Phil346

PHIL 346 Philosophical Texts IV
Spring 2005-2006

OFFICE MATTERS:

Office : Room B139 in the Social Sciences Building.
Office hours : Tue 15:40-17:30; Thu 15:40-16:30. Other meeting times with the instructor are also possible by prior appointment.
Office phone : On campus: 5339; off campus: 210-5339. You can leave a message on the answering machine.
E-mail : esayan@metu.edu.tr

COURSE DESCRIPTION :

This course is devoted to an exploration, at an introductory level, of the philosophies of three important philosophers of the 20th century: Bertrand Russell, Ludwig Wittgenstein, and W.V. O. Quine.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS : There will be two midterms. Both of them will be composed, for the most part, of questions requiring short answers, such as true-false, fill-in-the blank, and multiple-choice questions. There may be, however, a couple of “classical-style” questions on the midterms, each requiring at most half-a-page-long answer.

  • For the final exam you will be required to write an essay in class.
    • On the day of the essay-writing you will be given a few topics to choose from for your essay. You won’t be given this list of topics in advance. The questions will be designed to measure your understanding of the issues discussed in class and your ability to think on your own (or “philosophize”) about those issues.
    • You’ll be allowed to consult the reading material of the course and your class notes while writing your essay. You can also bring dictionaries to class on the essay-writing day. You won’t be allowed to bring any other books or material, however. You must, of course, avoid using the material you are allowed to bring to class in ways that may be regarded as plagiarism.
    • The quality of your English, punctuation and even your handwriting will affect the grade you get on your essay, along with the organization and the philosophical content of it.
  • Attendance to classes is required. You will be expected not only to attend but also to actively participate in class discussions by asking questions, answering questions, and showing genuine interest in the problems being discussed. Class attendance will be taken randomly throughout the semester. Students can have three unexcused absences without hurting their grades. After three absences, the student’s total score will be lowered by 3 points per unexcused absence. Class attendance may be taken at the beginning of the class period as well as at the end. When it is taken at the beginning, latecomers will be counted as absent.
  • The requirements of the course will be weighted as follows:

1. Midterm : 35 pts.
2. Midterm : 35 pts.
Final (in-class essay) : 30 pts.
TOTAL : 100 pts.
Participation in class discussion : up to +8 pts.
Every unexcused absence after 3 unexcused absences : -3 pts.

The final letter grades for the course will be assigned via an “informal curve” to be set up on the basis of the students’ total scores at the end of the semester.

  • The first midterm will be given some time between March 25-29, and the second midterm will be given between May 13-15. The exact day and hour of the midterms will be decided by the vote of the students in due time. The final exam day and hour is largely out of our control-it is determined by the Registrar’s Office.
  • Make-ups for the exams will normally be given in cases of certified illness or certified emergency. Be warned that the make-ups will tend to be harder than the regular exams. The make-up will be especially harder in the case of students who present less than compelling reasons to take a make-up.
  • If our class hours conflict with those of another course you are taking, then you are expected to spend half of those conflicting hours in our class, rather than spending them entirely in the other class during the whole semester. At the end of the semester, you will be given a form which will be signed by the teacher of the other course as proof of the class-hour conflict, and your absences during those hours will be discounted to an appropriate extent.

THE TEXT:

We will be reading the relevant chapters of:

W. T. Jones and R. J. Fogelin, The Twentieth Century to Quine and Derrida (A History of Western Philosophy, Vol. 5), 3rd ed. (Harcourt Brace and Co., 1997).