Professor Talbott                                                                                                          Summer 2003

Office:  Savery 252                                                                                                       Philosophy 240A:   

Phone:  543-5095                                                                                                        Introduction to Ethics

Email:  wtalbott                                                                                                             Classes:  Daily 1:10-3:20

Office Hours: MW 3:30-4:20 pm and by appointment                                                   SAV 142

URL:  http://faculty.washington.edu/wtalbott/

 

 

SYLLABUS

PHILOSOPHY 240A:  Introduction to Philosophical Ethics

Disabled Student Services.  If you would like to request academic accommodations due to a disability, please contact Disabled Student Services, 448 Schmitz, (206) 543-8924 (V/TTY).  If you have a letter from Disabled Student Services indicating you have a disability that requires academic accommodations, please present the letter to me so we can discuss the accommodations you might need for the class. 

 

            I.  Course Goals:  This course will provide you with an introduction to the most influential normative moral theories and to the main debates on the nature of moral norms and moral judgment.  It will also provide the necessary background for more advanced work in philosophical ethics.  The course will introduce you to the philosophical analysis of arguments with the goal of improving your ability to explain and to critically evaluate positions and arguments in philosophical ethics, both orally and in writing. 

 

            II.  Course Readings.  All readings are from one text, Tom L. Beauchamp, Philosophical Ethics, 3rd ed., (New York: McGraw-Hill; 2001), which is available for purchase at the University Book Store.  See separate Reading Assignments handout.  Readings should be done before the first class meeting of dates they are due.

 

            III.  Course Web Site.  All handouts, homework assignments, end-of-class questions, and the text of transparencies used in class will be available on the course Web site (see URL above).  So if you are ever absent, you can check the course Web site to find out what you missed.

 

            IV.  Course Requirements.

 

            1.  Attendance:  Students are required to attend all classes.  Classes are daily 1:10-3:20 in Savery 142, except Friday, July 4 (Independence Day Holiday). 

 

            2.  Email Assignment (5 Points):  Each student is required to have an email account and to check it regularly.  Homework assignments and important announcements (e.g., locations and times of review sessions for exams) will be distributed by email.  The best way to contact me is by email.  I check my email messages every day.  Your first assignment is to send an email message to me (my email address appears above) with the following information:  your name (the name you would like me to call you by); student ID number; email address (the email account that you will check regularly throughout the course); a brief summary of your background in philosophy, if any; and a brief statement about why you are taking this course.  THIS EMAIL ASSIGNMENT IS DUE BEFORE CLASS ON WEDNESDAY, JUNE 25.

 

            3.  In-Class Assignments.  At the end of each class (except days on which there is an exam or a homework assignment due), you will be asked to write a response to a question based on one of the topics for that day.  There will be 13 in-class assignments, each worth five points.  Answers to in-class assignments may not be turned in late, unless the absence is excused.  For your first excused absence, any reasonable excuse will be accepted.  After that, only absences due to serious medical conditions or for other, comparable reasons will be excused.  If you receive less than 3 points for your answer to an in-class question, you may submit a new answer to raise your grade up to 3 points.  The last day to turn in answers to in-class questions (either for excused absences or to raise a grade of less than 3 points) is July 23, the day of the Final Exam.

 

            4.  Homework Assignments.  There will be six homework assignments (in addition to the Email assignment).  See the course Web site for the assignments and due dates.  To obtain full credit for a homework assignment, you must attend section on the due date prepared to discuss the assignment, unless the absence is excused.  Anyone who does not turn in a homework assignment in class on the day it is due can only receive up to one half credit, unless the absence is excused.  Anyone who receives less than half credit on a homework assignment may resubmit it to earn up to half credit.  The Final Exam date (July 23) is the last day to submit late homework assignments or to resubmit homework assignments on which you earned less than half credit. 

 

            5. Midterm Exams.  There will be two 50-minute exams, to be given in class.  Review questions for the exam will be distributed in class.  All questions on the exam will be taken from the review questions (or from parts of the review questions).  The exams will be given on the following dates:

 

            Exam #1:  Wed., July 2.  List of review questions to be distributed in class on Fri., June 27.

            Exam #2:  Mon., July 14.  List of review questions to be distributed in class on Wed., July 9.

 

            6.  Final Exam.  The Final Exam will be given on the last day of class, Wed., July 23.  Final Exam Review Questions will be distributed in class on Fri., July 18. 

 

            NOTE:  Please bring a pen and blank blue/green books with no missing pages to all exams. 

 

            V.  Academic Integrity. Whenever you turn in any assignment in this course, the understanding is that what you are turning in is your own original work, except to the extent that you explicitly credit others for their contributions. You have an obligation to avoid even the appearance of impropriety, by always attributing any argument or idea that you have borrowed, even if you have modified it, to its source.  The source may be written or oral.  For example, if an argument was suggested by a fellow student, include that information in a footnote.  If it is determined that there has been cheating that involves one student copying another's work on an assignment or exam, if both students were aware of the copying, both will receive zero credit for the assignment or exam, in addition to any other sanctions that might be imposed.

 

            VI.  Extensions Of Time.  Extensions of time should be requested in advance of the deadline.  Unexcused, late work will be penalized.

 

            VII.  Grades.  Grades will be based on points earned as follows:  (1) In-Class Assignments and Email Assignment (70 points); (2) Homework Assignments (110 points); (3) Hour Exams (200 points—100 points each); (4) Final Exam (200 points).  Grades are based on total points earned, as follows:  96% = 4.0; 95% = 3.9; 90% = 3.5; 80% = 3.0; 65% = 2.0; 50% = 1.0.  Your contribution to discussion in class can improve your grade, but cannot lower it.

 

            VIII.  Course Evaluation.  Tuesday, July 22, in class.  The course evaluation is your opportunity to evaluate my performance and to provide suggestions for improving the course.

 

            IX.  Return of Final Exams.  Unless other arrangements are made with me, Final Exams will be available for pick-up in the Philosophy Department Office, Savery 345, on August 1, 2003.  If you would like your exam to be mailed to you, please provide me with a stamped, self-addressed envelope for mailing.