective writer. Throughout the semester, we will explore a wide range of fascinating and sometimes controversial subjects—including religion, mathematics, physics, psychology, biology, science, and philosophy—with one central goal: learning how to examine ideas carefully, question assumptions, evaluate evidence, and express your conclusions clearly and persuasively.

Rather than simply memorizing information, you will be asked to think about what you are learning. What makes an argument convincing? How do we distinguish fact from opinion? How do we recognize exaggeration, faulty reasoning, hidden assumptions, and unsupported claims? And, perhaps most importantly, how can we communicate our own ideas with greater clarity and intellectual precision?

Writing will therefore be at the heart of this course.

During the semester, each student will complete eight distinct essays, with each essay consisting of at least 1,000 words. Your essays should demonstrate thoughtful engagement with the assigned material and should be carefully revised, edited, and proofread before final submission.

You will also complete one midterm and one final examination, both of which will be essay-based.

Each student will create a personal course website that will serve as an ongoing digital portfolio of your work. Your essays, examinations, posts, and other required assignments should be preserved on this website. At the designated times during the semester, you will email your professor a link to your site for review.

Think of your website as a record of your intellectual journey through the course—a place where you can see how your thinking and writing develop over the semester.

COURSE RESOURCES

A large collection of free materials has been developed to supplement the course. You are encouraged to explore these resources throughout the semester.

General Website:
http://www.neuralsurfer.com

Neural Surfer YouTube Channel — Original Films:
http://www.youtube.com/user/neuralsurfer

Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/neuralsurfer

Professor's Email:
dlane@mtsac.edu

Communication

If you have a question, encounter a problem, or are confused about an assignment, please contact me. Online students should email me at:

dlane@mtsac.edu

I generally respond within 24 hours. If you have not received a response within two days, there is a good chance that I did not receive your original message. Please email me again. I would much rather have you contact me twice than remain uncertain about what you are supposed to do.

COURSE INSTRUCTIONS

1. Create Your Personal Course Website

Each student must create a free personal website, preferably using Google Sites:

https://sites.google.com/

Google also provides an updated instructional video explaining how to create your site:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mnYs7aocg8

Your website will function as your personal portfolio for the semester. Be sure that your website is publicly accessible so that your professor can review it.

2. Keep a Copy of Everything

Post and preserve everything you complete for this course on your website, including your essays, discussion posts, midterm, final, extra-credit work, and other required assignments.

By the end of the semester, your website should provide a complete record of your work and intellectual progress.

3. Complete the Assigned Readings

Do all assigned readings to the best of your ability. Certain readings may be appropriate for careful skimming rather than word-for-word reading, provided that you understand the central ideas, arguments, and concepts being presented.

The goal is not simply to finish a reading assignment. The goal is to understand it well enough to think critically about it.

4. Watch the Assigned Films

Watch all assigned films and audiovisual presentations. These have been selected or created specifically to complement the readings and introduce important ideas in a more visual and accessible format.

5. Participate in Canvas Discussions

Post your required essay responses to the appropriate Canvas discussion forums according to the course schedule.

These forums are an important part of the class because they allow you to encounter perspectives other than your own. Read what your classmates have written, consider their arguments, and participate thoughtfully when appropriate.

Be sure to preserve copies of your discussion posts—and selected interactions with classmates—on your personal website.

6. Ask Questions

If something is unclear, ask.

One of the purposes of education is to become comfortable asking questions, especially when dealing with difficult ideas. I am available by email throughout the semester and welcome your questions.

Email: dlane@mtsac.edu

TEACHER-STUDENT INTERACTION

One of the challenges of an online course is creating the kind of intellectual connection that naturally occurs in a traditional classroom. To help bridge that distance, I have spent the past twenty years developing an extensive collection of original educational materials specifically designed to make philosophy, science, and religion more vivid and engaging.

This includes more than 150 original mini-visual films exploring important questions in philosophy, science, religion, consciousness, and related fields.

Think of these films as visual and auditory lectures from your professor. They are intended not merely to provide information, but to stimulate curiosity, raise questions, and encourage you to look at familiar subjects from unfamiliar perspectives.

In addition, we have created more than 500 original books, essays, and pamphlets dealing with philosophy and related subjects. These materials are available free of charge as PDFs and interactive texts.

This remains an ongoing project. New materials will continue to be added, giving you access to an unusually large digital library that can be explored anytime and anywhere you have Internet access.

Most importantly, although this is an online course, you are not on your own.

I am available throughout the semester by email to answer questions, clarify assignments, discuss problems, and help you successfully navigate the course.

Contact: dlane@mtsac.edu

IMPORTANT ACADEMIC INTEGRITY NOTICE

Plagiarism will not be tolerated.

The purpose of this course is to develop your ability to think, analyze, and write. Therefore, the work you submit must genuinely represent your own thinking and writing.

Take pride in developing your own intellectual voice. Your writing does not have to be perfect. It does, however, have to be yours.

STUDENT-TO-STUDENT INTERACTION

Education is not simply a conversation between a professor and a student. Some of the most interesting insights can emerge when students encounter people who see the same question very differently.

For that reason, the Canvas discussion forums are an important part of this course.

Use them not merely as places to submit assignments, but as opportunities to exchange ideas, compare interpretations, challenge assumptions, and learn from one another.

You do not have to agree with your classmates. In fact, thoughtful disagreement can be one of the most valuable parts of an education. What matters is that disagreements remain respectful, reasoned, and focused on ideas rather than individuals.

Post your required essay responses to Canvas and take time to read what other students have written. When appropriate, respond thoughtfully and constructively.

Finally, keep copies of your own posts—and selected student interactions that you find particularly interesting—on your personal course website. I will review your portfolio at midterm and again at the end of the semester.

The larger purpose of all of this is simple: to help you become a sharper thinker, a stronger writer, and a more careful evaluator of the extraordinary—and sometimes misleading—world of ideas around us.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

WEEK ONE WEBSITE

_______________________________________________

GRADING

A= Securing a B+ or higher on the midterm and final and doing all the required readings and watching all of the required films. Also completing each of the assigned essays and receiving a B+ grade or higher.

B= Securing a B- or higher on the midterm and final and doing all the required readings and watching all of the required films. Also completing each of the assigned essays and receiving a passing grade.

C= Securing a C- or higher on the midterm and final and doing most of the required readings and watching most of the required films. Also completing each of the assigned essays and receiving a passing grade.

D= Securing a D- or higher on the midterm and final and doing some of the required readings and watching some of the required films. Also completing most of the assigned essays and receiving a D grade or higher.

F= Not doing the required work for this course.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Cheating and Plagiarism

The term “Cheating” includes but is not limited to:

• Plagiarism

• Receiving or knowingly supplying unauthorized information

• Using unauthorized material or sources

• Changing an answer after work has been graded and presenting it as improperly

graded

• Illegally accessing confidential information through a computer

• Taking an examination for another student or having another person take an

examination for you

• Presenting another person’s work as your own

• Forging or altering registration or grade documents

• Submitting collectively developed work as your own, unless specifically allowed by

the professor

A professor who determines that a student has cheated may give the student a failing grade

for the assignment and should report the alleged academic dishonesty to the Student Life

Office, which will maintain a record of the report and appropriate action under the

provisions of the Administrative Procedures on Student Discipline (AP 5520).

Students are advised that allegations of dishonesty are serious, and can lead to disciplinary

sanctions including suspension and expulsion. (AP 4290).

For webpage: http://www.mtsac.edu/distancelearning/_resources/2013-

14_Catalog_StudentHonestyPolicy_1.pdf

_______________________________________

Disability Accommodations

Students with disabilities, whether physical, learning, or psychological, who believe that they

may need accommodations in this class, are encouraged to contact Disabled Students

Programs & Services (DSPS) as soon as possible to ensure that such accommodations are

implemented in a timely manner. Their phone number is (909) 274-4290 and they are located

in the Student Services Building, Room 9B. Webpage: http://www.mtsac.edu/dsps/

The Neuralsurfer website founded in 1994 is designed to present a variety of information

for free via books, magazines, circulars, forums, and films.