PHIL242- Social and Political
Philosophy 2
The unexamined life is not worth living.
But what is goodheartedness, refinement, or genius to me, when the person who has these virtues tolerates slack feelings in his faith and judgments and when he does not account the desire for certainty as his inmost craving and deepest distress - as that which separates the higher human beings from the lower.
Important Note:
Download this
page and bring a copy to class.
Check the Notice
Board below every week!
Links
Guarantee and Disclaimer:
These objectives may seem daunting.
Remember that you're not meant to be able to do all these things at the
beginning of the course: it's our job to teach them to you! We can guarantee
that if you work reasonably hard and come to us when you have a problem, you
will go quite a long way towards achieving these objectives. If you don't do
the work, however...
Critical Thinking
One of the main purposes of this
course is to develop your critical thinking skills. This includes analysing
philosophical texts, putting forward your own arguments orally and in writing,
and responding to the arguments of other students.
Doing Philosophy
You will learn to recognise
philosophical questions, to put forward reasoned answers to them, and to assess
other people's answers (famous philosophers' and other students'!).
Reading
You should develop an ability to
read reasonably long philosophical texts in depth, i.e. you should be able to
answer the following questions for most parts of the text:
- What is the thesis?
- How is it being argued?
- How does it contribute to the author's
main conclusion?
- What problems are there in this
passage?
- What do I think?
Writing
You should be able to write clear
and well structured philosophical papers of some length (2500 words) in which
you:
- identify a philosophically interesting
thesis and defend it by argument
- identify possible objections to your
arguments/thesis and reply to them
- use examples effectively.
Class Participation
You should be prepared to:
- discuss the texts after reading them
- identify problems in a text and ask
questions about these problems in class
- put forward your own ideas about the
text or issue discussed
- listen to other students' ideas and
respond to them philosophically
- give a well structured, philosophical
presentation on a text.
Why should you do all this?
Philosophy is good for the soul!
It's also good for winning arguments with friends and family...
By studying philosophy you will
acquire skills which will be valuable throughout your life, in and out of
academia. You will also learn to think independently about some important
questions which you will face in your studies and afterwards.
Philosophy is relevant to almost
every academic subject (there's even a philosophy of sport and a philosophy of
quantum mechanics!). In particular, philosophy is relevant to your studies in
two ways:
- philosophical questions will arise out
your academic studies
- Many academic subjects rely on certain
philosophical accounts of the state and human nature. This is
particularly true of politics and international relations but also
applies to disciplines such as education and even literature.
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Assessment
You will be assessed on the
following:
|
Test |
week |
Specifications |
% |
|
Set Term Paper |
10/16 |
2000 - 2500 words long. See guidelines below. |
30 |
|
Presentation
Based Term Paper |
|
2000 - 2500 words long. See guidelines below |
30 |
|
Final Exam |
15 |
Take Home Exam – details tba. |
10 |
|
Presentation |
|
You must agree on a date with you
instructor before week 2. See guidelines on how to prepare and deliver a good presentation. |
15 |
|
Participation and Attendance |
|
Absences - see below. General effort in preparation and in-class participation. |
15 |
Absences:
Absences will be penalised
according to a sliding scale:
First absence = -0
Second absence = -1/2
Third absence = -1
Fourth absence = - 2
Fifth and sixth absences = -4
Seventh absence = your participation
and attendance grade will be 0 out of 15.
In order not to be marked absent,
you must be in class from the beginning to the end (i.e. you cannot just come
for the first or the second hour), and you must bring with you the relevant
course book.
Term Paper Format:
Submission policy:
All material submitted must be
typed and word-processed. Plagiarised work will not be considered acceptable
for grading.
You must submit one copy of
your work electronically either by email attachment or on a disk and two
hard copies.
For the university's plagiarism
policy see:
http://www.provost.bilkent.edu.tr/procedures/AcademicHonesty.htm
Presentation based term paper:
1) choose a topic -->
2) write an outline
-->. 5 points.
3) Compulsory tutorial
to discuss outline
4) give a presentation
--> in class. 15 points.
5) write a 1 page progress report,
to be submitted with your term paper 5 points
6) Optional tutorial
on draft and progress report
7) Write final draft
--> submit to Bill and Sandrine. 20 points.
NOTE: Tutorials should normally be scheduled
during my office hours. In exceptional cases (for example, if you have a class
scheduled at both of my office hours,) I will make an alternative arrangement.
You will need to speak to me in person about this at least 1
week before your presentation. Students who do not attend their compulsory
tutorial will not normally be allowed to do their presentation on the date
scheduled and will only be given another opportunity to present at my
discretion.
Set Term Paper
Set term paper topics will normally
be announced on the course notice board during the course of the semester.
Students who give presentations on Hobbes or Rousseau will normally write
a set term paper on Mill and Kant. Students who give presentations on
Kant, Mill or (exceptionally) Wollstonecraft will write a set term paper on
Hobbes and Rousseau.
1) Write an essay on a related
question for your English teacher (see them for details).
2) Write outline and
bring to outline class or compulsory tutorial as instructed. 5
points.
3) Write progress report.
5 points.
4) Optional tutorial (at
instructors discretion)
5) Write final draft.
20 points.
For each term paper you must submit all of the following. Please follow the instruction by clicking on the links below.
What you must do for your final
draft will depend on feedback that you receive at appropriate points in the
process described above
Other useful information
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Readings
Each student must own a complete
copy of each of the following texts in the edition cited below. You must bring
the relevant text to each class, and failure to do so will result in points
taken off your participation grade.
Hobbes,
Leviathan, Penguin Classics
Rousseau,
Political Writings, Norton
Bentham
and Mill, The Classical Utilitarians, Hackett
Kant,
Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals, Oxford
Wollstonecraft
Vindication of the Rights of Woman Oxford
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Schedule
|
week |
date |
topic |
notes |
|
1 |
29/1 |
Download web page and bring to
class. Sign up for presentation (1hr class) |
|
|
2 |
5/2 |
|
|
|
3 |
12/2 |
last day of add/drop |
|
|
4 |
19/2 |
|
|
|
5 |
26/2 |
|
|
|
6 |
5/3 |
Bring your outlines for set term paper 1 in class. |
|
|
7 |
12/3 |
|
|
|
8 |
19/3 |
|
|
|
9 |
26/3 |
|
|
|
10 |
2/4 |
Set term paper 1 due Friday 5pm. |
|
|
11 |
9/4 |
Spring Break |
No classes |
|
12 |
16/4 |
|
|
|
13 |
23/4 |
Bring your outlines for set term paper 2 in class. |
|
|
14 |
30/4 |
|
|
|
15 |
7/5 |
Review and Final |
All exams due Friday 5pm. Teaching ends 12 May. |
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