Early Modern Philosophy



Phil 21: Early Modern Philosophy, Spring 2006

Syllabus

Instructor: James Blackmon

jcblackmon@

Office: Sequoia 314

Hours: M W 11:00-12:00

This course examines the major developments in Western philosophy after the Middle Ages, with emphasis on the period from Descartes to Kant. Attention will be paid to the general historical and cultural setting within which the philosophical theories developed. Satisfies Area C1: World Civilizations.

REQUIRED READING

□ Cummins and Owen, Central Readings in History of Modern Philosophy, 2nd ed. 1999. Wadsworth Publishing Company. ISBN 0-534-52347-1.

□ A few on-line readings will be assigned. Internet access required.

GRADING AND ASSIGNMENTS

Participation 20%

Paper 1 20%

Midterm Exam 20%

Paper 2 20%

Final Exam 20%

□ Participation involves the following: Random attendance checks, in-class writing assignments, approximately 6-10 pop quizzes, involvement in discussion.

□ Papers must be (1) hard copies that are (2) stapled, (3) double-spaced, and (4) written in a simple 12 pt font with (5) page numbers and (6) a standard 1-inch margin. Proof read and spell check your work. Sacrifice poetic style for clarity where needed. Default to MLA guidelines. This is all part of your grade. When a paper is returned with a grade and comments, hang on to it. I may ask for it later. Always keep a back-up copy.

□ Exams require one large bluebook each which you will leave blank and trade with another student prior to taking the exam. The exam will test your factual knowledge (who said what, how different theories relate to each other) with some true/false and multiple choice formatting but primarily they will test your skills of analysis, argumentation, and exposition with essay and short answer prompts.

LATE POLICY

No papers will be accepted that are more than one class day late. Those papers that are only a class day late cannot get an A or A-.

It is your responsibility to tell me about any problems you may have meeting these deadlines. People with unreliable printers, cars, and grandmothers might benefit from thinking of it this way: You are being graded not only on the content of your paper but on your ability to get the finished product in my hands by the deadline.

PLAGIARISM

Plagiarism is copying someone else’s text (even a single line of it) without giving them credit. I catch plagiarists and, in the interest of those students who do their own work and earn their grades, I have the policy of giving the plagiarized paper an F and reporting the case.

SHORTHAND

|SS faulty sentence structure |? unclear or inappropriate |

|awk awkward word or phrase |RQ unhelpful rhetorical question |

|R? questionable relevance |√ an important or good point in |

|Sup? claim needs explicit support |argumentation/exposition |

|ASG strays off topic, ignores assignment |( better to develop this passage |

|NQ not quite right | |

|BQ begs the question | |

|SM straw man argument |Also, I sometimes use straight underlines and margin lines to mark |

|X wrong (false or doesn’t follow) |text that is especially important, clear, or just generally good. I |

|¶ new paragraph |sometimes use squiggly lines to mark generally poor parts of the |

|^ insert |text. |

|cut better to remove this text | |

ADVICE

□ Use the shorthand guide above when proofreading your work. The fact I have these symbols should tell you that these features are quite common or at least very important in student papers.

□ Take notes. Read them later. Write down all definitions and arguments.

□ Read the material closely and have it read on time.

□ Mark your reading material even if you plan to sell it back. Light pencil can later be erased. Sticky tabs can be removed. You can keep note cards in between the pages.

□ Talk to me. Raise questions and make points in class or in office hours. Please don’t be afraid to ask me to go over something again or to repeat a statement that you didn’t get. Tell me if you are confused about something.

□ Don’t self-impose limitations in your work. The fact that you have not yet been “analytical” or “a good writer” or “a good student” does not mean that you cannot learn to work so that you come to deserve these titles. In most cases, being a good student is more a habit, a form of behavior, than an innate quality.

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