Discipline/Program: Philosophy
Course Title: Introduction to Ethics
Course Rubric and Number: PHIL 2306
Semester with Course Reference Number (CRN): Spring 2011
Semester, CRN 76280
Course Location/Times: Felix Fraga Academic Campus Rm 252 ,
TuTh 7:00PM - 8:30PM
Course Semester Credit Hours (SCH): 3 Hours, Lecture
Course Contact Hours: 48 Contact Hours
Course Continuing Education Units (CEU): 0
Course Length (number of weeks): 16 weeks
Type of Instruction: Lecture
Instructor Contact Information:
Name: Tony Dennis, MA
Phone Number (Office): N/A
Email Address: tony.dennis.prof@gmail.com
Office: Before and after class, or by appointment.
Course Description:
This course provides a practical, community-minded introduction to questions of character and human excellence in a multi-cultural, global environment. Traditional and contemporary views concerning the nature of goodness, happiness, duty, and freedom (HCCS Catalog) serve as points of departure for this largely thematic inquiry into right conduct and ways of thinking that leads to that conduct. Particular emphasis is placed on the scope and problems of sound reasoning and decision-making and may include correlative inquiries into current social, workforce, and professional moral issues. Fulfills ethics requirement for various academic and professional four-year college majors and HCC Philosophy AA-degree plan.
HCC CORE Humanities area and/or Elective.
Course Prerequisites:
ENGL 1302 or Department Approval
Course Goal: Students should be able to fulfill all of the SLOs (Student
Learning Objectives) described below:
Course Student Learning Outcomes (SLO):
Course Student Learning Outcomes (SLO):
1. Recall and Identify the major thinkers, schools, core philosophical questions, terms and concepts found in the history of ethics cross-culturally construed, from ancient times to the contemporary world.
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2. Interpret and Explain core ethical questions and concepts in terms that illustrate a comprehensive understanding of each.
3. Apply core ethical questions and concepts to contemporary issues and personal experience.
4. Compare and Contrast related core ethical questions and concepts, and the correlative thinkers and schools with which they are commonly associated, and with professional codes.
5. Justify a sound philosophical position on a topic, or topics of contemporary human interest in the area of ethics, including its relation to freedom and human rights, that Integrates and Logically Demonstrates a Synthesis in thought.
Learning objectives:
1.1 Acquire a broad familiarity with the names of major thinkers, the schools they represent, geographical location, and historical periods.
1.2 Learn historically significant questions of ethics, definitions of special terms, and concepts of ethics and ethical decision-making.
2.1 Cultivate reading comprehension of writings specific to ethics and cultivation of character.
2.2 Distinguish various approaches to ethics, including conceptual analysis and practical bases for ethical decision-making.
3.1 Articulate the relevance of ethics and questioning about ethics to everyday life.
3.2 Consider how ethics may or may not apply to differing ways of thinking and cultural influences.
4.1 Inventory, Summarize, and Assess correlative questions, concepts, and schools of thought found in the history of ethics, both personal and professional.
5.1 Create and cultivate alternative ethical positions on presented course content.
5.2 Develop coherent arguments for chosen positions, bringing to bear the rules of logic, written expression and disciplined thinking.
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C OURSE C ALENDAR :
Week
Number
Activities and Assignment
1
J
AN
18
TH
Introduction to the
Course
“What is
Philosophy/Ethics?”
20 TH
…continued
Objectives and Details
Lecture on Philosophy and Ethics in general, course overview, introduction to good argument form, soundness, and validity.
…
2
25 TH
…
27 TH Metaethics: The Challenge of Cultural Relativism,
Rachels (hand-out/scan/pdf)
3
F
EB
1
ST
ME: Subjectivism in
Ethics
3 RD
8 TH
4
ME: Does Morality
Depend on Religion?
ME: Psychological
Egoism
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10
TH
Exam One Exam One
5
15 TH
17 TH
Normative Ethics:
NE: The Utilitarian
Approach
Ethical Egoism
6
22 ND NE: The Debate over
Utilitarianism
24 TH NE: Are There
Absolute Moral
Rules?
7
M ARCH
1
ST
NE: Kant and
Respect for Persons
3 RD
8 TH
8
Exam Two
NE: The Idea of a
Social Contract
Exam Two
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10
TH NE: Feminism and the Ethics of Care
9
15
TH
SPRING BREAK
17 TH SPRING BREAK
10
22 ND NE: The Ethics of
Virtue
24
31
TH
ST
11
29
TH
NE: What Would a
Satisfactory Moral
Theory Be Like?
Applied Ethics:
Practical Ethics, preface
… PE , chapter 1: “About Ethics”
5
TH
12
….
7
TH
….
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13
12 TH
…
14
TH
…
14
19
TH
21 ST
…
…
15
26 TH
…
28 TH
…
16
M AY 3 RD
…
5 TH
Course wrap-up
Course wrap-up
Review for Final Exam
Instructional Methods: Lecture, in-class exercises, in-class exams, readings, and homework assignments.
Student Assignments:
Participation: Students are expected to participate in class discussions/debates and when the teacher calls on them. Readings must be completed in order to participate. By asking students about the readings,
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the instructor can also check whether they have completed readings or not.This assignment helps fulfill SLOs 2,4, and 5.
Quizzes: It is up to the discretion of the instructor to assign quizzes if class participation is lacking, or if it apparent that reading assignments are not being completed. These could be announced or unannounced and consist of short answer questions regarding the reading assignments. If utilized, this assignment helps fulfill SLOs 1 and 2
Exams: There will be two exams during the semester and a final exam.
These will consist of 1-2 essay questions that will require you to integrate, explain, reflect upon, and critique the material covered in class. Specific content of each exam will be discussed by the instructor at least one week before the date of the exam. This assignment helps fulfill SLOs 1,2, and 3.
Term Paper: A term paper of three to four pages in length (12-pt. font, double spaced) will be due on the final day of class (July 6). This must be a thesis defense paper drawing from at least two of the assigned readings.
Besides this, the topic or issue covered in the paper is entirely up to the student, but the instructor will offer some suggestions as the semester progresses. This is not a book report! Although you will be required to demonstrate that you understand the material that you are covering, the main goal is to use some critical thinking and defend a philosophical position. The instructor will spend some time in class discussing writing tips for a good philosophy paper. Points will be deducted for grammatical and formatting errors. If there are too many errors, students may be asked to re-write this assignment and take a penalty (at least one letter grade depending on how late the revision is completed). Late assignments suffer a similar fate. I will deduct 5 points per day after the due date. This assignment helps fulfill SLOs 2, 4, and 5.
Student Assessments: Students will be assessed for their ability to successfully complete the assignments mentioned above according to the grading criteria mentioned below.
Instructional Materials:
-
Grube//Plato: Five Dialogues
Hackett Publishing, 2nd Edition, 2002
ISBN 978-0-87220-633-5
Aquinas, Thomas // The Cardinal Virtues// Hackett Publishing 1st
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Edition, 1988//ISBN 0-87220-745-
5
Kant, Immanuel //Groundwork of the Metaphysic of
Morals//Mary Gregor, trsl.
Cambridge University Press, 1997 1st Edition
Taking Sides: Moral Issues//S. Satris, ed.
MacGraw-Hill, 11th Edition, 2008
ISBN: 978-0—07-339715-3
Bentham and Mill//Classical Utilitarianism//J. Troyer ed.//Hackett Publishing, 1st Edition, 2003
ISBN: 0-87220-649-1
Ghandi, Mahatma//Selected Political Writings//Hackett Publishing
1st Edition, 1996//ISBN 0-87220-330-1
Other assigned readings will be provided by instructor.
HCC Policy Statements:
ADA: STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES any student with a documented disability, (i.e. physical, learning, psychiatric, visual, hearing, etc) who needs to arrange reasonable accommodations must contact the disability services office at the respective college at the beginning of each semester. Faculty are authorized to provide only the accommodations requested by the disability services office. The counselor for Southeast College can be reached at 713 718-7218.
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Academic Honesty:
Academic irregularities cannot be tolerated. Attempts to compromise the integrity of this course will result in a grade of zero for the assignment or dismissal from the class. Students must not collaborate on the exams in any way (including the use of materials from former students) and must not copy material from any source to use as their essay answers or discussion contributions . See the HCCS
Student Handbook for details.
Cheating is not that hard to define and as college students, you should have a firm idea about what cheating is. Just to be clear, here are a few simple definitions:
Cheating is: Copying from another student's exam.
Cheating is: During a exam, using materials not authorized by the person giving the exam.
Cheating is: Collaborating with another student during a exam without proper authority.
Cheating is: Knowingly using, buying, selling, stealing, transporting, or soliciting in whole or part the contents of an exam or paper.
Cheating is: Bribing another person to obtain a copy of an exam.
Cheating is: Plagiarism which means using someone's work or someone's ideas and representing them to be your own. That
"someone" may be another student, a friend, a relative, a book author, an author of material on a web site, etc. Do not take material from anywhere without giving proper credit or reference. In other words, do not copy from an Internet source and paste it into your essay answer space.
Cheating is: Collusion, which means the unauthorized collaboration with another person in preparing written work offered for credit when you represent that work to be your own.
The Semester Writing Assignment will be submitted to TurnItIn.com which is a service HCCS subscribes to for identifying plagiarized material.
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In this class, the standard penalty for academic dishonesty is a grade of zero on the assignment. The penalty for gross plagiarism and cheating on exams is failure in the course. Depending on severity and frequency, academic dishonesty can lead to a recommendation for probation or dismissal from the College System.
If you ever have any question about what is cheating, what is plagiarism or what is unauthorized collusion, please contact your instructor before you do anything or submit anything. It is much better to ask first than to get caught later.
Student Attendance:
You are expected to attend all lecture classes and labs regularly. You are also responsible for materials covered during your absences. Instructors may be willing to consult with you for make-up assignments, but it is your responsibility to contact the instructor.
Class attendance is checked daily. Although it is your responsibility to drop a course for nonattendance, the instructor has the authority to drop you for excessive absences.
You may be dropped from a course after accumulating absences in excess of 12.5 percent of the total hours of instruction (lecture and lab).
For example:
• For a three credit-hour lecture class meeting three hours per week (48 hours of instruction), you can be dropped after six hours of absence.
• For a four credit-hour lecture/lab course meeting six hours per week (96 hours of instruction), you can be dropped after 12 hours of absence.
3-peaters:
NOTICE: Students who take a course more than twice face significant tuition/fee increases at HCC and other Texas public colleges and universities. Please ask your instructor / counselor about opportunities for tutoring/other assistance prior to considering course withdrawal or if you are not receiving passing grades.
The Texas State Legislature has begun to impose penalties on
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students who drop courses excessively. In 2007, the Legislature passed a law limiting students to no more than 6 total course withdrawals throughout their academic career in obtaining a baccalaureate degree. To help students avoid having to drop/withdraw from any class, HCC has instituted an Early Alert process by which your instructor will “alert” you and HCC student services of the chance you might fail a class because of excessive absences and/or poor academic performances. You should visit with your instructor, a counselor, or HCC online Student Services to learn about your options.
Withdrawal Deadline:
It is your responsibility to withdraw officially from a class and prevent an
“F” from appearing on your transcript. When considering withdrawal from a course, remember that:
• No grade is given and your transcript reflects no record of the course if you withdraw before the Official Date of Record.
• A “W” (indicating withdrawal) appears on your transcript if you drop a course after the Official Date of Record and before the final deadline.
• The final deadline to drop the course is November 18, 2010
INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS: Receiving a W in a course may affect the status of your student Visa. Once a W is given for the course, it will not be changed to an F because of the visa consideration. Since January 1,
2003, International Students are restricted in the number of distance education courses that they may take during each semester. ONLY ONE online/distance education class may be counted towards the enrollment requirement for International Students per semester. Please contact the
International Student Office at 713-718-8520 if you have any questions about your visa status and other transfer issues.
Student Course Reinstatement Policy: Students have a responsibility to arrange payment for their classes when they register, either through cash, credit card, financial aid, or the installment plan. Faculty members have a responsibility to check their class rolls regularly, especially during the early weeks of a term, and reconcile the official class roll to ensure that no one is attending class whose name does not appear on the rolls.
Students who are dropped from their courses for non-payment of tuition
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and fees, who request reinstatement after the official date of record (OE date), can be reinstated by making payment in full and paying an additional $75 per course reinstatement fee. A student requesting reinstatement should present the registrar with a completed Enrollment
Authorization Form with the signature of the instructor, the department chair, or the dean, who should verify that the student has been regularly attending class. Students who are reinstated are responsible for all course policies and procedures, including attendance requirements. A dean may waive the reinstatement fee upon determination that the student was dropped because of a college error. The dean should note the nature of the error in a memo to the registrar with the appropriate documentation.
Instructor Requirements:
ATTENDENCE : Although attendence will be taken at the beginning of class, this is merely for administrative purposes. I do not require students to attend class, and I WILL NOT DROP
ANYBODY for low attendence. This being said, attendence to the lectures is absolutely necessary if you want to do well in the class. If you fail to attend class, not only will I have little or nothing to base your participation grade on, but you will miss important material from my lectures. Much of this material is NOT in the assigned readings but WILL be on the exams. In other words, it's up to you whether or not you want to attend, but if you don't, then you are likely to do poorly on the assignments. I recommend making friends with at least one other student so that you can share notes if/when you need to skip a meeting.
MAKE-UPS : There will be no make-ups except in cases of legitimate emergency (note: Having a hangover, or being in jail for DWI or DUI, will not be considered a legitimate emergency).
This policy applies to all exams (or possible quizzes).
CHEATING AND PLAGIARISM : I have a NO TOLERANCE policy regarding cheating and plagiarism. Not only will you receive a 'F' for the course if caught cheating or plagiarizing, but the Dean will also be notified of your actions. Don't cheat! It's not worth it
.
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HCC Grading Scale:
A = 90 – 100
B = 80 – 89
C = 70 – 79
D = 60 – 69
F = 59 and below
Instructor Grading Criteria : The semester grade will be calculated by:
Exam One – 20%
Exam Two – 20%
Final Exam – 25%
Term Paper – 25%
Participation – 10%
“This syllabus is meant as a guide and is subject to change at the discretion of the instructor. If there are any changes made, the student will be notified in a timely manner.”
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