Phil 101: Introduction to Philosophy

As you might expect, your grade will depend on how well you demonstrate you understand, and have thought about, material brought up in readings, lectures, presentations, and discussion. If and when any independent research is required (normally it's not), your grade will also depend on the quality of that research and on demonstrating you understand and have thought carefully about the material. Grades will be derived as follows:

Speaking & listening:

5% participation

Writing:

10% Reading responses
30% Three papers @ 10% each

Exams:

10% Midterm exam 1
15% Midterm exam 2
30% Final exam

Speaking & listening

Participation means showing you are thinking about the course. That is not hard. The best way is to participate in class discussions, but you can also get credit for discussing course-related things outside of class: in person, by e-mail, or posting to the open forum on Moodle. You can earn up to one point per class meeting (i.e., three points per normal week). Earning one point per week, by whatever means, will earn you a B (85%) for participation. Participating less often earns a lower grade; more often earns a higher grade. Seventeen points total, with at least one point earned per week, will get you an A+ (100%).

Writing

Reading responses: Each assignment includes some reading questions. Asking you to write answers to all of them would be too demanding. So I ask that you answer some, and that you do it regularly. Here's what I mean by "some" and "regularly": at least once per week, write a response to at least one reading question, before class, in the forums set up on Moodle. (If Moodle is down, e-mail it to me.)

Reading responses are graded credit/no credit. To get credit, yours should:

Be on time. Your response should be in the right Moodle forum (they are here) and time-stamped by one hour before class starts. (Suggestion: turn them in the evening before class.)
Total at least 200 words. I mean, your answer(s) should total at least 200 words. Putting in your name, typing in the question, bibliographies, etc. do not count. Answering more than one reading question per assignment counts as one response.
Respond thoughtfully and completely to one or more reading questions.
Be carefully proofread, and meet the academic integrity requirements for all writing in this course (for example, just giving a "Works Cited" at the end is not enough; you must cite within your response). Too many/too serious errors in citation, grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc. will keep a response from getting credit. Integrity problems may also be charged as violations of DePauw's Academic Integrity Policy.

To earn a B (85%), do one passing reading response per week. To earn an A+ (100%), do at least one response each week (passing or not), with a total of seventeen passing responses during the semester.

If you find these instructions confusing, my apologies! Let me try explaining a different way:

First, to do one passing reading response, try answering one reading question. If your answer is at least 200 words and it meets the other criteria in the assignment (on time, answers the question thoughtfully, meets the requirements for integrity and proofreading) it gets credit for one reading response. If it's not at least 200 words, try answering another question until you've got at least 200 words total. But no matter how many of that assignment's questions you answer, it's still just one reading response.

Second, to get an A+ for the assignment, you need 17 passing responses. There are 14 weeks of class. So, doing more than one passing response every week would be more than you need. All you need to do is turn in one per week and, in some weeks, turn in more than one, and see to it you total 17 passing responses by the last week of class.

Still have questions? Please ask. I'm happy to help.

Suggestion: if you take too long Moodle can log you out, which could wipe out your work. So try typing your response using a word processor first, then copy and paste your response into the forum before the deadline.

Papers: In your papers you will critically evaluate arguments discussed in the class. They will allow you to practice, and improve at, expressing challenging ideas clearly and accurately and appraising them fairly. Assignments will be posted to the Papers web page as the time approaches, and we will take class time to discuss assignments and help you improve your writing before turning in final drafts.

Exams

There will be two midterms and a final. Each will be open book and open notes. Each will be comprehensive, covering all material previously discussed in the course. Exams account for 55% of the course grade, so you should prepare for them. To help you succeed on exams, I offer several resources besides lecture and discussion:

The online study guide identifies what you may be tested on: terms we learn, people we study, the arguments they give, and so on.

Citations and links in the study guide direct you to material needed for giving good answers.
The study guide also explains my expectations: how you should be able to respond to terms, what to know about the people we study, etc. There are some sample answers there, too.

There will be review sessions before every exam. See the class schedule Google Doc.
I can also help you with your answers to items on the study guide during office hours (or by appointment) and by email.

The best way to prepare: keep up each week. I will add new items to the study guide roughly each week and notify you via email. When new items are added, use the texts and notes (and classmates--group study is often helpful) to remind yourself of the relevant material, write out the best answers you can, and study them periodically.

A list of possible assignments is posted to the class web site. Details and timing are subject to change. Dates for assignments, exams, etc. will be posted on our class schedule Google Doc.

If any of these policies might be a problem for you, please let me know and let's discuss it.

Privacy policies. For safety during the pandemic this class will be taught remotely. To enable class interaction it will be taught synchronously if possible, meeting via video conference during the hours in the schedule of classes. This means we will be virtually visiting people's living spaces. So, out of respect for classmates, me, and those you live with:

Be aware that class meetings will be recorded to serve as a learning resource for the class.
Do not share those recordings or any portion of them outside the class.
Mind what your camera shows to others. For example, liquor bottles visible in an underage student's dorm room could be a problem. So could racist or otherwise offensive posters or paraphernalia in the background. Let's avoid that. Be mindful of DePauw's community standards and electronic communications policies.
I strongly encourage you to keep your computer's camera on during class, but you do not have to.

There are advantages to having cameras on. Having faces visible enables lip-reading and interpreting facial expressions, which help us better understand each other. You can prevent others from seeing your living space by using a background image or blurred background. So I encourage you to leave your camera on during class if your internet connection supports it.

Attendance. Ideally, you should be in class on time and prepared to discuss the day's assignment unless you have good reason not to be. But our situation is not ideal. I will check attendance out of concern for you and to ensure everyone has access to the course, but absences will not count against you. If you cannot make it to class, please let me know, if you can.

Here are two special situations:

Academically approved (by the VPAA) extracurricular activities, such as athletics: please inform me of possible conflicts at the beginning of the semester or as early as possible. I'm willing to work with you , but be aware your extracurriculars do not automatically let you miss class. You must ask faculty for permission, and we can say "No." Read the policy here.
Religious obligations: I support and follow DePauw's policy on religious holy days. If your religious obligations conflict with class meetings or deadlines in this course, let me know at least one week in advance. Then (a) you are excused from attending those meetings and (b) I will work with you to make up any work you miss.

Suggestion: since everyone misses class now and then, make a deal with two classmates, at the beginning of the semester, to share notes in case of absences.

To minimize the impact of absences I will upload my notes and recordings of our class meetings and link to them from our Moodle page. But sharing other students' notes is still helpful.

Minimize distractions in class. Please set your cell phone, smart watch, PDA, pager, etc. to vibrate only, and put them aside during class. Find a quiet place to be during class if you can--or if you can't, please mute your microphone when you're not speaking. In other words, be here both physically and mentally as much as possible and help others do the same.

Late policy. Make-up exams will not be allowed nor late papers accepted for full credit except in cases where there is a compelling excuse such as a serious medical problem, University-recognized event, religious obligation, etc. (See Attendance policy, above.) Notify me in advance by phone (765-658-4679), e-mail, or in person, if you can. I may require documentation.

Academic integrity. We learn from others. So I expect words and ideas from other people (readings, classmates, me, research you do, etc.) to show up in your work. But we must acknowledge everyone who helped us. So, whenever others' words or ideas appear in your work, you must cite them whether you quote them or not.

I take academic integrity very seriously and I expect you to. Often, cheating is unintended, but even then it is a serious offense and I may charge you with misconduct. The minimum penalty is usually worse than turning in no work at all, and penalties can include failing the course, suspension, or expulsion. Much plagiarism is due to ignorance of the standards and requirements for documenting sources, so I urge you to:

Ask me any questions you have about academic integrity, preferably before you turn in your work.
Follow the academic integrity instructions for writing in this course.
Get to know DePauw's policy and your obligations and rights, which are stated in the Academic Handbook.
Use these resources to better understand academic integrity at DePauw.

You can avoid many integrity problems if you follow these simple rules: if you use an idea you got from someone or somewhere else, cite it; if you use their words, put them in quotes and cite.

Letter grades and numerical scores will be related as follows:

If you take the course Pass/Fail:

70% - 100% = Pass

60% - 69% = D

59% or less = F

I assign letter grades using the criteria stated in the University Catalog’s section on Academic Policies.

DePauw and I are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to students with properly documented disabilities--psychiatric, attentional, learning, vision, hearing, physical, medical, etc. If you believe you may need an accommodation because of a disability or learning challenge, please contact Student Accessibility Services to learn how to receive accommodations and support. You must contact them; I cannot do it for you. Student Accessibility Services' phone number is 765-658-6267, their email is studentaccessibility@depauw.edu. Allow one week advance notice to ensure enough time for accommodations to be made. Otherwise, there is no guarantee they can be provided when you need them. I cannot provide accommodations until I receive an official ADA letter detailing the accommodations you may have. Once I receive it, you must discuss with me how to accommodate you in this course. You may choose not to use accommodations, but you must accept the results. Accommodations are not retroactive.

Make time, in a quiet space, to read. Not just once, not quickly like it’s a news article, but deeply. Turn off your TV, phone, radio, MP3. When reading online, close all other windows, set Skype to offline, turn off chats, and release yourself from Facebook etc. Philosophical texts reward focused, careful, and repeated reading. Besides, you can expect me to call on you with questions about it.
Reading assignments for this course typically consist of a selection written by a philosopher and some introductory material written by the book’s editor, Andrew Bailey. Bailey suggests you read the selection first, and then go back and read the introductory material, and then read the selection again (Preface, p. vii). I recommend following this advice. (The few exceptions are noted on the Reading Assignments page.)

Come to class prepared. Bring the current reading and your notes with you. Bring your responses to the current reading questions with you.

Take detailed notes. Just copying what’s on the board or screen (or whatever I'm doing in class) may not be enough. If the notes you take during class are sketchy, take a moment after class to fill them out.

Participate a lot. Don’t allow yourself to stay confused or lost. Some students assume their questions aren't worth asking or their comments not worth making, but often others wanted to say the same thing. If you are not comfortable speaking in class, see me outside it.

If you miss class, view the recordings of classes you miss and make arrangements with others to share notes with you. I suggest agreeing with at least two other people in the class, at the beginning of the semester, to share notes.

Keep up with the study guide every week. When new items are added to the study guide, sit down with your books and notes and classmates (if you like--studying in groups is helpful) and write out the clearest, most complete and thoughtful answers you can. If you have trouble formulating answers, come see me for help. Study your answers regularly to prepare for class discussion and for exams. This will pay off.

Give yourself time to write good papers, including revising/rewriting them well before the deadline.

Get enough sleep. If that means you cut back on extracurricular activities, so be it, because:

Studies have shown that sleep quantity and sleep quality equal or outrank such popular campus concerns as alcohol and drug use in predicting student grades and a student’s chances of graduating.

Jane E. Brody, "An Underappreciated Key to College Success: Sleep," New York Times, 8/13/2018

You may need to work harder than in high school. The sort of effort that got you A’s in high school might not get you an A here.

Seek help when you need it, or when you think you might need it, or just because. You do not need an appointment to drop in, though we can make one if you like. I do not bite, I promise.