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Eastfield College
Social Science, Human Services & Business Division
Fall 2018
Introduction to Philosophy
PHIL-1301-41001
Room-G204 LEC Tuesday-Thursday
8:00am-9:20am
Instructor: Garry Jackson Contact
Information:
Office: C236 (Adjunct Faculty Lounge) Phone:
(972) 391-1047
Email address: GarryJackson@dcccd.edu
Hours Available: by appointment
Course Description: An introduction to the ideas about such things as the good life, reality, God, the
acquisition and characteristics of knowledge, and the nature of humans. Students will evaluate both
ancient and modern theories about issues in terms of their logic, historical significance, and meaning
in everyday life, as they practice the methods for doing philosophy.
Textbooks and Other Course Materials:
Norman Melchert, Philosophical Conversations: A Concise Historical Introduction (New York,
Oxford University Press, 2009, ISBN 978-0-19-532846-2)
Course Objectives: Upon completion of this course, the student should be able to:
• Read, analyze and critique philosophical texts
• Demonstrate knowledge of key concepts, major arguments, problems, and terminology in
philosophy
• Present logically persuasive arguments both orally and in writing
• Demonstrate critical thinking skills in evaluation and application of philosophical concepts
to various aspects of life.
• Evaluate the personal and social responsibilities of living in a diverse world
Evaluation Procedures:
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The student’s progress will be evaluated on the basis of attendance, completion of
reading assignments, participation in class activities, short summary/response essays,
and the final exams.
The student is expected to attend class unless otherwise prevented by uncontrollable
circumstances. It is the student’s responsibility to contact the professor to make
arrangement to make up any loss class time and/or assignments.
The student is expected to read the assigned sections from the textbook before coming
to class. (see Course Schedule)
The student is expected to compose a 1-2 paged 12pt font single-spaced typed
Response Paper on ten (10) of the philosopher(s) and philosophical movement
covered in the textbook. The student will briefly summarize the basic tenets of the
philosopher(s) or philosophical movement’s ideas and thoughts and give a personal
response/evaluation to the validity of those ideas and thoughts from the student
perspective and understanding. The majority of this paper is the student’s personal
response to the ideas and thoughts of the philosopher(s) or philosophical movement.
The student is expected to write intelligently following the general rules of good
English grammar and composition.
The student is expected to complete a final exam at the end of the course.
Final Course Grades Using eConnect
Final Grade Reports are no longer mailed. Convenient access is available online at
www.econnect.dcccd.edu. Use your identification number when you log onto eConnect, an online
system developed by the DCCCD to provide you with timely information regarding your college
record. Your grades will also be printed on your Student Advising Report, which is available in
the Admissions Office.
Eastfield College Email Policy
Faculty and students must have and use a DCCCD account for all correspondence relating to
academic coursework. For information on setting up a DCCCD student email account go to:
http://www.dcccd.edu/netmail/home.html
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Attendance Policy:
To fully gain from and grasp the philosophical concepts presented in this class, attendance is a
must. The student will not be accountable for any absenteeism in case of school closing due to
severe weather
or the absence of the instructor. Failure to attend at least two-thirds of the class
Financial
Aid Statement
sessions will result in an automatic failing grade unless other arrangements are made.
Classroom Etiquette
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Cell phones, pagers, and/or any other electronic devices that might disturb the class
must be silenced before entering the classroom.
No texting or emails are permitted during class time.
Each student will respect the opinions and beliefs of the other students during
discussions in class.
No food, drinks, and tobacco products are permitted in Eastfield College classrooms
Grading:
• Each response may receive a total of 10 points each with a maximum 100
points (10 papers x 10 pts. Each = 100 total points) possible (the student
will be graded according to logical argumentation, composition,
grammar, spelling, and textual content)
• Attendance and class participation will also factor in the determination of
the final grade.
• The final exam will consist of twenty-five (25) questions covering the
entire chapters in the textbook with each correct answer receiving four
(4) points for a possible maximum of 100 points.
• The final grade will be calculated according to the average of the total
points the student has earned during the semester for the Response
papers and the Final Exam. The total points for the Response papers will
added to the total points for Final exam and divided by two (2) to
determine the final grade based upon the following scale:
A = 90 -100
B = 80 -89
C = 70 – 79
D = 60 – 59
F = 50 –below
Response Essays Policy
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All essay papers that are turned in on-time on the date they are due will receive
one (1+) bonus point equaling a total of ten (10+) extra points at the end of the
term. Example: 60 regular points + 10 bonus points (on-time submissions) = 70
points, which turns a “D” into a “C”.
All essay papers that are turned late (after the assigned due date) will receive
one point taken away (-1) taken away equaling a total of ten (-10) points taken
away at the end of the term. Example: 60 regular points – 10 points (removed) =
50, which turns a “D” into an “F”
(-1) one point will be taken away for each of following:
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1. Not one full page
2. Not single-spaced lines
3. Not 12pt font size
4. Not one inch headings
BONUS POINTS
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Students may acquire extra points/bonus points by successfully completing one or all of
the POP Quizzes given during the course of this semester. The student will simply be asked
to identify a particular philosophy with a particular philosopher (i.e. – Rene Descartes =
rationalists and John Locke = empiricists, etc.) There will be no prior announcement or
warning when these quizzes will be offered. They may be given at any time at the
discretion of the instructor. Students are NOT required to take any of these quizzes as they
are only for the purposes of offering an extra opportunity to gain bonus points. No
student’s final grade will be harmed by not taking any of these quizzes but may be helped.
This offer is only for those who are in attendance the day of the quiz. Any student who is
absent at the time of quiz may be allowed to take it only at the discretion of the instructor.
The TOTAL POINTS given for each quiz is ten (10) points.
Students may also acquire extra points/bonus points by submitting addition essay papers
above the required ten (10).
Students may also have the opportunity to keep their bonus points or substitute in place
of any of one or more of their essay papers.
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Assignments submitted email
Students have the option of submitting their assignments by email to the
professor. Please note following requirements for these submissions to be
accepted.
1. All documents must be submitted in WORD format only unless otherwise
approved by the instructor.
2. All documents must be submitted as an email attachment not as an email.
3. All submissions will receive a reply notifying the student that their submission
has been received. IF the student does not receive a reply from the instructor,
most likely the submission, for some reason, was not received.
4. It is the student responsibility to check with the instructor if he or she does not
receive a reply to their submission.
5. Any submission made on the weekends must be in the instructor’s email inbox
postdated no later than Sunday morning or it will be considered late.
6. Technological difficulties in transmission of assignments will not be an
acceptable excuse for ungraded or missing papers.
7. It is the student’s responsibility make certain that the instructor has received all
submitted papers as soon as possible before the end of the semester.
8. It is highly recommended that the student do not delay or wait until the last
minute to submit assignments.
9. If any problems occur in transmitting assignments by email, the student must
submit a hardcopy either in person or leave in the instructor’s mailbox in the
Adjunct Faculty lounge (C236)
10. The student must pay close attention to correct spelling and punctuation of the
instructor’s email address to insure proper delivery. I
GarryJackson@dcccd.edu
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Garry Jackson PHIL
1301-41000
September 29, 2015
Socrates View of Wrongdoing
Socrates, who lived approximately from 469 – 399 B.C, is viewed as one of titans
of western philosophy. His moral ethic is based on a presupposition that all human beings
are basically good. Therefore, in his mind, all wrongdoing is the result of ignorance- that
is, ignorance of the good. He believes that people unintentionally do what is wrong
thinking that their actions are good. But they would do right or good if they were only
taught what the good or right is. I strongly disagree with this position and will argue in
this paper that people do wrong or evil not because of ignorance but rather because of a
depraved nature within them already bent towards evil or wrongdoing.
Like a marching soldier that is out of step with the others in his company because
he steps out on the wrong foot, Socrates ethical mistake is based on what I believe is his
wrong supposition that all human beings are basically good. This leads to another
erroneous position that human beings have the power within themselves to choose to do
either the good or evil. And their evils acts are the result of willful choices performed in
ignorance of the good. This in turn leads to another erroneous belief that all human
beings would do good if only correctly taught what that good is.
If Socrates view is correct than all of the millions of dollars spent by our
government in public service ads warning Americans of the terrible consequences of their
wrongful actions and/or behavior should have a dramatic effect on the public
consciousness. For example, with all the ads warning people of the dangers of drunken
driving, should we not see a large drop in traffic fatalities due to drunken driving? With
all the warnings about the dangers of cigarette smoking should we not see a large drop in
people who smoke? If Socrates is right, shouldn’t someone inform the terrorist that
killing people is not good and end their murderous acts? I could go on easily but I hope
you see my point. If Socrates is right and we just educate people of the good, should we
not see more people doing good and have a much better world free from evil?
Despite all the attempts to instruct people of the good and yet they continually do
evil would seem, to me at least, to suggest that problem is not with the mind but with the
heart- the very nature of man. If people are basically good than why are children taught
how to be good and never taught how to be bad? Why does when little Johnny is dropped
off at school each morning, he is given the admonition, “be good today!” Why isn’t he is
given the warning, “don’t be bad today” instead? Could it possibly be that in the back of
the mind of the parent is the realization that little Johnny already knows how to be bad?
In other words, it is already in his human nature to do what is bad.
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Finally, if Socrates is right and people have the moral ability within themselves to
either choose the good or the evil, then why do people seem to choose the evil more often
than the good? Even though they are strongly taught what the good is, and encouraged to
make good choices why do they continuously seem to return to evil ways like a cleaned
up pig to its pigpen? Once they learn what the good is should it not be a simple easy
choice to do the good? If Socrates is right and people possess within themselves the
moral power to either choose the good or bad, then why is there a continuous struggle to
always choose the good? And why does the choice to do evil seems to always win out?
The Christian Bible seems to make to following suggestions to answer this
troubling dilemma. In Genesis 6:5, God summarizes the human condition this way, “Then
the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every intent of
the thoughts of his heart was only evil continuously”. Jeremiah the prophet then makes
this observation of the human heart –“The heart is deceitful above all things, and
desperately wicked; who can know it.”- Jeremiah 17:9. Finally the Bible seems to make
this ultimate analysis of the humanity, “…they are (all) corrupt, they have (all) done
abominable works, there is none who does good.” Psalms 14:1 (emphasis mine) This
view in my opinion, which I’ll argue in later discussion on St. Augustine, is the best
reason for the wrongdoing in our world today.
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Student name
No.
Date
Course Name & Section
Chapter 4- The trial and Death of Socrates
Summary begins here
Please limit this section to only a few sentences or just one paragraph)
1. Brief description of the Trial
a. What were the charges against Socrates?
b. Who were his accusers?
c. Briefly summarized Socrates defense/ his answers to the charges against
him
d. What was the verdict
2. Brief description of Socrates death
Your Response
(This section should comprise the bulk of your paper)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
What do I think about the charges leveled against Socrates?
Do I think Socrates received a fair trial?
Do I agree with the verdict?
What verdict would you have rendered and why?
Do I agree with Socrates’ decision to not escape but stay and accept his
punishment?
6. What advice would you have offered Socrates- escape or stay?
7. What would I have done if I was Socrates place?
(Please use 12pt size font)
• Please be certain single-spaced each line
If you use any citations from the textbook, simply list the page number where the
citations come from at the end of the sentence (p. 34)
All other citations please list the source in the following order: Author (last name,
first name), Title of Book (or article), and page number
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MONTH
August
DAY DATE
READINGS
PAGE
ASSIGNMENTS
Tue.
Thu.
28
30
Syllabus/Introduction
Before Philosophy
pp. 1-10
September Tue.
Thu.
Tue.
Thu.
Tue.
Thu.
Tue.
Thu.
4
6
11
13
18
20
25
27
Philosophy Before Socrates
Philosophy Before Socrates
Socrates and the Sophists
The Trial and Death of Socrates
Plato
Plato
Aristotle
Aristotle
pp. 11-22
pp. 23-37
pp. 38-65
pp. 66-93
pp. 94-105
pp. 106-129
pp. 130-145
pp. 146-168
October
Tue.
Thu.
Tue.
Thu.
Tue.
Thu.
Tue.
Thu.
Tue.
2
4
9
11
16
18
23
25
30
The Christians
Augustine
Anselm and Aquinas
Moving from Medieval to Modern
Descartes
Descartes
Locke
Locke
Hume
pp. 172-180
pp. 181-211
pp. 212-227
pp. 228-247
pp. 248-269
pp. 270-276
pp. 277-283
pp. 284-294
pp. 295-307
Thu.
Tue.
Thu.
Tue.
Thu.
Tue.
Thu.
Tue.
Thu.
1
6
8
13
15
20
22
27
29
Hume
Kant
Kant
Hegel and Marx
Kierkegaard and Nietzsche
The Utilitarians
THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY
The Pragmatists
Wittgenstein
pp. 308-322
pp.323-338
pp. 339-356
pp. 357-373
pp. 374-420
pp. 421-437
pp. 438-461
pp. 462-500
9th paper
Tue.
Thu.
4
6
pp. 501-546
pp.547-577
10th paper
Tue.
Thu.
11
13
The Existentialists
Post Modernism/
Physical Realism/Finals Review
Final Exams
Final Exams
November
December
9
1st paper
2nd paper
3rd paper
4th paper
5th paper
6th paper
7th paper
8th paper
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