Introduction
to Moral
Philosophy
130-A
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of the syllabus
Course: Introduction to Moral Philosophy
PHILO 130 Section A
Instructor: Daniel Immerman
Monday, Wednesday, Friday 11:30 - 12:20 in Justin 149
Contact Info
Email: immerman@ksu.edu
Office: Dickens 308C
Office hours: 2-4 on Thursday or by appointment
Course website: http://danielimmerman.com/teaching/17S/130A.html
Readings
You do not need to purchase any texts for this class; all readings will
be available on the website.
Course Description
This
course serves as an introduction to moral philosophy; we will look at
various ethical questions, both theoretical and applied, some of which
you choose. At the same time, we will work to develop various
philosophical skills.
Course Goals
In this course you will:
• Become familiar with positions
and arguments in some areas of applied and theoretical moral philosophy.
• Improve your ability to identify
an author’s claims, arguments, and objections in a text, to restate
them in your own words clearly and precisely, and to state and evaluate
responses to them.
• Practice identifying a
philosophical topic you are interested in, identifying a research
question related to it, and writing a paper on it.
• Work out for yourself your own
position on several of the debates we discuss.
Evaluation
Here is the breakdown of grades in the class:
• Short Writing Assignments:
– Most Fridays during the first two
thirds of the semester, you will turn in a short writing assignment. In
total, these are worth 15 percent of your grade. These cannot be made
up if late, but I will drop your lowest one.
• Final paper and accompanying steps:
- In addition, throughout the course, you will be
working on a longer paper, which will ultimately be at least 1200
words. I will not assign a topic, instead, you will be responsible for
selecting it.
- Near the middle of the semester, on March 10th,
you will turn in a one-page description of your final paper. You will
get comments on it from your peers and myself; giving comments to
others will count for part of your grade for this assignment. Turning
it in will be worth 2 percent of your grade and giving comments to
others 2 percent.
- Several weeks later, on April 14th you will turn
in a rough draft. You will get comments on it from your peers and
myself; giving comments to others will count for part of your grade for
this assignment. Turning it in will be worth 2 percent of your grade
and giving comments to others 4 percent.
- The final draft of the paper will be due at the
end of the semester, on May 11th and worth 30 percent of your
grade.
• Pop Quizzes and in-class writing:
– On many days in the semester we
will have pop quizzes and/or short in-class writing assignments. There
won't be any before the second week of the semester. Regarding the
quizzes: I will list on the calendar page of the course website which
day's material you might be quizzed on; it will be at most four day's
worth of material. These will be worth 25 percent of your grade in
total. They can't be made up if you're missing, but I will drop your
lowest three.
• Participation:
– I will also be grading you based
on participation. I will pass out a rubric on the first day that
indicates what you need to do to get a good participation grade.
Participation is worth 20 percent of your grade. I’ll check in with you
regarding how you’re doing on participation at some point in the middle
of the semester, but you should also feel free to contact me at any
point if you want to know how you’re doing on participation.
Your assignments will be graded out of 100
90 and above = A
80 - 89.99999 = B
70 - 70.99999 = C
60 - 60.99999 = D
below 60 = F
0 = Didn't turn in
I will grade some small assignments via a ✓, ✓+, ✓- system. ✓+ is 100,
✓ is 85, ✓- is 70.
Academic Honesty
Kansas State University has an Honor and Integrity System based on
personal integrity, which is presumed to be sufficient assurance that,
in academic matters, one’s work is performed honestly and without
unauthorized assistance. Undergraduate and graduate students, by
registration, acknowledge the jurisdiction of the Honor and Integrity
System. The policies and procedures of the Honor and Integrity System
apply to all full and part-time students enrolled in undergraduate and
graduate courses on-campus, off-campus, and via distance learning. The
Honor and Integrity System website can be reached via the following
www.k-state.edu/honor. A component vital to the Honor and Integrity
System is the inclusion of the Honor Pledge which applies to all
assignments, examinations, or other course work undertaken by students.
This applies, in this class, to drafts as well. The Honor Pledge is
implied, whether or not it is stated: “On my honor, as a student, I
have neither given nor received unauthorized aid on this academic
work.” A grade of XF can result from a breach of academic honesty. The
F indicates failure in the course; the X indicates the reason is an
Honor Pledge violation.
ADA statement
Students with disabilities who need classroom accommodations, access to
technology, or information about emergency building/campus evacuation
processes should contact the Student Access Center and/or their
instructor. Services are available to students with a wide range of
disabilities including, but not limited to, physical disabilities,
medical conditions, learning disabilities, attention deficit disorder,
depression, and anxiety. If you are a student enrolled in campus/online
courses through the Manhattan or Olathe campuses, contact the Student
Access Center at accesscenter@k-state.edu, 785-532-6441.
Expectations for
Classroom Conduct
All student activities in the University, including this course, are
governed by the Student Judicial Conduct Code as outlined in the
Student Governing Association By Laws, Article V, Section 3, number 2.
Students who engage in behavior that disrupts the learning environment
may be asked to leave the class.
Attendance
I
don't take off points for attendance, but missing class can harm your
participation grade (it's hard to participate when you're not there)
and can keep you from being able to complete certain in-class
assignments, e.g. pop-quizzes.
Late Assignments
There
won't be any make-ups for short writing assignments, quizzes and
in-class writing assignments. The other assignments vary with regards
to late policies; I will include the late policies on the assignment
sheets.
Reading drafts
I
will look at as many drafts of assignments as you care to send me, with
the following exceptions. I will not read a draft turned in less than
48 hours (2 days) before the paper is due. Also, if I send a draft with
comments back to you, you should wait at least 48 hours (2 days) before
sending me a new draft to look at.
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