Critical Thinking



Phil 101: Ethics and Social Issues

Syllabus

California State University at Sacramento

Spring 2006, Section 1

MEETING TIMES: Monday and Wednesday, 1:30 – 2:45 am, MND3009

INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Patti Nogales

CONTACT INFORMATION: pdn26@csus.edu and 278-6846

OFFICE: Mendocino Hall, 3014

OFFICE HOURS: Tuesday and Thursday, 10:00 - 11:30

CATALOG OUTLINE

This course provides an introduction to and training in “Moral controversies that divide society today, such as abortion, the death penalty, affirmative action, sexism, nuclear deterrence. Emphasis is on identifying the relevant values and moral principles underlying competing views and subjecting them to rational assessment.”

PREREQUISITE: Passing score on the Writing Proficiency Exam

RECOMMENDED: Passing score on 3 units of philosophy

SATISFACTION OF REQUIREMENTS: General Education, Diversity, and Area D2

This course satisfies General Education Requirements for Advanced Study by requiring students to spend a lot of time writing and revising argument constructions and an essay. Students are required to write no less than 5,000 words of clear and logical prose. See the description of assignments for more detail.

This course also satisfies diversity requirements by containing in the reading list the works and perspectives of minority and women scholars which reflect a diversity of values and methods of analysis. As a result, this course examines various sides of each issue and critically evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of supporting and refuting arguments and presents scholarly analysis of possible alternative solutions. This course also contributes to the development in the students of an understanding of an appreciation for the diversity of the human community.

This course also satisfies Area D2: Major Social Issues of the Contemporary Era by examining domestic issues confronting or dividing Americans today within the following topic areas: Abortion, Health and Biomedical issues, Gender Issues, Freedom of Speech, Race Issues, Criminal Justice, Drug and Alcohol Use, Homosexuality and Same Sex Marriage, and Nonhuman Animals and the Environment.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

We will work throughout the course to develop and refine the following skills:

• Expressing one’s ethical judgments in a consistent and clear fashion

• Discussing controversial social issues in a cogent and respectful manner

• Identifying arguments (premises and conclusions) in discussions of moral issues

• Identifying ethically relevant features of a particular case or social issue

• Developing arguments to support one’s position on controversial moral issues

• Identifying and summarizing the opponents point of view

• Analyzing specific ethical arguments for consistency and credibility, using ethical theories and concepts and revealing hidden or inconsistent assumptions

• Applying ethical theories to resolve moral problems encountered in personal, professional, and social life

• Writing clearly and logically and revising one’s own writing

TEXTBOOKS

Brown, Marvin T. Brown, The Ethical Process, 3rd Edition, Upper Saddle River, NJ, Prentice Hall, 2002.

Boss, Judith A., Analyzing Moral Issues, 3rd Edition, New York, NY, McGraw Hill, 1999.

ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADING

READINGS: To make sense of the lectures and to participate in class discussion and group work you MUST do the readings.

ATTENDANCE: The best way to learn philosophy is to read, write, and talk about it. As a result, I expect you to attend class regularly and recommend that you get notes from a classmate if you miss a session. For an absence to be excused you must inform me of it in advance. Too many absences will count against your participation grade.

PARTICIPATION: People think better when they are talking as well as listening. To help you develop critical thinking skills you will be asked to participate in group sessions. Class participation also includes asking questions, answering questions, taking notes, discussing issues, writing, and giving feedback to your classmates. Your final grade will reflect your contribution to the activities of the class.

WRITING: Writing is a wonderful tool for exploring and understanding a topic. I expect you to write clearly and with good grammar, spelling, and punctuation. For those who require assistance with writing, check out the Writing Lab, which provides excellent support. You will do two main kinds of writing in this class: argument constructions and an essay.

ARGUMENT STRUCTURES: One of the most valuable skills philosophy has to teach is the skill of uncovering, constructing, and evaluating arguments as they appear in a text. To practice this skill you will write three 3-5 page summaries of arguments found in three different readings. For example, you might write a summary of Judith Jarvis essay “A Defense of Abortion.” After reading her essay carefully, you would write down the main point(s) of the essay. Then, step by step, you would try to detect the conclusions and premises (include observation statements and value judgments) that lead to the conclusions.

ESSAY: You will be asked to write one essay this semester, 10-12 pages long. In this essay you should chose one ethical theory or theoretical approach and describe its application to one of the social issues described in class. For example, you might want to do an analysis of euthanasia from a utilitarian point of view.

One of the best ways of improving your writing skills is to have your writing critiqued by an audience. To allow you to experience valuable feedback during the writing process, your paper will be due in phases. First you will submit a statement of your thesis and a one paragraph description. Next you will submit a rough draft for critique (peer review). Finally, you will rewrite and submit your final draft (last day of class).

PRESENTATIONS: One of the main goals of this course is for you to be able to discuss arguments for and against different sides of controversial issues, rationally and respectfully. One way to practice this is to work in groups (of 3) to make a class presentation on one of the available topics. You must choose a topic and let me know by February 6th. Fifty percent of your grade on the presentation will be based on the group performance and the remaining 50% will be based on your contribution to that presentation.

ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADING (for a total of 100%)

Attendance and Participation 15%

Quizzes 15%

Presentations 20%

Argument Constructions 25%

Argumentative Essay 25% due: Monday, May 15th, 12:45

NUMERICAL/LETTER GRADING SCALE

100. A 70-72 C-

95. A- 67-69 D+

89. B+ 63-66 D

85. B 60-62 D-

82. B- 59 and below F

79. C+

73-76 C

POLICIES

ACADEMIC HONESTY: Academic honesty requires that a writer clearly inform the reader of the source of ideas expressed in a piece of writing. The failure to do this, that is, to fail to cite your sources, is considered plagiarism. In addition, there is a software program which can be used to detect papers obtained through the Internet. If you commit plagiarism on a document, the grade on that document will be an F and I reserve the right to flunk the student on the spot. Here is the university policy on academic honesty:



LATENESS: If you must be late (to class or with an assignment), you should let me know in advance. Tardies count as absences and too many absences (more than 4) will count against your grade. Unexcused late assignments will lose 2 points per day.

MAKEUP: If you let me know that you will miss a class in advance, you can make up the quiz that is given that day.

TENTATIVE WEEKLY SCHEDULE

WEEK 1: Introduction to the Ethical Process

Monday, January 23, 2006

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Read: Brown, Chapter 1 – Introduction to the Ethical Process (10 pp)

WEEK 2: Resources for the Ethical Process

Read: Brown, Chapter 2, Resources for the Ethical Process (10 pp)

Monday, January 30, 2006

Wednesday, February 1, 2006

Read: Brown, Chapter 3, Understanding Alternative Points of View (25 pp)

WEEK 3: Putting it All Together

Read: Brown, Chapter 4, Evaluating Arguments from Different Ethical Approaches (26 pp)

Monday, February 6, 2006

Wednesday, February 8, 2006

Read: Brown, Chapter 5, The Ethical Process as an Argumentative Dialogue (5 pp)

WEEK 4: Moral Theory

Monday, February 13, 2006

Read: Boss, Chapter 1 Moral Theory (read pp. 1-41)

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

WEEK 5: Abortion

Read: Boss, Chapter 2, Thomson, Marquis, and Warren

Monday, February 20, 2006

• Presentation #1

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

WEEK 6: Genetic Engineering and Cloning

Read: Boss, Chapter 3, Anderson, Robertson, and Kass

Monday, February 27, 2006

Presentation #2

Wednesday, March 1, 2006

WEEK 7: Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide

Read: Boss, Chapter 4, Battin and Hardwig

Monday, March 6, 2006

• Presentation #3

Wednesday, March 8, 2006

• Argument Structure 1 Due: Warren

SPRING BREAK – March 13-19th

WEEK 8: Punishment and the Death Penalty

Read: Boss, Chapter 5, Morris and Reiman

Monday, March 20, 2006

• Presentation #4

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

WEEK 9: Drug and Alcohol Use

Read: Boss, Chapter 6, Wilson and Husak

Monday, March 27, 2006

• Presentation #5

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

WEEK 10: Sexual Intimacy and Marriage

Read: Boss, Chapter 7, The Vatican and Ruse

Monday, April 3, 2006

• Presentation #6

Wednesday, April 5, 2006

WEEK 11: Freedom of Speech

Read: Boss, Chapter 8, Mill, Lawrence and Rauch

Monday, April 10, 2006

• Presentation #7

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

• Argument Structure 2 Due: Wilson

WEEK 12: Racism and Affirmative Action

Read: Boss, Chapter 9, Steele and Garcia

Monday, April 17, 2006

• Presentation #8

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

WEEK 13: Feminism, Motherhood, and the Workplace

Read: Boss, Chapter 10, de Beauvoir, Groenhout, Sommers

Monday, April 24, 2006

• Presentation #9

Wednesday, April 26, 2006 –

WEEK 14: War and Terrorism

Read: Boss, Chapter 11, Luban and Coady

Monday, May 1, 2006

• Presentation #10

Wednesday, May 3, 2006

WEEK 15: Nonhuman Animals and the Environment

Read: Boss, Chapter 12, Regan and Cohen

Monday, May 8, 2006

• Presentation #11

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

WEEK 16: Final Exam Week

Monday, May 15, 2006 Final Exam 12:45-2:45

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