PHI-1011-004: Intro to Philosophy

Course Information

Introduces significant theoretical and practical questions and emphasizes understanding the meaning and methods of philosophy. Includes: the human condition, logic, reality, knowledge, freedom, history, ethics, and religion. This is a statewide Guaranteed Transfer course in the GT-AH3 category.

For details on Parts of Term, please visit: Parts of Term.

Instructor Information

Course flow:

This class is broken into two parts:

First, we look at questions concerning what exists and in what ways. Specifically, what are you? What is a soul? But also, what does it mean to be free? Can machines/computers be free? Are you a machine?

Second, we look at questions concerning how you should make up your mind concerning, well, anything. How should you use evidence to form your opinions? Who is trustworthy? What are the right ways — ethically and rationally — to use AI? What roles do falsification as well as creativity play in science?

If you keep up with the quizzes and participation, this class is easy to pass. If you do not keep up with those things, it will not be.

Required Text/Course Materials/Technology

• All readings are available via link in the below schedule. (Follow this closely throughout the semester.)
• A PersonifyAI.app subscription (10$ for 1 semester) will be required for writing your final paper. This is non-negotiable and must be purchased early in the semester. YOU MUST USE YOUR SCHOOL EMAIL WHEN REGISTERING. (Further instructions will be provided in class.)

Course Calendar

The professor has the right to adjust the content and structure of the course.

Course Specific Policies and Information

Attendance

Regular attendance in all course activities is critical for academic success. Please review the College Non-Attendance Policy.

Students establish attendance by completing an academic activity based on course content. As defined by the Federal Department of Education, merely logging into the course site or introducing oneself to the class does not count as attendance. Some examples of successfully attending class include participation in a content-related discussion in class or in the D2L discussion board, taking a quiz, submitting an assignment, or contacting your instructor with a content related question. Students who have not participated by 11:59 PM on the deadline date will be dropped. Similarly, the last date of academic attendance must be reported to Financial Aid for students who do not earn a D or better; students who have not been in regular attendance may experience financial aid ramifications.

See participation below.

Course Assignments

Your grade is made up of the following categories:

Participation - The participation grade is earned by actively engaging in the daily in-class activities. These activities include the following: class discussions/debates, peer writing evaluation workshops, group critical analysis sessions, and others.

Quizzes - There are quizzes for every topic we cover, all of which are on D2L. These are due at the end of their respective units. This is meant to allow you significant flexibility, but you still need to stay up to date on them. If you wait till the deadline and some issue arises, you will very likely not get a mass extension on all of the quizzes.

Final Paper - The final paper is where you demonstrate the skills you’ve developed on the question you chose. It is not graded just on the final product, but on how you meet milestones and build on feedback through an iterative process. You will be required to start halfway through the semester, and there will be two peer review sessions (one on outlines and another on the paper itself) to help you develop your ideas and skills.

Late work policies

I grant at most one extension for an assignment, and generally speaking I do not grant mass extensions. That means if you miss submitting an entire unit of quizzes, then I will likely only grant an extension on one. Peer review sessions must be attended to receive credit, and they cannot be made up after the fact.

Each extension is contingent on being professional. As college students, you should recognize yourselves as professional students. (Anything less, and you’re not fully appreciating the level of investment you’re making.) That means I expect you to communicate timely, clearly, and respectfully. In addition, it means you have realistic standards for yourself and your instructors. I will work with you on extensions so long as you are professional in your requests and expectations. Here’s an example of a bad email:

“hey I missed Thursday three weeks ago”

Can you spot all of the errors? The recipient isn’t addressed. There is no signature. It is not clear which class or section the student is in. The first letter isn’t capitalized, and there’s no punctuation. These are all issues that might seem small but show a lack of attention to detail and likewise a lack of respect for the recipient. Worst of all, there is no actual question. It is just a statement, meaning it is asking the recipient (i.e. the instructor) to figure out what you need and what you’re looking for. Finally, this email is way too late. If you (expect to) miss a deadline, you need to handle it as soon as possible. Here is a better approach:

“Dear Dr. Conte, I hope this finds you well. I am in your PHI-1011-004 class. You may have noticed I was unable to submit my finished paper by the deadline on Thursday (Nov 19). If possible, I would sincerely appreciate an extension to submit the assignment for full or partial credit until the following Tuesday (Dec 1). I understand that it is my responsibility to complete assignments by the due date and there is no guarantee that I get an extension. Thank you for your consideration and have a great day! Billy Pilgrim S0123456789”

Plagiarism and Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Plagiarism. If you are having difficulty with a paper or MLA citations, please communicate with me. I’ll be glad to work with you. Plagiarism, in my view, is something students resort to when they feel desperate. If you are behind, not sure you understand the assignment, are struggling with the assignment, don’t understand how the MLA citation system works, or a similar situation, please get in touch with me. We will work one-on-one to get you back on track. This is a much better solution than turning in work which is not yours. Many students don’t always realize that in academic communities, plagiarism is a serious offense, and is grounds for failing an assignment or course and/or disciplinary action. Plagiarism means copying passages directly from the text of any source, without quotation marks and citations, or not citing summarized or paraphrased information. The written work you submit must be original: written entirely by you alone and not previously submitted in another class. All quotations, summaries and paraphrases (restatements of others’ ideas) need to be cited within your paper. No credit will be given for plagiarized papers and/or assignments. Students who plagiarize will be referred to the Provost.

Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Imagine asking someone, “Hey, I’m hungry. Could you go eat lunch for me?”. You’re not asking if they’ll bring you lunch. You’re asking that they will eat lunch and in doing so satisfy your hunger. Absurd, right? Someone else eating doesn’t do anything for your empty stomach.

Now imagine doing the same for learning. “Hey, I’d like to learn how to swim. Could you learn how for me?” If the only thing that happens is your friend learns how to swim, you should still steer clear of the deep end.

There are some things that cannot be done for you. Learning is one of these things. Your use of external resources -whatever they are- should always be done in service of your learning, helping you master the material and skills better.

Completing assignments with regurgitated LLM responses will not lead to you learning (nor passing).

Other Policies

The professor reserves the right to change this syllabus (and course) at any time.

Grade Scale

Point Distribution

This course is weighted by category rather than by a fixed point total. Your overall grade is the weighted average of the categories listed under Course Assignments above: Participation (30%), Quizzes (30%), and the Final Paper sequence (40%, split evenly across four milestones — the Personify Notes, the Outline & Review, the Paper & Review, and the Revised Paper). Individual assignment point values are shown in D2L, and the D2L gradebook is configured to match these weights.

Institutional Outcomes

Graduates of the Community College of Denver are prepared to be successful on a personal, professional, and global level. For a full description of these institutional outcomes please see Institutional Policies module on this courses D2L shell.

In this class we will focus on:

Effective Communication: Students will communicate a central guiding idea to a defined audience, for a concrete purpose, employing effective conventions in the service of meaning.

Critical Thinking: Students will analyze information and ideas from multiple perspectives and articulate an argument or opinion or a conclusion based on that analysis

Intercultural Literacy: Students will apply a set of cognitive, affective, and behavioral skills to effectively interact in a variety of cultural contexts.

Standard Competencies/Outcomes

1. Distinguish and critically evaluate the major schools of philosophy.
2. Demonstrate an understanding of the methods of philosophical thinking.
3. Critically evaluate primary philosophical sources.
4. Apply philosophical theories to current issues.
5. Demonstrate philosophical/logical thinking through writing and other forms of assessment.

Topical Outline

1. What is Philosophy?
   1. Definition
   2. Branches of Philosophy
   3. Applications of Philosophy
2. Logic
   1. The Major Theories and Issues of Logic
3. Epistemology
   1. The Major Theories and Issues of epistemology
4. Metaphysics
   1. The Major Theories and Issues of metaphysics
5. Ethics
   1. The Major Theories and Issues of Ethics