Monday, February 22
Class is canceled for the Mon/Wed, 11:10 am class (that meets in the CAT building).
Mon eve class is NOT canceled.
Thursday, February 18
IMPORTANT - tonight is an excellent Civic Engagement Project documentary/discussion this evening at 7 pm, FORUM 110, MJC EAST campus (until 9 pm). The event is FREE. The movie is "The Mask You Live In" about male identity today - the complicated nature of "being male." This counts as extra credit.
#1 - A PHILOSOPHY TUTOR is available to help you better understand the readings, prepare for quizzes and exams and to work on your HWs and/or paper. You can also visit me of course during my schedule office hours.
The philosophy tutor is Ryan Garrett - he's very approachable, patient, and sharp. Here are his hours at the Library and Learning Center (in the library on the MJC east campus):
Mondays: 11:30 am to 5 pm
Wednesdays: 11:30 am to 7 pm
You will need to call 209-575-6346 for an appointment during these times.
#2 - I will begin ANNOTATION/JOURNAL APPOINTMENTS starting NEXT WEEK. On Monday I will be posting an APPOINTMENT SCHEDULE (in 10 minute increments) on my OFFICE DOOR AT 120K FOUNDERS HALL (1st floor). You will have about 6-7 weeks to come and visit. What you need to do: a) Go to my office door sometime in the next month starting this monday; b) sign up for an open appointment that you can attend; c) come to your appointment! (Note: if you have to cancel an appointment do not email me. Simply go back to my door and cross off your name so that another student can take your spot!)
When you visit bring: a) all primary texts that we have read up to the date of your appointment (so early birds bring less and late birds bring more!); b) your journal - i expect to see at least two pages per week completed at the time of your appointment - again early birds vs late bird rule applies. I might ask you to comment on your annotations that you have made. At the conclusion of your appt we will decide on a fair grade for this part of the course.
I will post TWO WEEKS of appointments at a time on my door. Again you will have up to roughly 6 weeks to see me.
Wednesday, Feb. 17 - NEXT HW due FEBRUARY 24; NEXT QUIZ: FEB 22, 24, 25
ALL 101 CLASSES: HW 3 is due (all classes), next Wednesday, February 24 at 11:59pm via turnitin.com . For HW 3 please answer ONE or TWO of the following questions: Book Six: 2, 3, 7, 8. Your answers should be typed, 1.5 spacing, and be ONE page in length. You may answer ONE or TWO questions just as long as you write one page.
Mon/Wed 11 am class: there will be a quiz on Wednesday, February 24
Tues/Thurs, 12:45pm class - There will be a quiz on Thursday, February 25
The quiz will cover reading reading questions 4, 6, 7, 10, 15, 16 from book 5 and #9 from Book 6 (you will be asked to "fill in the blanks for the divided line")
MONDAY EVE class - reminder - there will be a "double quiz" on Monday, Feb. 22 in the second half of class.
Half of the quiz will cover reading questions 2, 6, 9, 13, 16, 17 from Book 2 and Question 2 from Book 3.
The second half of the quiz will cover reading reading questions 4, 6, 7, 10, 15, 16 from book 5 and #9 from Book 6 (you will be asked to "fill in the blanks for the divided line")
Monday, Feb. 8th
Mon eve class - since we do not have class next week (Monday is a holiday!), we will have a 10 question quiz to count as "two quizzes" at our next meeting (Monday, February 22nd). Half of the quiz will cover reading questions 2, 6, 9, 13, 16, 17 from Book 2 and Question 2 from Book 3. The second half of the quiz will cover reading reading questions 4, 6, 7, 10, 15, 16 from book 5 and #9 from Book 6 (you will be asked to "fill in the blanks for the divided line")
The midterm will be on Monday, February 29. I will bring a list of reading questions that are fair game for the midterm.
Finally HW 3 will be due via turnitin.com mid next week.
Sunday, Feb. 7th
Mon/Wed 11:10am class - There will be a quiz on Wednesday, February 10
Tues/Thurs, 12:45pm class - There will be a quiz on Thursday, February 11
The quiz will cover reading questions 2, 6, 9, 13, 16, 17 from Book 2 and Question 2 from Book 3 (see the reading questions handout given in class or you can download a copy below on the schedule page)
Wednesday, Feb. 3rd
My office hours are cancelled today due to an MJC meeting that I must attend
Monday, February 1st
The second set of reading questions (for books 2 and 3) have been posted below and are available here.
Wednesday, January 27
HW 2 is due next week. The HW can be found here and also there is a link to HW 2 on the schedule page below. Please email me if you are having any difficulties opening the HW. HW 2 has two options, Option A and option B. Choose one of these and upload to turnitin.com by the following date:
- Mon/Wed & Tues/Thurs 101 class: upload your HW 2 no later than next Thursday, Feb. 4th, 11:59 pm
- Monday eve class: upload your HW 2 no later than next Sunday, Feb. 7, 11:59 pm
READING FOR NEXT WEEK: we have been reading book one rather slowly but that's ok. It's better to cover less but in more depth than to cover more superficially. Along the way I've been introducing various philosophical "tools" to you such as genus/species definition, implication, the law of non-contradiction and I've been asking you to think carefully - and slowly - about the ideas in the reading.
OK, so next week please read book two of The Republic (and re-read book one if necessary; see if you can follow the outline I gave you this week) in addition to completing HW 2.
LATE HW? Can you turn in HWs late? Yes, you can turn in HWs late within one week of the due date although there is a late dock for late HWs of 10%. I also drop the lowest two quiz/HW scores.
Thursday, January 21
Next week we will have a quiz on Book One of Plato's Republic. I will ask you 4 or 5 questions based on READING QUESTION SET #1 (see the schedule page below for the link). The quiz will ONLY cover the following questions from the READING QUESTION SET #1 handout: 1c, 2, 3, 4, 11, 12, 13 .
The quiz will occur at the beginning of the 2nd class next week (so 2nd 1/2 of Monday eve or Wed or Thursday depending on which class you are in.)
Sunday, January 17
A couple of you have emailed me asking for more clarification regarding the journals. I've created a handout to clarify what I'm looking for. You can obtain it here or at the "How to do Philosophy" page.
REMINDER: the reading for next week can be found below on the schedule page or at HW 1. Also here's a link to an "inferior" translation of Plato's Republic - if for some bizarre reason you don't have the book yet you should read 1/2 of book one from this link.
Thursday, January 14
My office hours listed on your syllabus are incorrect. Below are my correct office hours:
Mondays: 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm
Tuesdays & Thursdays: 11:10 am - 12:40 pm;
Wednesdays: 12:40 pm - 1:40 pm
Wednesday, January 13
Reading and HOMEWORK for Week 2 - ALL CLASSES: please see the "HW-1-PLATO" link on the schedule page below. If you have any difficulties opening this please email me!!!
HW 1 is due Tuesday, 11:59 pm, Jan. 19 for the MON/WED 11:10 am class (that meets at CAT 218).
HW 1 is due Wednesday, 11:59 pm, Jan. 20 for the TUES/THURS 12:45 pm class.
HW 1 is due Thursday, 11:59 pm, Jan. 21 for the MON EVE class.
HWs should be typed in word or a similar program (1 page!) and then UPLOADED to TURNITIN.COM - please see your class syllabus for the ID, and password info for your class.
Monday, January 11 - Welcome to Philosophy 101, Introduction to Philosophy!
Be sure to check this page as well as the home page for updates on campus events and this course. When I update the schedule/assignments to the right I will also let you know in the announcements section. You can also see your grades, syllabi, and links to resources that will help you succeed in this class. Finally I will also post here the overview (topics) for most classes.
- WEEK ONE: Syllabus, What is Philosophy? The Three Branches of Philosophy; PHILOSOPHICAL TOOLS: Mapping out the Space of Logical/Metaphysical Possibility; Genus/Species Definitions