Syllabus for PHIL 100.1 Introduction to Philosophy Online

Instructor Information
Marcy P. Lascano
Department of Philosophy
379 Bartlett Hall
University of Massachusetts
130 Hicks Way
Amherst, MA 01003
413.545.2330 Office
lascano@philos.umass.edu
http://www-unix.oit.umass.edu/~lascano/

Reading Materials
All course readings are included on the website for you to download. The following is the list of the course dates and readings due for that date:

Readings

Week 1
What is Philosophy?
The Apology
The Crito

Week 2
Meditations on First Philosophy, Meditations I-III

Week 3
Meditations IV-VI

Week 4
On the Ultimate Origin of Things
Why Does the Universe Exist?
Reply To Parfit

Week 5
Good, Evil, and the Existence of God

Week 6
Dialogue on Personal Identity and Immortality

If you are interested in further readings on any topic, please feel free to ask - I can usually recommend some interesting stuff!

Course Description
This course is an introduction to Western Philosophy. After a brief introduction to the field and logic, we will cover several main topics in philosophy such as personal identity, the existence of God, why the universe exists, how we get knowledge, and the relation between the mind and the body. This course assumes no prior knowledge of philosophy.

Course Objectives
The objectives of the course are (1) to acquaint you with some of the basic problems and topics within the field of philosophy, and (2) to help you develop the ability to understand, evaluate, and draw reasoned conclusions concerning arguments from philosophical texts.

Method of Instruction
If this course were to meet in person, we would meet on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of each week, so I am going to assign topics as if we meet three days a week. Of course, you can download and read the topics at any time. This just gives us a guideline for how much we can cover each week.

For each section of the course, you will find a reading, a lecture, and sometimes a link to the connected discussion question.

There will also be chats. These chats are not mandatory, but are times when I promise to be at my computer so that you can ask me questions in "real time" and get responses and feedback. I am tentatively scheduling the chats for Wednesday evenings from 7pm EST to 9pm EST. The first chat will be on Wednesday, July 14th. If it turns out that this time is not good for a majority of you, or if we need more chats then I will rearrange the schedule accordingly. I will send out an e-mail reminder before the first chat.

Method of Evaluation
Exams (80%): There will be three timed exams during the course - one every two weeks. I will make the exam available over a four-day period, but once you open the exam you will only have one hour to complete it. The exams will be multiple choice, short answer, and essay.

Class Participation (20%): Class participation will be evaluated on your contribution to the threaded discussions that are linked to certain sections of the course. I'll offer discussion questions on one or two topics each week. All Discussion postings should be completed by 12:00 pm EST on Sunday of each week (that is at the end of the week).

I will grade each contribution based on factors such as whether the contribution answers the question, how well it is supported by reasoned argument, and whether the contribution answers the concerns or questions of other students or makes an original contribution to the discussion.

Communications
If you need to reach me, send me an email at lascano@philos.umass.edu. I'll be online a lot, and can usually respond within 24 hours. My home phone number is (413) 585-9806. I don't anticipate any reason for you to have to ring me rather than communicate by email, but you're welcome to call.

Technical Difficulties
Please call the Student Help Desk with all technical matters, as well as username and password issues. The Student Help Desk is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The number is: 1-800-569-6505, and the email address is: amherstsupport@umassonline.net.

If you have questions about registration, course fees, add/drop, or other administrative questions or concerns, please contact Continuing Education at (413) 545-0530.

Cheating
Subject to university guidelines, any instance of cheating will result in a grade of "F" for the course. The prevalent form of cheating is plagiarism. Plagiarism is the misrepresentation of another individual's work as one's own. In short, plagiarism is a form of dishonestly. Don't be dishonest.

Disappearing
An unfortunate but common phenomenon in online courses is the "disappearance" of certain students. Some students stop checking the website, stop participating in discussions, and stop submitting work. Students who disappear in this course will not receive an "incomplete" for the course, they will receive an "F."

Please check the website often and keep up with the readings and discussions. Don't let yourself fall behind. If it does happen, please contact me immediately. I'm not heartless. :)

Helpful Tips About the Site
The best way to view the course is through the "Outline" section. Here you can look at each section of the course. Within each section, you will find a brief description of that reading, the text, the associated lecture, and sometimes an associated discussion question.

The "Lectures" and "Files" sections are just different ways for you to get at the course material. They contain all and only the things that are in the sessions as viewed in the "Outline" portion of the course site.

I will occasionally send out course announcements via email, so make certain that you gave the correct email address to Continuing Education when you enrolled in the course.

I have made it so that you can view your grades in the "Grade Book" section of the course. If you have any questions about your grade, please let me know immediately. I do, sometimes, incredibly enough, make mistakes. :)