Contributors’ Names: Dale Truscott
Approach:
Add-On
Degree: 2nd Degree
Course Prefix and Title: PHI2010 - Philosophy
INZ Toolkit Entry Name: Internationalization of Metaphysics: Study and Experience
Original Course Learning Outcome/s
(list one per box or leave blank if
adding new outcomes)
6. Be able to grasp the basic
questions surrounding existence and
reality, freedom and determinism,
the mind and body, the self, and the
phenomenon of religion.
Global Learning Outcomes and/or
Global Performance Indicators
(Ss will be able to…)
Be able to understand the basic
questions of Metaphysics:
existence, reality, freedom and
determinism, mind and body and
self in such way as to contextualize
one’s self in the world.
—What does it mean to be “me” in
my local, regional and national
multicultural environment?
Language is an expression of the
self. The modules will compare self
identity and social identity in
different cultures to enhance
understanding of self in community.
Global Competency: to demonstrate
knowledge of world philosophies of
metaphysics of being and self.
Created/Updated:
11/28/2014
Connections to Valencia’s Global Competencies
(checkmark items and/or add new ones)
GLOBAL CITIZEN KNOWLEDGE:
x World cultures
☐ World economics
x World history
☐ Current events
☐ World geography x World Philosophy
☐ World religions
☐ OTHER
☐ World gov’t/politics
☐ OTHER
☐ World ecology
☐ OTHER
GLOBAL CITIZEN SKILLS:
x Interacts with compassion, empathy, respect
x Demonstrations cultural sensitivities
☐ Holds opposing views and calmly resolves conflict
☐ Communicates effectively in another language
x Communicates effectively across cultures
☐ OTHER
☐ OTHER
GLOBAL CITIZEN ATTITUDES:
x Articulates sense of identity, self-awareness, self-acceptance
x Understands personal norms, biases, expectations for oneself and
others
x Values and respects diversity
x Demonstrates curiosity about the world and others
☐ OTHER
☐ OTHER
Assessment
Method/s and Tools
Short Answer and Short
Essay Exam for Module 1
Short Answer Questions
1.
What is wrong with
maintaining that
the soul id
sensation?
2. What is wrong with
maintaining that
the soul is not
sensation?
3. What is wrong with
maintaining that
sensation is a
faculty of the soul?
4. Because the
notions of the soul
and of surviving
death are closely
related, what must
a Buddhist monk
who rejects these
theories of the soul
believe about a
perfected being
who has died?
5. What effect, if any,
do you think this
sort of underlying
philosophy of
self/soul would
have on a culture?
Short Essay
1.
Describe your visit
to the Buddhist
Temple in some
detail. What did
you learn about the
Buddhist notion of
No Self and
Skandhas? How
do you think these
metaphysical
Teaching Strategies, Student
Learning Activities,
and Assignments
Module 1 —
In conjunction with Chapter 3 of the
Chaffee text or the Metaphysics of
Self chapter of other texts. This
module’s strategy is to introduce
students to Buddhist thought about
self and an experience of Buddhism
and meditation.
Reading Assignment [Buddhist
cultural dimension]
—Kessler, Gary E., Voices of Wisdom,
Cengage, 2007, “12.2, There Is No
Self,” “The Buddha: False Doctrines
About the Soul,” p. 537ff
—This excerpt would be posted on the
course Blackboard site as a reading
assignment.
—This article and its introduction
presents the Buddhist notion of “no
self.” Underlying Eastern culture may
be the Buddhist idea that there is
really no identifiable self or soul. We
are simply expressions or
“tendencies.” And our “skandhas”
manifest themselves in multiple lives.
What are the implications of this for
the culture and self-identity?
[Scan pages from text into a
document and upload to an
Assignment in Blackboard.]
Co-Curricular /
Interdisciplinary
Activities
The visit to the Buddhist
Temple is a co-curricular
activity.
Module 1 could be
coordinated with a
World Religions class.
Module 3 could be
coordinated with a
foreign language class.
INTERNATIONAL
EDUCATION WEEK
ACTIVITY IDEA:
An international group of
students could make a
presentation about how
international negotiations
can be facilitated or
impeded by the difficulty of
translating speeches and
negotiations texts from one
language to another.
Instructional Materials / Resources / URL Links
Module 1
01 Kessler, Gary E., Voices of Wisdom, Cengage, 2007, “12.2,
There Is No Self,” “The Buddha: False Doctrines About the
Soul,” p. 537ff
02 Rubric for Module 1
Module 2
03 Reading Assignment: Kessler, Gary E. Voices of Wisdom,
Cengage, 2007, “12.5 Social Identity,” Gloria Anzaldúa, “How to
Tame a Wild Tongue,” p. 558 ff.
04 Rubric for Module 2
Module 3
05 Kwame Anthony Appiah, “Identity As a Choice,” Parts 1 and
2. You Tube Video.
06 Rubric for Module 3
LESSON URLs:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhynnPYngnE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snTCYBuh65Y&feature=youtu.be
notions affect a
Buddhist person’s
self awareness and
behavior?
Module 1 Continued - in
conjunction with Reading on
previous page
—Buddhist Experience
—A group visit to the Buddhist Temple
on Hoffner Rd. will be arranged.
Students must attend as a group.
Participation in a meditation session
and an introductory lesson about
Buddhism will be part of the
experience. Students will develop a
specific list of questions drawn from
the previous reading assignment to
ask to the Buddhist discussion leader.
They must ask something along the
lines of “How does the Buddhist
teaching about self affect their daily
life in the world and in the American
culture that surrounds them?”
Guang Ming Temple
6555 Hoffner Ave., Orlando, FL 32822
407-281-8482
http://www.orlandobuddhism.org
Arrange special meeting or attend
Sunday Buddhism Discussion, 10:00
a.m.-12:30 p.m.
[This assignment could be done with a
small group from the class or the
entire class with special arrangements
with the Temple. Students should
prepare specific questions to ask of
the leader beyond their planned
presentation dealing with the Buddhist
notion of anatman and related ideas.]
Module 2
Module 2 continued In conjunction with Chapter 3 of the
As a follow-up to the
Anzaldúa article, conduct
an in-class focused small
group discussion about
language dialect and the
possibility of linguistic
terrorism.
—Focused discussion
group
—If possible, arrange the
class in small groups
according to “first
language.” At Valencia
East, it should be
possible to do a first
language English
group(s) and a first
language Spanish
group(s), and, perhaps, a
group for any other first
languages.
—Students discuss their
understanding and
impressions of the
Anzaldúa article. Have
they ever had an
experience in which their
language or the way they
speak their language
(dialect) has affected
them in any way? How
did they cope with that
“stereotyping” or
“judging?” What could be
done to improve the
situation?
Do a report back
discussion with the entire
class with leader from
each group reporting.
Chaffee text or Metaphysics of Self
chapter of other texts. This module’s
strategy is to introduce students to the
philosophy of language as it relates to
our experience of self. It explores the
phenomenon of “linguistic terrorism.”
Reading Assignment:
—Reading Assignment: Kessler, Gary
E. Voices of Wisdom, Cengage, 2007,
“12.5 Social Identity,” Gloria Anzaldúa,
“How to Tame a Wild Tongue,” p. 558
ff.
—This excerpt would be posted on the
course Blackboard site as a reading
assignment.
—This article explores an example of
“linguistic terrorism.” It describes the
dialect of Spanish known as Chicano
and the negative implications places
upon it by neighboring Spanishspeaking cultures. How does this
affect the notion of “self,” and the
extent to which we are our language?
[Scan excerpts from Kessler text and
post to an assignment on the
Blackboard.]
Module 3
In conjunction with Chapter 3 of the
Chaffee text or equivalent chapter in
Instructor draws the
discussion together and
makes connections to the
Metaphysical concepts of
self as they relate to
Philosophy of Language.
Short Essay
Assignment in
response to the Appiah
videos.
—In a 3-4 page paper
review the Kwame
Anthony Appiah videos.
What are the principle
discoveries you had
about self, culture and
language as you viewed?
In what ways has this
learning experience
change your perspective
on you as a “self?”
—Would Appiah’s
comments change your
way of relating to people
of other cultures as well
as your own?
[This essay could be
posted to an assignment
on Blackboard or turned
in to the the instructor on
paper.]
other texts. This is a video
presentation experience about how
identity changes as we draw on
narratives of the past and create the
cultures in which we now live.
—Kwame Anthony Appiah,
“Identity As a Choice,” Parts 1 and
2. You Tube Video. [Posted as link to
BB]
—Published on Mar 11, 2014
—Over the long history of our species,
human beings have developed
complex forms of identity, which make
it possible to live together, says
Ghanaian-British philosopher Kwame
Anthony Appiah , chosen by Le
Nouvel Observateur as one of the 25
most important thinkers of our time.
Identities change, but they are not
replaced with nothing: they are
replaced with changed identities. The
modern economic environment
requires us to live together, so we
have to develop forms of identity that
draw on the narratives from the past,
that draw on traditional identities. But,
we have to be imaginative about
drawing on the past, about imagining
the bits of the past that are useful to
us. Identities and cultures are in
constant flux, and we must draw on
narratives from the past to create the
common identities of the future.
—[Appiah is a British-born Ghanaian
philosopher, cultural theorist and
novelist who is interested in
philosophy of language and mind and
African intellectual history.]
Students are asked to view the videos
either on their own or in class. Each
part is just over 7 minutes in length.