PHIL U260 Worldviews and Ethics
Fall 2010
Class Time: MWF 12:30-1:30, 1:30-2:30 Instructor: Dr. Danielle A. Layne
Classroom: CM 303 Office Location: Bobet 448a
E-mail: dalayne1@loyno.edu Office Hours: T/TH 9a.m-3.pm.
Text:
Blackboard Readings
Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound
Euripides, Bacchae
Course Description: What role do our worldviews, i.e. our understanding of nature/science, the individual, society, the divine etc., take in shaping our moral philosophy or ethics? In fact what is the difference between morality and ethics itself? Furthermore, what is the nature of ethics within a religious framework? How does a particular theology condition a morality? On the flip side, what is the nature of ethics if religious foundations are rejected? In this course, these and other questions will be addressed by turning to the philosophers and thinkers of classical Greece
Learning Goals:
- To pinpoint the fundamental assumptions about reality which classical philosophers have used to support their ethical and moral philosophies.
- To develop students’ awareness of complex ethical issues imbedded not only in philosophical texts but also in their daily lives.
- To strengthen critical thinking skills in both the classroom and in writing.
- To clearly discuss ancient ethical systems for the sake of discovering their relevance to contemporary issues.
- To learn to advance one’s own position, and to defend this position through argument.
COURSE GRADES
Course grades will be determined by participation, journal assignment, written assignments and 2 essay exams.
· Participation (25%): Determined by class discussion and the class blog at http://worldviewsandethics.blogspot.com. Each day, throughout the semester, sections of the text will be assigned and I expect that all of you will read each text with great joy and enthusiasm. However, just in case you ever feel deterred from such splendid activity, the incentive becomes the threat of having to actively answer questions related to the text in class each day. If you have not done the reading assignment, then your ignorance of the text will become obvious to both me and your fellow classmates. How humiliating, I say! Thus to ensure that you read, participate and avoid horrible embarrassment, in each class students will be given 1 question to answer, helping navigate and focus the assigned reading. Your answer must be at least three sentences long and written well.
o Example Question: What role do the gods serve in the Iliad and what ethical system may be derived from such a conception of divinity?
o Example Answer: Unlike contemporary conceptions of divinities where one expects to see a caring or just god, the Greek gods of the Iliad are capricious. Due to such an anthropomorphic characterization, these gods can behave erratically and, as such, individuals may not necessarily know what the reverent and ethical response may be in any and all circumstances. In light of this, an ethics based upon the Greek pantheon may indeed be impossible.
o EVERYONE MUST POST THEIR ANSWERS TO THE CLASS BLOG PRIOR TO EACH CLASS. The most interesting answer will be read in class and with a little bit of luck this should stimulate class discussion. Further reactions or comments on the class discussion or lecture should then carry over to the CLASS BLOG at http://worldviewsandethics.blogspot.com. By the end of the semester the participation grade will be evaluated on the basis of class discussion and participation on the blog. Each student’s overall participation grade will also reflect your ability to form questions and ideas which explicitly deal with the text and issues at hand.
o You may earn EXTRA PARTICPATION CREDIT by blogging on whatever you find relevant with regards to the material of the class. That is, you are more than welcome to post comments on the movies we screen, the material we read as well as other material you believe “fits” the theme of the class.
· Take Home Pop Quizzes (15%): There will be three take home pop quizzes in which you answer a single question by writing a 300 word essay (1 page). Since you are allowed to take these quizzes home you will be graded on grammar, punctuation and style as well as quality of insight and argument in your essay. The day that the quiz is announced, one question will be given and your response is due the following class and must be submitted to the CLASS BLOG at http://worldviewsandethics.blogspot.com!
· Midterm Exam (30%): This exam will be in a short essay format. We will review prior to the exam and I will provide study questions to aid your preparation. You are required to bring a blue book for the exam. The exam is primarily based on the reading assignments.
· Final Exam (30%): This exam will consist of the same format as the midterm.
Blackboard and CLASS BLOG: Many of the readings are only available on blackboard. Moreover, you are all required to post your daily assignments (your answers to the questions given in and discussed in class) on the CLASS BLOG at http://worldviewsandethics.blogspot.com. In light of this, all of you must familiarize yourself with using Blackboard. To get started on BLACKBOARD go to http://www.loyno.edu/ and click on the Blackboard icon located in the upper right hand of the screen. Your Blackboard username is the same as your Loyola e-mail username. If your Loyola e-mail address is iggy@loyno.edu, your Blackboard username is just iggy (in lowercase letters). If you do not know your Loyola e-mail address, you can find it under the "Personal Info" section of your LORA account. Password: Your password will be 6 characters long, consisting of the first two letters of your first name, lowercase, followed by the last four digits of your SSN. e.g. Mary Smith SSN xxx-xx-3456 the PIN will be ma3456 (lower case) If you have questions about Blackboard, you may: Visit the Learning Commons desk at the Monroe Library or call the 24/7 Blackboard assistance numbers at 1-866-562-7278.
WAC Lab: WAC administers a writing center and electronic classroom in Room 100 Bobet Hall where students can conduct Internet research, draft papers, consult with writing tutors, and revise their work. The writing center makes available a library of print and online resources for writers, including discipline-specific guides to college writing, dictionaries, handbooks, grammar guides, style and citation guides, and other resources. For more information about WAC and WAC services, contact Robert Bell at rcbell@loyno.edu.
Disability Services: A student with a disability that qualifies for accommodations should contact Sarah Mead Smith, Director of Disability Services at 865-2990 (Academic Resource Center
Academic Dishonesty: Your written work must be your own. I have absolutely no tolerance for any kind of cheating and/or plagiarism and, to be sure, I am constantly fiddling on the internet and checking up on all my students’ work so if you cheat you will be caught. Also to be clear, the Loyola University Bulletin follows Alexander Lindley and defines plagiarism as “the false assumption of authorship: the wrongful act of taking the product of another person’s mind, and presenting it as one’s own” (Plagiarism and Originality). They also turn to the MLA Handbook and similarly define it as “Plagiarism may take the form of repeating another’s sentences as your own, adopting a particularly apt phrase as your own, paraphrasing someone else’s argument as your own, or even presenting someone else’s line of thinking in the development of a thesis as though it were your own.” The Philosophy Department’s Policy requires that every case of plagiarism receive all three of the following sanctions: 1) A report of the incident to the Department Chair and the Associate Dean; 2) A zero on the particular assignment; 3) A failing grade in the course.
Late Assignments: Late assignments will be accepted, however, your grade will be penalized. If you are unable to hand in an assignment and you know in advance, then you must contact me at least 24 hours prior to the deadline. I do not accept hardcopies of your papers as I want everyone to send electronic versions. I must receive this email with your papers before the class in which the assignment is due.
Emergency Evacuation Procedures: It is Loyola University
General Policies:
- Your attendance is expected but not mandatory. Keep in mind though that class participation is 1/5 of your grade and every time you are absent you are hurting this grade.
- The lectures will be based on the assigned readings, therefore you are expected to bring the course material to class, be prepared to take notes, and to answer and ask questions.
- Laptops in class are to be used for note-taking purposes only.
- Turn off your cell phones when in class.
- Lastly and perhaps most silly of me, I expect that everyone in class come ON TIME, READY (NOT HALF ASLEEP), and dressed appropriately (NO PYJAMAS or BUNNY SLIPPERS). If you cannot do this, then do not come at all!
If you are falling behind in the course, or are earning a below average grade, I strongly encourage you to stop by my office to discuss your work in the class. I will be happy to address any questions concerning the material and I always love helping students. I am good at it. So even if you think it is impossible, just come and we can figure things out.
Schedule
(I reserve the right to change or adapt this agenda at anytime.)
Week 1:
M 8/30 Introduction to Course
W 9/1 Homer, Iliad Book I BB
F 9/3 Homer, Iliad Book 24 BB
Week 2:
M HOLIDAY
W 9/8 Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound
F 9/10 Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound
Week 3:
M 9/13 Euripides, Bacchae
W 9/15 Euripides, Bacchae
F 9/17 Euripides, Bacchae
Week 4: From Myth to Worldviews
M 9/20 Xenophanes AGP: 21-23
W 9/22 Milesians AGP: 8-14
F 9/24 Heraclitus AGP: 24-29
Week 5: The Battle
M 9/27 Heraclitus AGP: 29-34
W 9/29 Parmenides AGP: 35-41
F 10/1 Parmenides and Zeno AGP: 57-61
Week 6: Ethics from Number, Plurality and even Empty Space?
M 0/4 Pythagoreans AGP: 15-20
W 10/6 Pluralism AGP: 42-56
F 10/8 Atomism AGP: 62-69
Week 7: Can Virtue Be Taught? Sophistry and Socrates
M 10/11 Sophistry and Plato, Protagoras AGP: 74-82 and 136-140
W 10/13 Plato, Protagoras AGP: 140-150
F 10/15 Plato, Protagoras AGP: 150-162
Week 8: Beyond Being: Virtue, Justice and the Transcendent Good
M 10/18 No Class
W 10/20 Mid-Term Exam
F 10/22 Plato, Republic Book I AGP: 253-261
Week 9
M 10/25 Plato, Republic Book I AGP : 261-271
W 10/27 Plato, Republic Book II AGP: 272-285
F 10/29 Plato, Republic Book VI AGP: 343-358
Week 10:
M 11/1 Plato, Republic Book VI AGP : 358-369
W 11/3 Plato, Republic Book VII AGP: 370-375
F 11/5 Plato, Republic Book X AGP: 418-431
Week 11: Virtue, the Fulfillment of our Nature?
M 11/8 Aristotle AGP: 660-673
W 11/10 Aristotle AGP: 673-695
F 11/12 Aristotle AGP: 695-719
Week 12: Hellenism
M 11/15 Epicureanism BB: 102-125
W 11/17 Epicureanism BB: 125-149
F 11/19 Epicureanism BB: 149-158
Week 13:
M 11/22 Stoicism BB: 344-368
W 11/24 No Class
F 11/26 No Class
Week 14:
M 11/29 Stoicism BB: 368-386
W 12/1 Stoicism BB: 386-410
F 12/3 Stoicism BB: 410-429
Week 15:
M 12/6 Skepticism BB: 450-461
W 12/8 Plotinus BB:
F 12/10 Plotinus BB:
FINAL EXAM SCHEDULE
12:30-1:30 Class
Friday, DECEMBER 17 @ 11:30-1:30pm
1:30-2:30 Class
Monday, DECEMBER 13 @ 9:00-11:00am
Hello Professor Layne,
ReplyDeleteI am the first to comment!!! Yay, I look forward to your class!
Tanya Hamilton