Modern Philosophy

Fall 08

CRN 25862

M/W 4.30-5.45 G 127

Individuals with disabilities who need to request accommodations should contact the Disability Services Coordinator, Student Center 214, 678/466-5445, disabilityservices@mail.clayton.edu.

Please refer to the following for important information about the Regent’s Tests:

http://ctl.clayton.edu/Testing%20Center/Assmt_misc/Regents.htm

Course Policies:

Students must abide by policies in the Clayton State University Student Handbook, and the Basic Undergraduate Student Responsibilities.

Any type of activity that is considered dishonest by reasonable standards may constitute academic misconduct. The most common forms of academic misconduct are cheating and plagiarism. All instances of academic dishonesty will result in a grade of zero for the work involved. All instances of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Office of Student Life/Judicial Affairs. Judicial procedures are described at

http://adminservices.clayton.edu/studentlife/judicial_affairs.htm.

ITP Choice Policy (Each CCSU student is required to have ready access throughout the semester to a notebook computer that meets faculty-approved hardware and software requirements for the student's academic program. See http://itpchoice.clayton.edu for full details of this policy.)

Computer Use in This Course:
Student notebook computers will not be used in the classroom in this course. Computers will be required to access course materials and to communicate with your instructor.

Learning Outcomes:

Critical Thinking:

http://a-s.clayton.edu/campbell/Outcomes/Core/CoreCriticalThinkingOutcomesAreaDMaster.htm

Communication:

http://a-s.clayton.edu/campbell/Outcomes/Core/CoreCommunicationsOutcomesAreaDMaster.htm

Mid-term Progress Report

Mid term grades will be issued after the first exam and journal collection and will account for 35% of the final grade.

Instructor: Dr. Todd Janke

Office: A&S 105D

Phone:678.466.4718

Email: toddjanke@clayton.edu

Webpage: http://a-s.clayton.edu/tjanke

Class Listserv : phil3600-01spring08@lists.clayton.edu

Course Overview: The primary objectives of this course are to acquaint students with classic works and important thinkers in the history of modern philosophy, to foster individual appropriation of philosophical insights and reasoning. Success in this course will require a considerable commitment of your time and energy. You will be doing a lot of reading and writing and rereading. You will also need to take notes on the readings to help you prepare for the exams. The papers that you will write and the papers of other students that you will read and comment on will provide immersion in the material that will aid understanding and contribute to success on the tests. Make sure your journal papers are of the required length, demonstrate thoughtful effort, and are submitted in a timely fashion. Also, make sure that you engage in comment-and-response dialogue over the various paper submissions.

RequiredText: Modern Philosophy; Baird and Kaufmann, eds.

Course Requirements:

40% Electronic Discussion Forum Journal: You will be writing a 1 ½ - 2 page commentary on the assigned reading for each class meeting. These journal entries must be posted (emailed to the class listserv address – see above) PRIOR TO the class meeting at which the reading (on which the paper is based) will be discussed. You must keep a hard copy of all your submissions and organize them for collection and review on two occasions, on the day of the First Exam and on the day of the Final Exam. Add a cover page containing a table of contents and a paragraph or two assessing the overall quality of your journal/discussion list contribution, giving primary consideration to such factors as number of postings, timeliness of postings, length of papers, and quality of the writings themselves. Assign a rating to your assessment, based on a ten-point scale.

You will also need to bring your individual papers to class meetings, as you will be called on to make brief presentations of your analyses to the class. In addition to submitting papers, you are expected to read papers submitted by your classmates. You may demonstrate that you are doing so by commenting on these papers by email response to the listserv.

Your paper may be either (1) a response to one of the study questions at the end of the relevant reading in the textbook, (2) a report in your own words of what the author is saying in the selection, ending with 1-2 paragraphs of personal comment or criticism, or (3) an analysis based on your own formulation of an issue addressed in or posed by the reading. In a given paper, stay on the track you begin on; do not mix up the methods. Also, stay focused and do not ramble over multiple issues or topics. If you choose the second method, you must “close your eyes” to the editor’s introduction and summary; a repetition of what the editor has written is, in this context, tantamount to plagiarism. As you engage what are challenging and difficult readings, keep in mind that Understanding is the objective and not criticism for criticism's sake.

GRADING

40% Electronic Discussion Forum Journal (15% First exam collection / 25% Final exam collection)

60% Three (3) in class exams (one of which is the final)

Schedule of Readings and Assignments for PHIL 3600

Week 1

Introduction

Bacon

Week 2

Descartes

Week 3

No Class 1/21 MLK Holiday

Descartes

Week 4

Descartes

Malebranche

Week 5

Pascal

Week 6

Review

First Exam

Week 7

Spinoza

Week 8

Locke

Week 9—SPRING BREAK

Week 10

Leibniz

Week 11

Leibniz

Week 12

Berkeley

Week 13

Review

Second Exam

Week 14

Hume

Week 15

Rousseau

Kant

Week 16

Kant

Week 17

Review for Final Exam

***FINAL EXAM and JOURNAL COLLECTION: TBA***