There are many theories of philosophy that we will also explore in much detail. The purpose of this course is to learn how to think analytically while thinking about various philosophical theories. We will focus on various topics and theories in philosophy using the evidence given in specific arguments. 

This class will be divided into two sections:

1. What reality is made of (particles, forces, atoms, properties, etc.)

2. What is consciousness (self, soul, feelings, intentions, etc.)

That pretty much covers all that is known to exist. Since we are interested in covering all aspects of reality and consciousness, we will discuss consciousness of humans, animals, and non-human non-animal entities (robots, aliens, spirits, etc.).

This class is not taught in historical perspective, primarily. Rather, this class is topic based. In other words, we will focus on topics of philosophy (determinism, atomism, eliminativism, dualism, etc.) rather than on the philosophers who discussed them. We will often discuss philosophers in great detail, but our primary focus in this class is to learn philosophical concepts.

Reading:

Proteus Reader

·  Publisher: Thomson-Wadsworth

·  ISBN: 0495079006

Consciousness

·  By Susan Blackmore

·  Publisher: Oxford University Press

·  ISBN: 019515343x

Robot

·  By Hans Moravec

·  Publisher: Oxford University Press

·  ISBN: 0195136306

Also, some notes and handouts will be given throughout the semester that you will have to read

 Office Hours:

Grading:

1. 250 points – Midterm and final exam (125 points each)
2. 200 points - Film writing assignment (due with the final at the end of the semester)
3. 550 points – Quizzes (there are 29 quizzes, you are graded out of 28, at 20 points each)

Total: 1000 points

There are no make-up test, and no make-up quizzes. If you miss a quiz or the final, you must present valid, legitimate documentation proving you were absent for reasons beyond your control.

Tests and Quizzes:

At the start of every class, we will have a quiz over the lecture and reading from the class before. These quizzes will help you keep up in the class, and will prevent you from forgetting important material needed to grasp the philosophic ideas of the class.

The manner in which I will grade the quizzes is as follows. All quizzes are grade as C/NC. At the end of the semester I will drop your lowest quiz. Each quiz is worth 20 points.

Please note that if you talk during any of our quizzes through the semester, if you have your notes out, or if you do really anything but stare straight at your own paper, I will freely give you zero credit on a quiz, whenever I feel it is necessary.

All tests will be essay tests. Before each test we will have a review. At the review you can ask any questions you would like, and I will also go over all topics that are fair for me to put on the test.

The final exam is cumulative, but it will have more emphasis on the second half of the semester.

Note: I use the quizzes to take your attendance throughout the semester. For that reason, it may be a very good idea for you to keep your quizzes all semester, in case you need them to justify your attendance in the unlikely event that my records indicate you missed a class when you believe that you did not.

 Writing Intensive Course:

This course is writing intensive. This means that there is some emphasis put on teaching you to write well, if you don't already write well. I will tell you exactly what I am looking for in your writing, so you will not have to wonder at all about what I am looking for in good writing. There are several keys to writing well, but in general they all involve you being able to merely get your point across to others. In this class, there are no papers you have to write. Instead, you will have essay tests, where the tests are to be written well. So in addition to knowing the material of the class, you will have to write it out coherently, nicely. I will not be so concerned with spelling errors; I will be mostly concerned with how you organize a piece of your writing, and secondly how you use words.

It is important for you to understand that you need not worry much about this writing part of the course. Students often get scared by this, especially if they don’t already have confidence in their writing. When students find out that this class is concerned with your writing, they may feel that they won’t “match up.” But it is important to understand that this writing improvement exercise will be a semi-painless process of my instructing you in improving on your writing skills. In my teaching I have found that whenever I say, “you will be working on your writing this semester,” students shutter in fear, often. But you should offset that by my telling you that I will help you in writing, and I will tell you exactly what I am looking for.

 
  Grading Scale:

 Grade Definitions

[ A ] Outstanding. Work displays thorough mastery of material and genuine engagement with the subject-matter. This grade is reserved for those students who attain the highest levels of excellence in thought and study. 

[ B ] Good. Work displays accurate understanding of the material.

[ C ] Fair. Work displays basic grasp of material, though there may be the occasional misunderstanding or inaccuracy.

[ D ] Marginal. Work displays a grasp of the material adequate for credit, but quality of work indicates lack of effort or aptitude. Tests really quite poor.

[ F ] Unacceptable. Excessive absences, assignments not completed, or assignments unworthy of credit. Tests clearly not at the college level. Cheating or plagiarism will earn an automatic F for the assignment and/or the course.

Tentative Class Schedule

Section 1: Matter and Reality (first half of the class)

Section 2: Consciousness and Self (second half of the class)

Section 1:

Matter and atomism

Schedule: Aug 25 - Sept 30, according to the following tentative plan:

Reading – TBA  (handed out in class)

Takehome test (Midterm,. 125 points) due Oct. 13 at the start of class)

Section 2:

Consciousness and self

Oct. 13 – Consciousness (introduction)

Reading – Blackmore Introduction, ch. 1

Oct 15 – Qualia and subjectivity

Reading – Blackmore ch. 2

Oct. 20 – Consciousness and unconsciousness

Reading – Blackmore ch. 3

Oct  27 – Attention

Reading – Blackmore ch. 4

Oct 29 – The Theater of the Mind

Reading – Blackmore ch. 5

Nov. 3 – Egos, Bundles

Reading – Blackmore ch. 7

Nov. 5 – Self

Reading – Blackmore ch. 8

Nov. 10 - 17 – Conscious machines

Reading – Blackmore ch 13, 14, 15; Moravec ch 1, 3-7

Nov. 19 - 24 – ASCs

Reading – Blackmore ch 22, 23, 24

Nov. 26 - Dec .8 – the paranormal

Reading – Blackmore ch 19, 20, 21

Dec. 1: Film assignment

TEST 2 (final exam, cumulative, includes material from presentations, probably a take home).

Attendance:

Please do not arrive late for class. You are expected to attend all class sessions. Getting a good grade depends on having a good attendance record. An absence will be excused when it is due to an illness that is documented by a doctor’s excuse, or because of a death (documented) in the immediate family. If you try to show me a document that is in any way questionable, I will ignore it. (Questionable documents often include, for example, those which do not have your name on them, even though they are doctor's notes.)

If you receive an unexcused absence, the following deduction of points will occur:

1^st unexcused absence — 25 points

2^nd unexcused absence — 25 points

3^rd unexcused absence — 50 points

4^th unexcused absence — 100 points

5^th unexcused absence —200 points

6^th unexcused absence —300 points

(These point deductions are cumulative. For example, in the second unexcused absence you have a total of 50 points taken off your total.)

On your sixth  unexcused absence you will receive a grade of F for the class.

Attendance will be taken each lecture meeting. I will take it by seeing who has taken a quiz. If you arrive late and miss the quiz, you must arrive shortly after class begins in order to receive credit for attendance. If you leave after attendance has been taken but before class is complete, this of course is an unexcused absence.

I will give you one excused absence (but note that this would make you ineligible for the final exam reward--see below). After that all absences are unexcused unless you show that it should be an excused absence. An excused absence is, for example, documented proof that will inform me that, for example, your pet has died, that a relative has died, that you are very sick.  Excuses such as: “my friend was thrown in jail”, “I overslept,” “it was raining,” or “I ran out of gas” are not acceptable. Absences usually reflect that one has a lack of interest to attend lecture meetings; therefore, grades must reflect this. Also, all material that will appear on tests will be thoroughly covered in lectures; it is therefore critical that you not miss class. However, there are reasons that do arise that prevent one from attending lectures. If you have such a reason, you must talk to me about it. In all but the most particular circumstances, any form of undocumented absence is considered an unexcused absence.

Adequate documentation for an absence is a legitimate note from, for example, an employer or doctor, that shows it was impossible for you to attend class. That note has your information on it, and theirs. If you show me inadequate documentation for your absence, I will not argue with you about whether or not you have given me adequate documentation. Rather, I will merely leave it up to you to provide me with appropriate documentation.

 Reward:

There will be a small reward for those of you with perfect attendance. Perfect attendance means you have not missed more than a half-hour of a class. Therefore, if you have an excused absence, this means you will not be eligible.

The reward is as follows: your lowest grade on the final (with respect to percentage) will be turned into a full-credit answer.

Class-time:

It is your responsibility to be in class to hear class announcements and information that is needed throughout the semester. Typically information such as this is given at the very start of class, and often it is about things such as test dates and times, the nature of tests, reading assignments, and so on.

Films:

Films are a very productive way to gain much philosophical knowledge fast and easily, as you will see throughout the semester. You might have to go out and rent the films we discuss, or you can get them at the public library.

We will be discussing various philosophical films in the class in significant detail. It may help you to view these films very carefully, more than once if needed, in order to apply your philosophical knowledge you will acquire in the class to these films.

The films we will possibly focus on (depending on time) in our class lectures are: The Truman Show, The Matrix, Total Recall, Being John Malcovich, Memento, Leaving Las Vegas, Crimes and Misdemeanors, The Fly, The Cube, Cube2: Hypercube, Lost Highway, eXistenZ, Thin Red Line, among others.

Lecture, Discussion, and Questions:

                The subject matter in this course will generate much discussion. This is welcomed and expected, and you should feel free to take advantage of this as I see it as often the most beneficial and productive part of a student’s learning. If discussion gets too far off track or too drawn out, I will end such discussion that when appropriate.

                It is very important in a class of this nature that you interrupt lecture or discussion and ask questions every time there is a subject or issue in lecture or discussion that you do not understand. I frown upon those who sit in their seats not understanding the material and yet unwilling to ask for clarification. This usually only leads to frustration during lecture meetings and worse, it usually leads to poor test scores. So it is your responsibility as a student to ask questions as you feel you need to. Students should also note that it is usually the case that, the more basic a question is the better. Therefore, questions such as: What is science? What is God? What is technology? What is nature? Or What is Metaphysics? are extremely important appropriate and welcomed in this class. In summary, this class will teach you not to ask the “right questions,” (i.e., those that are seen as appropriate and ) but to develop an urge within you to ask the questions that you are truly interested in, regardless of who might say it is the right question or the wrong question.

 How the class works (the daily experience):

                I will assign reading before each class (this reading is also on the syllabus schedule above), then I will go over that reading during lecture. I will bring in photocopied notes to you of what you will be responsible for in the reading. For that reason, you will never need to take any notes in class, but you are encouraged to if you need to, if there is anything you need to write down in order to help to understand the material. It is up to you if you want to do the reading before or after lecture.