INSTRUCTOR: Amber L. Katherine, Ph.D.

Office: 135E Lib Arts Bldg, katherine_amber@smc.edu, (310)434-3539

 PEOPLES' OFFICE HOURS: (Held at the south end of Cayton Cafeteria)

Monday & Wednesday            3:45 – 4:45 pm

Tuesdays & Thursdays            2:15 – 3:15 pm

CATELOGUE DESCRIPTION: This course introduces students to the analysis of various metaphysical and epistemological questions and problems in Western philosophy, typically including, the nature and limits of knowledge, the existence of God, the Mind-Body Problem, the Freedom vs. Determinism debate, and the Absolutism vs. Relativism debate. The emphasis of the course is on doing philosophy, e.g. via logical analysis, discourse analysis, thought experiments, or phenomenological reduction.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:
• Identify and explain various philosophical questions, problems and arguments.  
• Define philosophical vocabulary, including “perception”, “belief” and “knowledge”.
• Compare and contrast philosophical positions.
• Analyze philosophical problems from various methodological standpoints.
• Discuss, critically evaluate and debate the merits of various philosophical positions.
• Construct philosophical arguments.  

GENERAL INFORMATION:
• This is a learning-centered course: attendance, reading and participation are essential. 

• There is a late penalty in order to encourage students to come to class prepared for the work of the day. Late work is penalized –10% per day beginning on the day it is due.  

• All written work for this class must be typed and spell-checked. Penalty = -20%

• Attendance will be taken everyday. To be counted for attendance you must be present from the beginning of class and stay until you are dismissed. Minus 10 pts for every absence after the first.
• There will be quizzes over the reading before we discuss it. Anything in the Palmer text may be on the quizzes even if we don't discuss it in class. On some days, quizzes may be scheduled but not administered.
• You may be dropped from the course if you miss 3 consecutive classes. Ultimately, you are responsible for dropping and adding by the SMC deadlines.
• You must be able to access & use the eCompanion system for this course. You are expected to have your e-mail address updated in the system within 2 weeks of the start of classes.

• This syllabus is subject to updates and other changes. 
• If you must drop the course during the semester, you are welcome to enroll again in the future.

REQUIRED TEXTS & FORMS:
You will need a package of 815E scantron forms for the quizzes.

Donald Palmer, Looking at Philosophy: The Unbearable Heaviness of Philosophy Made Lighter

Addicted to War by Joel Andreas (available from instructor)
Sartre's "No Exit" (available at bookstore and online)
Plato's "Apology" and "Allegory of the Cave" (available online)
”Evolutionary Psychology: A Primer" (available online)
 
ASSIGNMENTS & GRADING:
Attendance & Participation            100 (-10pts each absence after first)

Quizzes                                         300 (No make ups. Drop lowest. Average x 3)

Debate Position Papers                  200 (6@ 40pts each; 90% guaranteed for reading aloud)
Assignments                                  105 (7@15pts each)
Existentialist Dialogue                     100 (2 pages, read aloud in class) 
Final Self-Examination                    100 (5-7 pages single-spaced)

Final Oral Presentation                    100 (5 minutes)
TOTAL                                         1005
Extra Credit                                      50 (completion of Sustainable Works Program)

Note: GRADES ARE BASED STRICTLY ON POINTS EARNED: A = 90% (900pts or above); B = 80% (800-899pts); C = 70% (700-799pts); D = 60% (600-699pts); F = 59% (599pts or below).  

Extra Credit Earn 50 points. Graduate from SMC's Sustainable Works Program for 50 points! Requires successfully completing the program. For more info call (310) 458-8716, SMC Environmental College

Course

Syllabus

Course Calendar

Lecture Notes

Study Guide

Virtual Office Hours

Instructor's Homepage

Research Links

BEACH

Student Assignment Samples

Course Updates

MIDTERM

Take Home Final