• REQUIRED TEXTS
• GENERAL EDUCATION STATEMENT
• SPECIFIC COURSE OBJECTIVES
• COURSE REQUIREMENTS
• PROVISIONAL SYLLABUS

REQUIRED TEXTS:     back to top

Morality Matters: Race, Class, and Gender in Applied Ethics, edited by Jeffrey Di Leo

GENERAL EDUCATION STATEMENT:     back to top

This course is available for General Education, Section E: "Applied Arts and Sciences." The CSUN Catalog states, "Section E: Applied Arts and Sciences - Students should understand how human beings function in various physical, social, cultural, and technological environments. Through the study of applied arts and sciences, students should become more integrated and well rounded individuals."

SPECIFIC COURSE OBJECTIVES:    back to top

1. To gain an understanding of the general process and methods of moral reasoning.
2. To come to an appreciation of the sorts of philosophical arguments that have been advanced with respect to a variety of controversial contemporary moral problems.
3. To learn how to analyze and critically evaluate these philosophical arguments.
4. To discuss, think, and write critically about each of the problems and to reach (and be able to support) your own conclusions on the issues involved.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:     back to top

1. Attendance Policy:  In philosophy it is not enough that you've read the required texts; you really need some further guidance in order to understand what is sometimes extremely difficult material.  That's where our in-class discussions come in.  I can virtually guarantee that you will receive no higher than a C in the course if you are not in class almost every day, participating actively in the discussion and taking clear and copious notes.  But words are cheap.  Thus, I'm offering a bit of an incentive:  if you miss more than SIX class periods, I will subtract one point from your overall grade for each period over the six allowed that you have missed.  I will be taking attendance each day, so make sure you're here (on time) to sign in.  If you know in advance that you will have to miss a class period, please let me know (to get it excused).  If you miss a class for some unforeseeable reason (where you can't let me know beforehand), let me know why you did so (with documentation, if available) afterwards to get it excused.  IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY -- NOT MINE -- TO MAKE SURE YOUR INITIALS ARE ON THE ATTENDANCE SHEET EACH DAY YOU ARE HERE.
2. Exams:  There will be THREE exams given during the semester, with the third exam taking place on the last day of classes (so there won't be any exams during finals week). Each exam will cover only the material discussed in the previous segment, so none of them (including the last) will be comprehensive. There will also be NO MAKE-UP EXAMS. If you miss an exam without giving me a reasonable excuse beforehand, you will receive a low F (50) for it. If, however, you do let me know beforehand (at least 24 hours in advance) that you will be unable to take a scheduled exam (with a documented and reasonable excuse), I will arrange a way for you to complete an assignment that will substitute for your exam. Avoid this if at all possible, however, for it will be extremely difficult. Each exam will count for 28% of your overall grade. If you miss more than one exam, you will receive an F for the course. The (tentative) dates of each exam are on the syllabus. The exam questions will make reference to specific information from the lectures and the readings, so keep abreast of both.  If you cheat, you will receive an F for the course, and you will be reported to the Dean. All grading in the course (including the final grade) will be done on the plus/minus grading system.

3. Reading Questions:  In order to ensure that you are reading the required material, I will regularly assign Reading Questions, which will simply ask for short answers on some issue(s) in the assigned readings.  These are due at the beginning of class on the due date; no late papers will be accepted, simply because we'll usually cover the answers to them in class the day they're due.  Altogether, your scores on these will constitute 16% of your overall course grade.  This is a fairly easy way to get an A+ for this portion of the course.  There are a total of eleven possible Reading Questions, which gives you plenty of chances to get a high score (as you'll see below).  Here is how the grading works on these questions.  You will be asked to write up a paragraph or two (in your own words) in answer to the question given about the reading.  The idea is that these questions should be easy to answer if you've actually read the entire selection (which will generally be pretty short).  I will grade each one according to the following evaluative schema:

   Check-plus -- reserved for those answers that have nothing wrong and reveal a genuine understanding of/insight into the material (worth 3 points);

   Check -- reserved for those answers that get the general idea of what's going on and don't include anything significantly mistaken (most of you will get this score most of the time) (worth 2 points);

   Check-minus -- reserved for those answers that (a) have at least one significant mistake, (b) are utter bullshit, or (c) are incomplete in an important way (i.e., they don't address an important aspect of the question given) (worth one point);

   Zero -- reserved for those answers that (a) are completely, utterly wrong, (b) are plagiarized, i.e., they are not written in your own words, or (c) are simply not turned in on time or at all (worth no points).

   At the end of the semester, I will add up all your points on the reading questions and then use the following translation schema to map them onto a 100 point scale: 20=100; 19=96; 18=92; 17=88; 16=84; 15=80; 14=76; 13=72; 12=68; 11=64; 10=60; less than 10=59.  As you can see, if you get checks across the board on only ten of the reading questions, you'll get a 100 for this portion of the course.

4. Discussion is the life-blood of philosophy.  Without it, there's just a bunch of texts by dead white guys.  So what I'd like for us to create in here is a lively environment where we all contribute to the enterprise of making the issues relevant for our everyday lives.  This means talking to each other, both in and out of class.  My hope, then, is that you'll jump in with your own thoughts whenever they arise; that is, whenever you have an objection, worry, question, or idea on the material, say something.  Of course, you should say something to all of us, not just the person seated next to you or some imaginary friend; no mumbling, grumbling, and/or mere gestures (obscene or otherwise) allowed.  Again, I offer an incentive:  if you are a regular contributor to our class discussions, I will count that in your favor in borderline final grade situations, giving you up to 2 points extra overall.  So, for example, if you've averaged an 88 (a B+), but you've contributed regularly to the discussion throughout the semester, I'll gladly add up to 2 points onto your overall grade tally (unless you're over the allowed number of absense), giving you in this case an A- (90).  (Failing to participate, however, or staring at me with a surly expression all semester, will not result in a lower score, although perhaps it should.)
5. The deadline this semester for dropping a course with only the instructor's signature is Friday, February 15.  After that date, withdrawals will require additional approvals and can only be obtained for "serious and compelling reasons."  See Schedule of Classes, pp. 15-16.

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