Readings: It is your responsibility to have read the assigned pages in the Lynch book before coming to class.
Quizzes: Quizzes will only be given if the instructor discovers that the students are not reading the papers for the class period(s) in which they are to be discussed. These quizzes will be worth 20 points each and will be unannounced.
Class Participation: Since this class is a lecture/discussion class, it is important that you make contributions in class on a regular basis. There is no need to be shy about saying what you want because that is one way we all learn. I encourage you to express your thoughts on the papers we read as well as on the comments we make on the readings themselves.
Weekend Questions: There will be two weekend questions given to you during the semester. You will receive the questions on a Friday and your answers are due at the beginning of class the next Monday. Explicit directions will come with the questions themselves. 50 points.
Presentation: A 10-minute, in class presentation is required of all students. The presentation must be on one of the readings we are doing in the class. The presentation must include 1. an exposition of the primary argument being presented by the author of the paper we read, 2. A reflective comment about whether the argument is successful in achieving its goal(s). A sign up sheet will be distributed. 20 points.
Research Paper: This is to be a full-on term paper, requiring sources from other readings besides the readings we’re doing for class. There is a restriction of one (1) internet source. You can use books, papers, chapters in books, and so on. Endnotes as well as complete bibliography is required. Maximum length should not exceed 20 pages; minimum length would be around 8 pages. 100 points.
Grading policy (%’s): 100-93 = A; 92-90 = A-; 89-87 = B+; 86-83 = B; 82-80 = B-; 79-77 = C+; 76-73 = C; 72-70 = C-; 69-67 = D+; 66-60 = D; 59-00 = F.
Advice on writing (and “hints about what I look for and how I grade”):
1. All sentences need to be grammatically correct. Spelling needs to be correct, as does the use of punctuation marks. Sentence structure and length are important for the reader being able to stay in the flow of the work. That is, don’t use too many commas and parenthetical remarks and don’t make sentences too long. You may use Modern Language Association guidelines on these items or The Chicago Manual of Style.
2. I would say that you should not include more than 2 medium sized (2-3 sentence) quotations per page in the research paper (on the Weekend questions, no quotes will be allowed).
3. Be careful to avoid the common fallacies of reasoning (you can find these in most introductory Logic texts, e.g., Hurley, Layman).
4. A common oversight of many people, when they write philosophy papers, is to give an opinion and then fail to explain why they hold the position they hold. You should give your reasons for holding the beliefs you hold (when you write in philosophy). This is not always easy, I admit that, but it is a must.
5. Give the paper some identifiable structure by breaking it up into sections (e.g., Introduction, The Argument, The Reply, The Rebuttal, Final Words...).
6. Give your opinion. While the majority of the paper ought to be devoted to an exposition of the topic you’ve chosen, including the principle writers and their arguments (say, 60%), you yourself need to weigh in on the matters at hand. Realizing that almost all written work in philosophy can be seen as “work in progress” and that one may change one’s mind as new evidence presents itself, you need to give your own considered, and reasoned, position on the matter(s) about which you are writing.
7. I am intolerant of: Gender-biased language, fallacious reasoning, out of context quotation, careless rendering of the position one is attacking, hidden premises, rhetorical questions, assumptions about what is and is not obvious, plagiarism.
8. I am a pretty hard grader, by and large. I don’t take points off, however, for trivial things. A couple of ungrammatical sentences here and there are not important. Too many typographical errors leads me to infer that the writer did not take proper care to proof read the paper. This is important because it indicates an incautiousness that will eventually poison philosophical reflection. I take the same point of view when it comes to sentences that are not carefully written; they indicate a lack of thoughtfulness to me, a failure to mindfully consider what one is trying to communicate. It is by no means the case that I am asking for a publishable paper by you, not even a paper presentable at a conference. However, I am asking you to write a paper that betokens serious reflection of the matters taken up in the project, a paper that brings to light the problem you are working on as well as its significance, a paper in which the distinctions are made that will lead to a better understanding of the problem itself, attempts to solve (dissolve) the problem, or the failure thereof.
9. Get started early in the semester to allow yourself some leisure in your research.
10. You are welcome to give me a rough draft (2-3 pages) in about the 13th week of class. I will make comments and try to be helpful with regard to many of the things discussed here.