Syllabus for Philosophy 102, Sections 3 and 4, Schedule # 22290 and 22291
Introduction to Philosophy: Knowledge and Reality
Steven Barbone/Fall 2012/T-TH 9h30-10h45 and 11h-12h15/PSFA 325
Description and objectives: This course is an introduction to philosophy. Concerns addressed in
this course begin with questions that include but are not limited to: What is real? What does it mean
to know that something is true? Is there a soul and what does it do? Does God or some higher
being(s) exist? Do we have free will, or is everything fated or determined? Is there is any purpose
or meaning to our existence? Students will have many types of introduction to this subject. One
type of introduction will be to consider the thoughts of recognized philosophers; this part of the
course will consist of lectures delivered during scheduled class meetings and reading of required
texts. The second type of introduction is “hands-on” philosophy; that is, students themselves will
develop their own philosophical positions on given philosophic themes. Students may expect both
types of introduction throughout the semester.
Outcomes and assessments: (“Outcome” is the term the university uses to say what a student
should gain from taking the course: “assessment” is the term used to indicate how it is determined
whether a student has achieved any particular outcome.) Outcome: students identify and
communicate about some of the “big” questions of philosophy (e.g., How can we know whether
something is true? Who or what is responsible for our actions?) and the thoughts of some major
philosophers (e.g., Plato, Aristotle, Descartes). Assessment: this will be demonstrated by the
students’ identifying some of these issues and philosophers, matching them to their appropriate
concepts, and selecting their proper entailments (journal, midterm, and final).
Outcome: students will demonstrate an ability to perceive the world in different ways. Assessment:
this will be measured by the students’ reporting in their own words others’ points of views and by
the students’ stating what these different viewpoints entail (journal, essays, and quizzes).
Outcome: students demonstrate the ability to argue and to defend a philosophic position using
formal and informal logical reasoning skills. Assessment: this will be measured by the students’
identifying a position, stating it, and providing reasoned evidence for this position. Students may
also (but are not required to) demonstrate this ability by stating the weaknesses of contrary
positions and/or illustrating their position with classic or original examples (journal and essays).
Texts: Edwin Abbott. Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions. New York: Dover, 1992.
Green, Mitchell. Engaging Philosophy. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing, 2006.
Don LePan, Animals, New York: Soft Skull Press, 2010.
Scantron forms F-288 and/or F-289.
Bluebook(s) (optional).
Office hours: 27 Aug-7 Dec 2012: 434 Arts and Letters, (619-594-0249).
Wednesdays 13h-16h; or by appointment at a mutually convenient time. I can often (but not
always) meet Tuesday afternoons after 12h30 and Thursdays from 12h30-14h.
Email: barbone@rohan.sdsu.edu. Department phone: 594-5263.
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Syllabus: To assist students in knowing what is expected and how their grades are calculated, a
short module (only 10 questions) concerning this course is available on Blackboard under
“Assignments.” Note: no grade will be assigned for any journal response, essay, quiz, or exam
unless the student has correctly responded to all prompts in the module. Students may retake or
revisit the module as often as needed to achieve this perfect score.
Exams and quizzes: There are two online quizzes: one on Flatland and one on Animals. Students
may use the books and/or notes for the book quizzes. There are also two in-class exams (a mid-term
and a final). Notes and/or books are not permitted for the exams. Each quiz is worth 5% of the final
grade; each exam is worth 20% of the final grade.
The quizzes on the readings will have short answers (1-2 sentences). Due dates for the quizzes are
scheduled on the course calendar. The two exams will each be objective (“multiple guess”)
questions, and students are required to provide scantron forms (F-288 and/or F-289) to take these
exams. These exams will be given as scheduled on the course calendar. A description of the format
will be provided in advance. Review sessions for each exam occur normally on Tuesdays and
Thursdays from 9h30-10h45 and again 11h-12h15, from , i.e., each class is a review session for the
exams. The final exam is not cumulative. Also, all assigned readings, whether covered in class or
not, may be tested. Also, all material covered in class, whether assigned as a reading or not, may
count as material to be tested.
Under the rarest circumstances, if a student is absent the day of an exam, that student may request a
make-up exam. No student should assume that the request to have a make-up will be honored.
Make-ups are possible only for the most extreme reasons; the instructor reserves the right to decide
whether a student merits the opportunity to take a make-up exam. Students ought to expect that any
make-up exam will be more difficult than the one given in class (since the student will presumably
have had more time to prepare, it would be fair that the exam be more difficult). If a student
foresees having to miss a scheduled exam, that student may request to take the exam at an earlier
time without penalty. Any exam not completed within 10 calendar days will be scored as zero. See
the course calendar for the date and time of the final exam; it is not scheduled during the normal
class time!
Essays: Three short writing assignments (average about 2 pages each) will be collected by the
instructor for grading. Each essay is worth 10% of the final grade so that all essays together will
count for 30% of the final grade. Each essay will receive a score from 0 to 4 (inclusive) and is due
no later than the end of the scheduled class time on the dates listed on the calendar. A late penalty
of no more than 1/2 point per class day will be subtracted from essays received later than the
assigned date. Essays may be turned in via email or through the drop box option on Blackboard or
on paper in class. Written assignments not turned in during class time may be left pinned to the
instructor’s door (AL 434) if a student is otherwise unable to bring the assignment to the class
meeting. A student may turn in an essay for credit or to get feedback before the due date.
In assigning point values to the essays, although a student’s reasoning ability will determine the
major portion of the score, other factors such as style, grammar, spelling, etc. will be considered.
See information under “Course Information” in Blackboard.
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Essay themes: Essay 1 (due 20 September) “How Do I Know It’s Real?”
Essay 2 (due 01 November) “Mind or Matter?”
Essay 3 (due 20 November) “Death or Cake?”
Journal: Students respond to several prompts found in Engaging Philosophy, and the responses
should be turned in for evaluation. There are 2 sets of prompts, each set is worth 10% of the final
grade (20% total). The first set includes the student’s choice of any 4 of the 7 study questions found
at the end of chapter 2 of Engaging Philosophy (page 28); the second set includes one prompt each
from chapters 3, 5, 6, and 7 (that is, a student must select one study question from these 4 different
chapters to have 4 responses in all for this second set). See course calendar for due dates, though
students may submit their journals before the due dates. Like the essays, students are encouraged to
submit work early to get feedback before submitting it for a final grade. Printed copies or online
responses are acceptable.
Attendance: Attendance is expected, and absence does not excuse a student from taking a quiz or
from learning the material covered in the missed class(es). The instructor will not do a roll call or
otherwise mark attendance. It is in a student’s better interest to attend each class meeting.
There are no make-up classes but for one exception. If a student foresees being absent and
communicates this to the instructor, this class can be made up at a time mutually convenient to both
instructor and student. A make-up class is a privilege and not a right with the exception that
students who know that they will have to miss a class because of participation in an official SDSU
sponsored event as a member of an athletic team, band, etc., and/or because of religious holidays
are reminded that university policy requires that they notify their instructors within the first two
weeks of classes in order to have their schedules accommodated. 10 September is the last day to
arrange for make-up sessions for such foreseeable absences. No make-up classes will be offered for
4 September or 13 or 22 November. There are no other exceptions to the attendance policy.
Grades: Scores for the journal responses, quizzes, essays, and exams will be made according to the
guidelines in the SDSU General Catalogue. That is, 4.0 = A; 3.7 = A-; 3.3 = B+ 3.0 = B; 2.7 = B-;
and so on. A grade of 2.0 (C) signifies that the work is acceptable; 1.0 (D) signifies that the work is
barely acceptable for credit; 0 (F) signifies that the work is not acceptable for credit; 3.0 (B)
signifies that the work is better than average; 4.0 (A) signifies excellence, and excellence is truly
rare. Other grades may be assigned (e.g., 3.5, 2.3, etc.)
Quizzes on the readings will be general in nature, and their purpose is to ensure that the material
has been read by the students. Those students who demonstrate some thought and insight about the
reading will earn a higher grade than those who merely show familiarity with the work. A rubric for
assigning grades for these quizzes is available under “Course Information” in Blackboard. Grading
for the quizzes is based on a student’s providing the following evidence:
0: little or no evidence of having read the book
1: having read some/most of the book
2: having read the book but adds nothing new
3: having read the book and relates it to class
4: having extremely insightful thoughts about book
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The essays will allow students to do their own philosophy. For these essays, students will make a
philosophical claim and provide evidence and reasoning why that claim is at least as acceptable as
other rival claims. Students will have the opportunity to learn argumentation styles and techniques
during lectures and through reading; various positions and the reasons for and against them will
also be presented during the lectures. A rubric for assigning grades to these essays is available
under “Course Information” in Blackboard.
Responses in the journals give students the opportunity to show that they can identify major
concepts, reason correctly about them, and apply them in their own way. A rubric for assigning
grades to these responses is available under “Course Information” in Blackboard.
The exams will measure how much of the lecture material the student has remembered and is able
to apply to related situations and the main issues focused on in the course. Scores for the exams
will be determined a posteriori using a system of statistical analysis based on a bell curve with the
mean score achieved fixed at 2.3. The stand deviation, whatever it turns out to be, will be used to
compute other grades so that one standard deviation higher than the mean will turn out to be 3.3,
and one lower will count as1.3. This sample curve is provided as “insurance.” The instructor
reserves the right to place the breakpoints at lower (but never higher) values depending on how the
grades cluster on a standard histogram. This grading policy will be explained in class, and
information on the exam results will be distributed following the first exam.
The final grade is computed by averaging the quiz, journal, essay, and exam grades according to
the percentages noted above. The average final grade for this class historically has been close to
C+.
Grades for individual quizzes, essays, and exams will be posted on Blackboard. It is the student’s
responsibility to inform the instructor if there appears to be any discrepancy between recorded
grades and returned work.
Other: Some course material (some notes, extra readings, etc.) will be made available to students
on Blackboard. Such material is optional reading for students, and students will be informed about
when these optional readings are posted. Except for the module on the course, students are not
required to use Blackboard or email, but they are encouraged to make use of these resources for
study materials, questions, email communications, and keeping track of their grades. In many cases,
Blackboard will be the sole source of this type of information.
All students with special needs due to a documented medical condition should avail themselves of
the resources of the Student Disability Services, Suite 3101, Calpulli Center (across the street from
the Gateway Center), (619) 594-6243. Students who have concerns that might prevent them from
otherwise doing well in this course should discuss this with the instructor so that arrangements may
be made to accommodate their conditions.
The use of laptop computers is allowed, but students should be mindful that flickering screens are
generally very distracting to those around them; please refrain from using a computer for activities
other than taking notes. No one is required to be attentive or interested in classroom activities, but
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all students are expected to behave as if they were interested in order not to disturb or to distract
students who are making the effort to be attentive.
Essay information: Essays are expected to be well written, and both machine-written and handwritten papers are acceptable. You should put some form of identification on each page (name
and/or red-id number), and the pages should be numbered sequentially beginning with “1”; this
rules applies even to papers turned in electronically. Pages should be mechanically attached with a
staple or paper clip. These are standard practices that you should follow for every class, and they
are required for this class. In fact, the instructor will not read any page that is not mechanically
attached to the first page, nor will he read any page that doesn’t have some form of identification
(name or red-id) on it. (If it’s not good enough to have your name on it, it’s not good enough for me
to read.) See the “Course Information” section on Blackboard for some further information about
your essays.
End of syllabus
Course Calendar
Philosophy 102, sections 3 and 4
Fall 2012
Though dates for lecture topics are tentative, due dates for quizzes on readings, essays, and journal
responses are firm! Page numbers are underlined and refer to readings in Engaging Philosophy and
are suggested readings (though everyone must read all of chapters 1-3 and 5-7 in order to complete
the journal responses).
Week 1: 28 Aug-30 Aug
Introduction and that’s all there is. 1-7; 9-28.
Week 2: 04 Sep-06 Sep
What counts as knowledge? Illusion. 9-28.
Week 3: 11 Sep-13 Sep
Flatland and reality. 9-28.
!!! Reading quiz #1 – Flatland – 11 September !!!
*** Last day to drop classes – 10 September ***
*** Last day to apply to graduate in December – 12 September ***
Week 4: 18 Sep-20 Sep
The world is an illusion; only the mind or soul is real. 97-99.
!!! Essay #1 – “How Do I Know It’s Real?” – 20 September !!!
Week 5: 25 Sep-27 Sep
How can we be certain about anything? 99-105.
Week 6: 02 Oct-04 Oct
Does God exist? Yes! 31-51.
Week 7: 09 Oct- 11 Oct
No. The problem of evil. 51-61.
!!! Journal responses, set #1 – 11 October !!!
Week 8: 16 Oct-18 Oct
More God, more evil, and the midterm. 31-51.
!!! Mid-term exam 18 October. Bring scantron !!!
Week 9: 23 Oct-25 Oct
Bodies and souls. 97-117.
Week 10: 30 Oct-01 Nov
Let’s get physical! 97-117.
!!! Essay #2 – “Mind or Matter?” – 01 November !!!
Week 11: 06 Nov-08 Nov
Animals and other people. 143-154.
!!! Reading quiz #2 – Animals – 06 November !!!
Week 12: 13 Nov-15 Nov
What makes that happen? 121-139.
Week 13: 20 Nov-22 Nov
Do you have a choice? 121-139.
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!!! Essay #3 – “Death or Cake?” – 20 November !!!
*** Thanksgiving break – 22 November ***
Week 14: 27 Nov-29 Nov
(What) Are you thinking? 97-117.
!!! Journal responses, set #2 – 29 November !!!
Week 15: 04 Dec-06 Dec
Is your friend a zombie? The meaning of everything. 143-154.
Weeks 16-17: 08 Dec-15 Dec
Finals
!!! Final exam, section 3, 9h30-10h45: Tuesday, 11 December, 8h! Bring scantron !!!
!!! Final exam, section 4, 11h-12h15: Thursday, 13 December, 10h30h! Bring scantron
End of calendar
Philosophy 102 –fall 2012
Grading criteria for quizzes
The goal for the student is to provide evidence that s/he has read the assigned reading and thought
about it.
To earn an F, you provide hardly any or no evidence of having read the assignment.
To earn a D or higher, you provide some evidence of having looked at the assignment:
You answer correctly some but not all basic questions about the main ideas or characters.
You show some recognition of main ideas or characters’ names.
You correctly identify some but not all concepts introduced or reviewed in the reading.
You correctly identify and apply some but not all terms introduced or reviewed in the
assignment.
To earn a C or higher, you provide evidence of having read the assignment:
You answer correctly all basic questions about the main ideas and characters.
You show recognition of all main ideas or characters’ names and their respective associations.
You correctly identify all concepts introduced or reviewed in the reading.
You correctly identify and apply all terms from the assignment.
Your writing is relatively free from spelling and grammatical errors (dictionaries are allowed).
To earn a B or higher, you provide evidence of having read the assignment and understanding how
it relates to discussions in the classroom:
You apply ideas from the reading to correspondent ideas presented in the classroom.
You use specific examples from the reading to illustrate your answers.
You use examples from the lectures to illustrate the concepts in the reading.
To earn an A, you provide evidence of the above plus that you have really thought about the
assigned reading:
You use very original examples to illustrate the concepts of the reading.
You apply very specific events or discussions from the reading to some new situation.
Your writing is excellent and/or your style is very interesting.
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Philosophy 102 – fall 2012
Grading criteria for essays
Your goal is to address the prompt by taking a position for or against some claim. You want to
identify your position and to explain why your position makes sense.
To earn an F, you do nothing or your paper does not fulfill any of the conditions listed below.
To earn higher than D, your paper meets all of these conditions:
Your name or other form of identification is on each page.
You do identify your main point (thesis statement), but not so clearly.
You do offer some reasoning (though not so good or not so clearly) to support this thesis
whether it’s stated or not.
To earn a C or higher, your paper must meet all these conditions:
Special and/or new terms are clearly defined.
You use appropriate terms to identify concepts and ideas in context.
A thesis statement is clearly and identifiably expressed.
You offer evidence or reasons to support your thesis (though not necessarily convincing ones).
Your writing is relatively free from spelling and grammatical errors.
Optional: you use an example from class to illustrate your point.
To earn a B or higher, your paper must fulfill all these conditions:
The thesis is well supported by argumentation, especially by a type reviewed in class or in
Engaging Philosophy.
You use an original example to illustrate points, either your own or someone else’s.
You acknowledge some alternative position to your own.
Optional: you appropriately relate your position to some idea presented in class.
To earn an A, your paper meets at least one of these conditions:
Your work is interesting to read (e.g., your style is easy to follow or humorous or you use very
original or new examples to support your point).
You correctly identify the type of argumentation that you use.
Your work either suggests a new idea and/or it applies the concepts in a novel way.
You support your thesis with solid argumentation.
You state an alternative position and explain why your position is stronger.
Philosophy 102 – fall 2012
Grading criteria for journal responses
Your goal in addressing prompts from Engaging Philosophy is to demonstrate that you have read
the material and are able to write intelligibly about the concepts covered therein. You want to
identify the prompt to which you are responding and provide evidence that you have understood the
material.
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To earn an F, you do nothing or your responses do not fulfill any of the conditions listed below.
To earn higher than D, your responses meet all of these conditions:
Your name or other form of identification is on each page or on the cover of the bluebook.
You do identify the prompts to which you are responding.
You respond to the prompt, and your response is related to the prompt.
Your response is grounded in the material found in the corresponding chapter.
To earn a C or higher, your responses must meet all these conditions:
Special and/or new terms are clearly defined.
You use appropriate terms to identify concepts and ideas in context.
Your response is clearly based on the corresponding reading.
You offer some example from the reading to illustrate your response.
Your writing is relatively free from spelling and grammatical errors.
Optional: you use an example from class to illustrate your point.
To earn a B or higher, your responses must fulfill all these conditions:
The response is well supported by argumentation, especially by a type reviewed in class or in
Engaging Philosophy (this especially applies to the second set of responses).
You use an original example to illustrate points.
You are correctly apply some idea presented in class to develop your response.
Optional: you take a position for or against the response.
To earn an A, your responses meet at least one of these conditions:
Your work is interesting to read (e.g., your style is easy to follow or humorous or you use very
original or new examples to support your point).
Your work either suggests a new idea and/or it applies the concepts in a novel way.
You support your response with solid argumentation.
You support your position for or against the response with solid argumentation.