Philosophy 210:
Syllabus
Syllabus: Practical Argumentation
Phil 210 - Fall 2009 - Dr. Keith Korcz
How To Reach Professor Keith Korcz:
My office is in H. L. Griffin Hall, rm. 563. My office hours are MW 12:00-1:00, 2:15-5:00, TR 12:00-1:00, and F 12:00-1:00. We can also meet at other times by arrangement - just ask. My office phone no. is 482-6806. You can also contact me (or ask questions) by e-mail at keithk@louisiana.edu.
Required Texts:
1. How To Think About Weird Things, Fifth Ed., by Theodore Schick, Jr. and Lewis Vaughn (McGraw-Hill, 2008).
2. A Beginner's Guide to Scientific Method, Third Ed., by Stephen S. Carey (Wadsworth, 2004).
3. Course Pack.
The course pack is available only at the Dupre Library Reserve Room.
Assignments:
TAKE-HOME QUIZZES: There will be 7 take-home quizzes, six each worth 5% of the course grade, and the lowest grade counting as extra credit. Some of these will involve doing exercise problems and others will involve writing short papers. While 5% may not seem like a lot, it amounts to half a letter grade in the course (and taken together they constitute nearly 1/3 of your course grade), so you are strongly encouraged to make sure you do well on them.
IN-CLASS EXAMS: There will be two in-class exams each will be worth 20% of your course grade, and a cumulative final exam worth 30% of your course grade. The exams will consist primarily of short answer and multiple choice questions. However, all make-up exams will be primarily essay. The exams will cover both lectures and assigned readings (material in lectures and assigned readings will not always overlap). All exams are closed book/closed note.
Grading:
The course grades will initially be determined according to the standard scale, i.e., 90-100% = A, 80-89% = B, 70-79% = C, 60-69% = D, 59% and below = F, and then may be modified as follows: Course grades might be curved, but, if so, the curve would not be such that any student's grade is lowered. Such factors as improvement over the length of the course, class participation, attendance, etc., may be taken into consideration, especially where doing so may improve a borderline grade. You must complete all three exams to receive a passing grade (i.e., a grade other than F, NC or U).
Class Policies:
If you miss class, for whatever reason, it is your responsibility to get class notes from another student. If you miss an assignment due date, you must notify me within one week of either the due date of the assignment or the cessation of a medically documented persistent vegetative state in order to make up the assignment. Late homework assignments will not be accepted once the answers have been given in class, so you are encouraged to complete them and hand them in prior to the day they are due. Missed exams can be made up for full credit only if an appropriate excuse, e.g., illness requiring medical attention, participation in certain official university events, etc., is provided. An unexcused late assignment will be dropped 2/3 of a letter grade per day it is late. If you have a disability and require assistance with fulfilling class assignments, don't hesitate to notify the instructor and the Office of Disability Services at 482-5252. Finally, be sure you are familiar with all university policies described in the UL Undergraduate Bulletin. All assignments for this class must be completed individually, and any instance of academic dishonesty on any assignment will be sufficient to fail the course.
Internet Resources:
I strongly recommend taking advantage of the following resources! My Philosophy 210 Home Page contains links to an on-line syllabus (which contains numerous links to home pages of authors we'll be reading, readings available on-line, etc.), study aids, links to sites on paranormal phenomena, and other resources you will find helpful. The web address is: http://www.ucs.louisiana.edu/~kak7409/210Home.html.
My How To Survive Your First Philosophy Course pages contain useful information about what I look for when grading assignments, how to study for my exams, reading philosophy, taking notes, doing research in philosophy, etc. The web address is: http://www.ucs.louisiana.edu/~kak7409/Survival.html.
My home page contains links to all my course home pages, extensive links pages on philosophy, general research, fun sites, and lots of other information. The web address is: http://www.ucs.louisiana.edu/~kak7409.
A Moodle page will be activated for this course at the beginning of the semester.
Emergency Evacuation Procedures:
A map of this floor is posted near the elevator marking the evacuation route and the Designated Rescue Area. This is an area where emergency service personnel will go first to look for individuals who need assistance in exiting the building. Students who may need assistance should identify themselves to the teaching faculty.
COURSE CALENDAR & PLANNED READING ASSIGNMENTS*
You should complete each of the readings before they are discussed in class. Some of the readings are difficult, and you may find that you need to re-read them after they have been discussed in class in order to fully understand them. Due dates for homework assignments will be given in class.
(CP) = Course Pack
(WT) = How To Think About Weird Things
(BGSM) = Beginner's Guide to Scientific Method
Topic 1: Knowledge, Belief and Truth
a. Week of Aug. 24, How Beliefs Change. (WT): Chapter 1, "Introduction: Close Encounters With The Strange," & p. 126-144; (CP): "The Propensity to Believe" by James E. Alcock and "Houdini's Impossible Demonstration" by Massimo Polidoro.Monday, September 7: Labor Day, No Classes
b. Week of Aug. 31, Relativism. (WT): Chapter 8, "Relativism, Truth and Reality."
c. The Ethics of Belief. (CP): "Obedience to Authority" by Stanley Milgram. [Listen to audio clips from Milgram's original experiments!]
Topic 2: Ways of Knowing: Problems and Prospects
FIRST EXAM: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25
a. Week of Sept. 7, Overview. (WT): Chapter 4, "Knowledge, Belief and Evidence."
b. Introspection. (no readings).
c. Pure Reason. (WT): p. 35-44 and Chapter 2, "The Possibility of the Impossible."
d. Week of Sept. 14, Intuition. (CP): "The Psychology of Intuition" by Edward Wisniewski.
e. Week of Sept. 21, Observation and Personal Experience. (BGSM): Chapter 2, "Observation"; (WT): Chapter 5, "Looking for Truth in Personal Experience" (p. 101-120 only); (CP): "'Cold Reading': How To Convince Strangers That You Know All About Them" by Ray Hyman,(you can read some Q&A , mostly on dowsing, with Hyman); "A Psychological Case Study of 'Demon' and 'Alien' Visitation" by Andrew D. Reisner.
Topic 3: Evaluating Testimony
Thursday & Friday, October 1-2: Fall Holiday, No Classes
f. Weeks of Sept. 28 and Oct. 5, Induction. (WT): p. 144-146 and 44-50; (CP): "Inconsistent Decisions and Bad Bets" by Stuart Sutherland; "Hidden Messages and the Bible Code" by David E. Thomas, "God's Number Is Up" by Michael Shermer.
g. Memory. (WT): p. 121-126; (CP): "Creating False Memories" by Elizabeth F. Loftus.
h. Mysticism. (no readings)
Monday, October 19: Advising for Spring 2010 Begins
a. Week of Oct. 12, Rhetoric vs. Reason. (no readings)
SECOND EXAM: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30
b. Week of Oct. 19, Anecdotal Evidence. (CP): "Eyewitness Testimony and the Paranormal" by Richard Wiseman, et al, "Why Bogus Therapies Seem to Work" by Barry L. Beyerstein, "They See Dead People – Or Do They?: An Investigation of Television Mediums" by James Underdown, "Fakers and Innocents" by James Randi. In Class Video: Secrets of the Psychics (You can read some reviews of the video at Amazon.)
c. Week of Oct. 26, Appeals to Authority. (CP): "Appeal to Authority" by Bruce N. Waller.
d. Additional Fallacies. (WT): p. 50-57.
Topic 4: Causation and Causal Reasoning
Topic 5: Explanation and Scientific Method
a. Week of Nov. 2, Kinds of Cause. (no readings)
b. Mill's Methods. (CP): "Causality" by David Kelley. [You can also read about Mill's Methods here. You can read more about Mill here or here.]
c. Week of Nov. 9, Testing for Causation. (BGSM): Chapter 1, "Science," and Chapter 5, "Establishing Causal Links"; (CP) "The Double-Blind Gaze" by Steven Bratman.
Thursday And Friday, November 26-27: Thanksgiving Holiday, No Classes.
a. Week of Nov. 16, Overview: The Scientific Approach. (CP): "Wonder and Skepticism" by Carl Sagan.
b. Week of Nov. 23, Scientific Explanation. (BGSM): Chapter 3, "Proposing Explanations," and Chapter 4, "Testing Explanations"; (WT): Chapter 6, "Science and its Pretenders"; (CP): "Testing the ESP Claims of SORRAT" by Richard Wiseman, et al.
LAST DAY OF CLASSES: FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4
c. Week of Nov. 30, Science and Pseudoscience. (CP): "How to Sell a Pseudoscience" by Anthony R. Pratkanis; (WT): Chapter 7, "Case Studies in the Extraordinary"; (BGSM): Chapter 6, "Fallacies in the Name of Science"; (CP): "Faith Healing" by Joe Nickell.
STUDY DAY: WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9
FINAL EXAM: TUESDAY, DEC. 8, FROM 2:00PM - 4:30 PM, IN REGULAR CLASSROOM
*Note: Assignment due dates, topics and readings are tentative and may change at the discretion of the instructor.
SOME HELPFUL TIPS:
1. On class evaluations, students often state that they would tell friends planning to take my classes that good class attendance and good class notes are essential to doing well on the exams.
2. Keep up with the readings - they further explain and help you to remember the issues you'll be tested on.
3. If you're having trouble understanding course material, do not hesitate to discuss it with the instructor!
