HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY: DESCARTES TO KANT

We will read selections from two books and one whole book:

• Selections from: Cahn, Steven M. CLASSICS OF WESTERN PHILOSOPHY, FIFTH EDITION. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Co., Inc., 1999. ISBN: 0-87220-436-7

• Selectins from: Atherton, Margaret. WOMEN PHILOSOPHERS OF THE EARLY MODERN PERIOD Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Co., Inc., 1994. ISBN: 0-87220-259-3

• The whole of: Umbaugh, Bruce. ON BERKELEY Belmont, CA.: Wadsworth Philosophical Series, 2000. ISBN# 0-534-57619-2.

Specific course requirements will be:

1. Regular attendance is expected. Missing excessive classes will be penalized.
2. 5 papers of summary and analysis of five thinkers.
3. 2 oral presentations to the class: one concerning a philosopher's life the other concerning the historical period of the philosopher.
4. Class participation.
5. Mid-term and final exam.

Grading: While I will grade each individual assignment, the grade of the course will not be merely the sum of the individual grades. Rather, I will take into account an overall sense of quality in the general tone of one's work. However, the sum of one's individual grades will certainly be a strong indication of where one stands. In a rough sense the assigments will be valued in this fashion:

• Attendance: This will be only a negative possibility. You begin will full credit.
  • If you miss more than 4 classes your grade will be lowered one full letter grade.
  • If you miss more than 7 classes your grade will be lowered two full letter grades.
  • If you miss 9 classes your grade will be lowered three full letter grades.
  • If you miss 10 classes you will receive a grade of F.

• General work required and graded
  • 5 written summaries 10%
  • 5 written analyses: 20%
  • 2 oral presentations: 10%
  • Class participation: 20%
  • mid-term exam: 20%
  • final exam: 20%
  • total:
  • ......................100%

  Two important additional notes:

  1. On-time work is crucial. Each assignment will have a due date and any late work with be significantly penalized. Late work will begin by being penalized two grade levels, then be graded as normal, thus the highest grade possible is C. So please face that issue as we get started. There will be no "late work" for the oral presentations. They either occur as scheduled or you receive a grade of F for them.
  2. I will only give a grade of incomplete in a very unusual circumstance, one in which the student was doing all work in a timely and acceptable fashion and then some major catastrophe strikes, one for which the student can give evidence and which is seriously debilitating. Even then, an incomplete would be negotiated toward the shortest reasonable time to fulfill the work with no extensions. In only the rarest occasions would a grade for a fulfilled incomplete ever be higher than a C.

  Basically the point is: there are time deadlines. Stay with them.

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