Home Study

As well as fulfilling General Education requirements for 3 credits in Philosophy and Religious Studies, PHIL 110 serves as a prerequisite for other offerings in this department.

The study packet will be available for Summer students in late April. Students should pick up their packets in the department office at 428 Normal Street between 8 and 1.

The course is taught differently, depending on the instructor. See course descriptions below.

Professor Heter's Sections:

Course Description: This course introduces the foundational problems, methods and authors of Western Philosophy. We cover three central areas: Epistemology (the study of knowledge), Metaphysics (the study of existence) and Ethics (the study of moral action). We read works by major philosophers including Aristotle, Locke, Descartes and Kant. Students will learn to identify and construct sound philosophical arguments.

Course Format: This course is administered online. Assignments are turned in through an electronic database (turnitin.com). The only assignment for which the student must be on-campus is the final exam.

Text: James A. Gould & Robert Mulvaney, ed. Classical Philosophical Questions, 12th ed. (New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2007)

Requirements: There are three types of assignments in the course.

1. Four philosophical essays (50 pts each; 3-4 pages in length). A philosophical essay requires explaining and analyzing the ideas of a major philosopher. Unlike a research essay, a philosophical essay does not involve gathering additional information from secondary sources. (An example of a "secondary source" would be a philosophy professor's book on what he thought Plato meant in the Republic. This professor's book is "secondary" because it is an attempt to explain what a major author (Plato) has written about.) In addition to strong writing mechanics, the primary skill necessary for writing excellent philosophical essays is original critical thinking. In a philosophy course, critical thinking refers to the ability to come up with possible objections, criticisms or problems with the major philosophers studied. Essays are graded according to (a) the accuracy and depth of their summary of a philosopher's views, (b) the presentation of convincing, interesting and original arguments challenging this philosopher's views, and (c) the coherence and readability of the essay as a whole.
2. Five sets of study questions (10 pts each). The course textbook contains reading comprehension question at the beginning of each chapter. These brief questions will guide the student though the readings.
3. Comprehensive final exam (100 pts). The final consists of several medium length essay questions as well as a series of key philosophical terms which the student must define.

Zero Tolerance Plagiarism Policy: Plagiarism is using another person's ideas and/or words without proper acknowledgement. The penalties for plagiarism include failure for the course, academic probation and expulsion.

Professor Weatherston's sections:

This course aims to introduce the student to some of the fundamental philosophical questions. Questions like: What is happiness? How must I act? What is real? Is there a God? What can I know? and others have long puzzled humanity. Philosophy is the attempt to discover the answers to these questions.

We will begin by reading some works by Plato that raise some of these questions. We will then study in more detail some different questions that we find in other branches of philosophy, such as ethics, epistemology and metaphysics.

The course runs through the Presession for the Summer course (although extensions without penalty until the end of the summer are allowed), and from the beginning of Intersession to the end of April for the Intersession course. The course is guided by a study packet, which contains detailed directions for doing the readings and the assignments. These study guides will ask you to read the text, analyze it, and answer specific questions. You will then submit essays on issues arising out of this study. I have also provided guidelines on how to write your essays.

The final exam will be comprehensive. The regular exam for the Presession is held on the last day of Presession, or by arrangement at any time not later than the beginning of the second week of the Fall term. The exam for the Intersession may be taken by arrangement at any time before the end of April.

TEXT:

James A. Gould & Robert J. Mulvaney, Classic Philosophical Questions, 12th edition, Prentice-Hall. (available at the University Store

REQUIREMENTS:

1 essay, 1000-1250 words (16%)

3 essays, 1250-1500 words each (18% each)

1 final exam (30%)

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY:

East Stroudsburg University demands academic integrity from its students. Any form of academic dishonesty, including (but not limited to) plagiarism or cheating at tests or exams, is a sufficient ground for failure in this course and for further academic discipline.