Phil102 Introduction to Philosophy II

Time: 12-1pm, M W F

Venue: Frederic Lasserre 105
Lecturer: Irwin Chan

Email: irwinc@alumni.ubc.ca

Office Hours: By appointment
Overview

What is philosophy? What do philosophers do? This course aims to introduce some important philosophical issues in moral philosophy in order to give you a glimpse of philosophy. It also aims to demonstrate that philosophy is not something that belongs only in the ivory tower but is relevant to our lives.

At the end of the course, successful students will be able to:

(2) explain the relevance of morality to their lives in terms of the topics covered in this course;

(3) think critically about moral and social issues.
Reading

You do not need to buy any textbooks for this course. Most of the reading materials can be found on the library website in electronic form. Other reading materials can be downloaded from Connect or will be distributed in class under the fair use provisions.

Attendance is crucial to success in this course. This is not just because in-class participation is part of the assessment (details below), but also because participation is an essential part of the learning process. Other than regular small-group discussion sessions, there will often be learning activities in lectures. Self-study is important, but you can’t learn everything on your own. I therefore strongly encourage you to attend the lectures.

(1) Participation (15%)

(1.1) Reading Exercises

(1.2) Discussion

(2) Precis

(2.1) Weekly (15%)

(2.2) Trial run (2%)

(2.3) To-be-marked (10%)

(3) Short Essay

(3.1) Peer Review (3%)

(3.2) Final Draft (25%)

(4) Final Exam (30%)

(1.1) Reading Exercises

Reading a philosophy article is very different from reading an academic article from other disciplines, and learning how to read philosophical texts is a key component of this course. Therefore, there will be reading exercises in almost every lecture. You will be asked to read a passage from the assigned reading and answer some questions (and perhaps also discuss with your classmates).
Please remember to bring the relevant reading to class. You may bring a printed copy, or an e-copy on your laptop or tablet. Please do not read it on your phone. I will strictly enforce this policy. It is very difficult to read an article on a phone, especially a philosophical article. Having an e-copy of the reading on your phone will therefore not count as bringing the reading to class.
Assessment will be based on (written) participation and attendance.
(1.2) Discussion

There will be weekly small group discussions on Fridays. Discussion is a very important component of this course. Please try your best not to miss any discussion sessions.

A precis succinctly states the main thesis of an article and summarizes the arguments supporting the main thesis.

Each week, you need to write a precis for (one of the) papers discussed in that week. It won’t be marked, and you will receive credit as long as you have done it. Weekly precis are due every Monday in class on Connect.

(Note that you don’t need to submit weekly thesis statements in the weeks that you need to submit the trial run and to-be-marked thesis statements.)

In Week 5, you will submit a trial run precis (100 words) for the reading of the week. You will get credit for submission and you will be given a “mark” for your precis, but the “mark” is only to for your reference. That is, it won’t count towards your final mark. We will discuss this precis in class.

In Week 9, you will submit a to-be-marked precis. It will be marked by me, you will get a “real mark”, and you will receive comments on it.

You will need to write a short end-of-term essay (1000 words). Topic and due date will be announced later in the term. This essay assignment has two components.

You should write a draft and bring it to class on 27 Nov (Monday, Week 13) for peer review. This will give you a chance to receive comments from your classmates and improve your draft. Be sure to be there.

After receiving comments from your classmates, try to think carefully about the comments and revise your essay.

Details will be announced later in the term.

Our course website is Connect. You can find the syllabus, lecture slides, and other reading materials there.

A short and informal survey will be posted on Connect in Week 5. This is to let me know your thoughts and comments on the course materials, the lectures, the assignments, etc., and help me to improve the course. I encourage you to do the survey.

I do not hold regular office hours. However, you are always welcome to talk to me before/after class, write me an email, or arrange a meeting. My email address is irwinc@alumni.ubc.ca

Plagiarism is a serious academic misconduct. It will not and should not be treated lightly. Please cite properly if you take any text from someone else. For details on UBC’s plagiarism policy and tips on avoiding plagiarism, please see http://www.calendar.ubc.ca/Vancouver/index.cfm?tree=3,54,111,959 and http://learningcommons.ubc.ca/resource-guides/avoiding-plagiarism/

Philosophy is for everyone. I encourage everyone to participate and contribute. I will also do my best to design the course and arrange the lectures in ways that give everyone a fair chance to participate and contribute. If you have any thoughts or comments on the course arrangements, you are always welcome to come talk to me in person or send me an email.