This course introduces Western philosophy. The word “philosophy” originates from ancient Greek and literally means love of wisdom. Until we know what wisdom is, though, this definition is not very helpful. More practically, philosophy is our broadest attempt to really understand reality (about the world and ourselves). It is an attempt to carefully form a “big picture” of everything. Doing this, moreover, is a matter of thorough analysis, or critical thinking. Critical thinking is being willing to question our beliefs, not taking any of them on faith. If we did not question our beliefs, we would be admitting that we would hold them even if they were false. Philosophy, therefore, is a fairly demanding discipline, and not something that should be undertaken lightly. This course is an entire semester- from Plato to Simone de Beauvoir. Moreover, each week is rigidly planned (see schedule below) and you must adhere to this. Therefore, be prepared for constant reading and writing. In fact, every week you should start reading right away, then write.

Note: We will use Blackboard as our tool. Blackboard is an online teaching environment which allows use of the internet to present course material (e.g. handouts), conduct online discussions, post messages, manage grades, etc. You must be computer literate. Always look at the Discussion tool bar- your weekly tasks are there. I have also linked various videos, podcasts, and primary sources for you. Of course, you do not have to watch or read these, but they provide background material for understanding the positions.

Course Objectives:

This particular course runs historically. Therefore, the objectives follow this general outline.

· To become familiar with the kinds of questions that philosophy addresses (e.g. what are the limits of our knowledge?) and to learn what distinguishes them from questions addressed by other disciplines

· To understand how philosophy developed, though and understanding of the Pre-Socratics

· To understand the basics of Greek philosophy: Plato and Aristotle

· To see how philosophy became theology, through an understanding of Augustine.

· To understand the basics of the Modern period: Hobbes, Locke, Berkeley and Hume.

· To appreciate the basics of Utilitarianism, and here this is a detailed study of Bentham and Mill.

· To understand American Pragmatism.

· To appreciate the existentialism of Simone de Beauvoir

Student Learning Objectives:

· Upon completion of the course, students should be able to use critical thinking to test philosophical theories.

· Upon completion of the course, students should be able to apply theories.

· Upon completion of the course, students should be able to recognize and use the universalizing, structuring, and metaphorical power of language.

Academic Honesty:

Saddleback has strict policy addressing academic integrity, which will be enforced by using the Turnitin software package. All forms of dishonesty, including unauthorized cooperation between students, unauthorized help from others, plagiarism, and the unauthorized use of software, databases, or expert advice that is contrary to the instructions of the professor constitute violations of the student conduct code: http://www.saddleback.edu/media/pdf/handbook.pdf Violations will result in the assignment of a grade of F for the examination, quiz, test, paper, project, in which the act of academic dishonesty was committed.

Grading (done by percentages)

Discussions: 75%

Term Paper: 25%

Grading Scale:

90 – 100 A

80 – 89 B

70 – 79 C

60 – 69 D

Below 60 F

Explanation of Grading:

1. DISCUSSION BOARDS: There are Discussion Board assignments every week (e.g. on Plato, etc.). These count as 75% of your grade. Each assignment will direct you to a chapter (or occasionally, chapters) in The Great Conversation. You must carefully read and study the chapter and then answer a prompt. Note that these prompts will be complex, and will require you to quote from the book. Each week, the Discussion Board prompts will become available on Mondays at 12.30 am, and are due after the week is over on the date specified (at midnight, usually on Sundays). At that point, they will become unavailable, and no credit will be awarded for this. Given this, timing is paramount. In other words, you start reading immediately and then submit your discussions. Concerning how to answer these prompts, importantly, never copy what others do. It is easy for me to see people doing this (e.g. when they repeat the same quotes), and I award real work and originality. Just answer the questions, as best you can. Prompts, I should say, can be quite complex. Typically, I summarize a few things from the chapter and then ask you to do two (or more) submissions (citing the text).

2. TERM PAPER: The term paper is worth 25% of your grade and is due no later than August 9th, at Midnight. The paper should be (at least) 6 pages long not including the title page and references, with Times New Roman 12 point font. It can be longer, if you like. Typically, long papers are better and get better grades. To do this paper, make sure to look at the paper topics (under Syllabus and Papers) right away. I always like a few sources (e.g. the Stanford Internet Encyclopedia) but the important thing is really that you write a good argument. Remember, though, that writing a Philosophy paper is quite unlike writing an English or History paper. Philosophy papers attempt to prove a case, and so are typically written in the first person, and are a matter of laying out an argument, answering objections, and then concluding. I would suggest planning your paper in advance, and sending me drafts. If you think you may want to write on a topic that we will only cover in the future (e.g. de Beauvoir), read ahead. Importantly, papers must be turned in on Turnitin (the link for this program will be on Blackboard, on the left).

Schedule of Assignments by Week

Week Reading Due Date

Week 1	The PreSocratics and Sophists (Chapters 1, 2, 3)	June 22nd
Week 2	Plato (Chapter 6)	June 29th
Week 3	Aristotle, and the Epicureans (Chapters 7 and 8)	July 6th
Week 4	Augustine (Chapter 10)	July 13th
Week 5	Hobbes, Locke, and Berkeley (Chapter 14)	July 20th
Week 6	Hume (Chapter 15)	July 27th
Week 7	Utilitarians and Pragmatists (Chapters 19 and 21)	August 3rd
Week 8	Heidegger and Simone de Beauvoir (Chapters 23 and 24)	August 10th

How to Succeed in Introduction to Philosophy: This is a summer course. The material from Conversation (ranging from PreSocratics to de Beauvoir) of the 16 week course is compressed down into 8 weeks. As you can see above, we read one or two chapters a week (e.g. about 50 to 100 pages in each period). The main key to success in this course is to read continually. Continuous reading will insure that you do not fall behind. When you read, moreover, you should always take notes, either by hand (e.g. writing down the main points) or on a computer as you go. Doing this will vastly improve your comprehension, and will also insure that you can quickly add your discussion entries. Concerning the paper, as soon as you find a topic you like, start working on it. Construct an outline of your paper. Good papers are always those from students who chose their topics early and started writing.