PHILOSOPHY & ETHICS

Syllabus

Dr. Schawang

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

• Examine ideas that will engage and challenge you, hopefully expanding your intellectual horizons and causing you to think differently about the world;

• Survey the ideas of certain influential philosophers partly to prepare you for advanced college discussions but also to help you live in a more meaningful way;

• Develop a toolkit of concepts to help you navigate more effectively, logically, and honestly any given ethical situation;

• Explore particular stages of life to prepare you to make better decisions when those moments occur in order to help you flourish.

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One of our most important ancestors is the Greek philosopher Socrates.? We will read about Socrates, and I will encourage you to adopt his mission: to shine light on our assumptions and—even if it is painful or strange—to ask whether those assumptions are valid.? You need to take personal responsibility in examining your beliefs.? Have you truly asked what is right and what is best?

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This course will be as meaningful as you want it to be.? I hope you will invest in our study because I think your better understanding of these ideas will help you achieve what the Greeks called Eudemonia—a life that is healthy and satisfying because it is characterized by excellence, solid personal principles, and self-knowledge.? Since we are confronted with choices in almost every aspect of our lives, we will study not only controversial issues but also topics from our practical adult lives: education, finances, relationships, sexuality, employment, health, technology, spirituality, and other areas where we can make better choices in the future.

READINGS:

This class will not involve much reading, but you need to read carefully the few texts that I do assign.? All students will sign up for the Schoology Philosophy & Ethics course to access class materials.? Some classroom readings will be available in hard copy, but you may need to read others electronically.

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During class time, students should focus on this course.? Students should always have one device available (preferably a laptop) that may be used on occasion to take a quiz or research information when authorized by the teacher.? However, all devices should be stowed otherwise.? Students should take notes by hand (pen/pencil & paper) and not on electronic devices, and study guides will be provided for you to this end.

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Unless directed to do otherwise, students should write papers in the specified Google Doc that will be accessed through the assignment in Schoology.

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DISCUSSION:

John Stuart Mill writes that “the only way in which a human being can make some approach to knowing the whole of a subject is by hearing what can be said about it by persons of every variety of opinion and studying all modes in which it can be looked at by every character of mind.”

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It is imperative that students participate actively in discussion—not simply to get points or to win arguments but mainly to help the class better understand the topic at hand.? This means we should all listen carefully to one another and ask probing questions.? We should avoid lazy thinking and untested principles regardless of our politics.

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In this class, no matter the subject at hand, all students will be polite and attentive to the views of others.? No two people have identical beliefs or ideas, and dissent should not be viewed as aggression.? It is GOOD that we do not all think alike.? Students who cannot maintain a courteous and reasonable tone will be corrected by the teacher and then, if necessary, sustain a loss of participation points.? This expectation extends to the Senior Lounge, online platforms, and all other places where class discussion may occur.

COURSE TOPICS (subject to adjustments as necessary):

???Semester One:

• Foundational Ideas: Genesis, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle

• The Role of Language

• State of Nature Philosophies

• A Survey of Consequentialist & Non-Consequentialist Ethical Theories

• Ethical Decision Making

• Lying, Cheating, Stealing

• Taking Life

• Media, the Press, and Artistic Representation

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???Semester Two:

• Taoism

• Stoicism

• Happiness

• Existentialism & “The Other”

• College

• Sethics

• Abortion

• Professions

• Business Ethics

• Bioethics

• Environmentalism

• Alcohol

• Anxiety & Grief

• Spirituality

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TYPES OF GRADED ASSIGNMENTS:

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Quizzes: On occasion, I will begin class by asking you a few questions to make sure you’ve done your work and to gauge your understanding of the subject matter.? If you miss a class when we take a quiz, it is your responsibility to make up that quiz, or you will receive a “zero.”? I will always send out an email when we take a quiz in class, and I will expect absent students to take the quiz from home unless there is a compelling reason why that can’t happen.

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Response Papers: These writings are vehicles for you to explore the topics under discussion in class.? You should see them as “thinking in a focused way on paper.”? The primary objective is for you to explore and refine your thinking.? However, you should make sure to revise and proofread before submitting them.? In the Schoology folder labeled “Course Materials,” you will find a document called “Response Paper Writing” that will provide more details about how to write these papers.?

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Human Essays: This is a longer writing assignment that will prompt you to examine some aspect of human life with a creative prompt.? The purpose for each of these essays is for you to discover something about how you think about humanity and yourself (and your teacher is a bystander to that process).? You will write one essay at the end of each quarter.? Some of these topics may involve issues that are personal to you, but you will not be obligated to reveal more information than what you find comfortable or appropriate.? If you do share personal information, please know that I do not discuss these class writings with any parent, student, or teacher—unless that information creates a concern for the well-being of the writer or another living person.

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Presentations: You will occasionally be asked to work with classmates to prepare and present information on a topic.? Please know that I always grade individuals for their work and not the work of other people in the group.

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Participation: I will periodically update this grade based upon the frequency and quality of your participation in class discussion.? If you are not frequently absent, you will receive a 70% automatically (because some learning is bound to rub off on even the most stubborn student!).? The rest is up to you.? I reserve the right to lower this grade if you are frequently absent, disruptive, or distracted by technology.? I know many of you are reluctant to speak up in class for various reasons (shy, hesitant, working out an idea more slowly, etc.).? Please remember that you can also receive full points by emailing or talking to me in person outside of class.

Study Guides:? From time to time, you will receive hardcopy study guides with questions and terms for you to explain based on course lectures and slide shows.? You will submit those study guides for class points.? Study guides should be completed individually and information should not be copied from another student’s notes.

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PLAGIARISM:

Most of the writing that students will do in this course will be of a personal or reflective nature, but occasionally students may find themselves going to written or web sources for additional context or information.? Seniors are expected to have a solid understanding of Seabury guidelines for citing sources.? Most importantly, students should understand that credit should be given when using the words and ideas of other writers.? The intellectual universe is an interactive place, and we should be inspired and provoked by other minds—so don’t be afraid to reference the ideas of others, so long as you give proper credit.? Failure to do so will result in consequences spelled out in the Community Handbook.

Recent developments in Artificial Intelligence (namely chat bots like ChatGPT) can be used as tools for learning, but they can easily become impediments to learning.? All written work that is submitted in this class must be originally composed by the student, and submission of a work composed by another source (human or A.I.) will most likely result in a suspension and communication of the infraction to the students’ colleges.

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Students may occasionally and sparingly use the language of another writer (even another student) if clearly set apart by quotation marks.? The use of another writer’s language without proper documentation will be considered an act of intellectual dishonesty—an affront that the instructor will take very seriously—and the offending student will risk very serious disciplinary action that will jeopardize the individual’s ability to attend any respectable college.? (In other words, be smart and don’t cheat.)

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GRADING:

Grades in Schoology will be assigned with point values, not category percentages.? However, you can see the rough value of each category here:?

30%: Response Papers

25%: Participation/Presentations

20%: Human Essay

15%? Study Guides

10%: Quizzes

*** Students are expected to submit assignments on due dates as indicated in Schoology.? If possible, the teacher should be contacted prior to the due date if the assignment cannot be completed on time.? Late work will be penalized 10% for each day it is late--except in unusual circumstances that merit consideration.

CONTACTING THE TEACHER:

I am happy to speak with students in my office--either by appointment or drop-in (if I am not in a meeting).? I am also happy to communicate by email, but I will not check emails after 8 pm.