THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK

LAGUARDIA COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Fall II 2018

“LaGuardia College’s mission is to educate and graduate one of the most diverse student populations in the
country to become critical thinkers and socially responsible citizens who help to shape a rapidly evolving society.”

INTRODUCTION
TO PHILOSOPHY

HUP 101.7637
Monday
9:15-12:45
Wednesday
9:15-12:45

Instructor: Prof. Michael Broz

Office: Humanities C-745

Depart. Telephone: (718) 482-5690
Office Hours: By appointment only
E-mail: mbroz@lagcc.cuny.edu

COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course will introduce you to the process of philosophical reflection. Utilizing the concept of freedom extensively,
it seeks to develop your ability to analyze concepts and to explore life experience in a structured and coherent fashion.
You will be encouraged to develop your perceptions by critically examining your own beliefs, attitudes, and
assumptions in light of the philosophical analyses you encounter. In this philosophical journey, you will explore the
central issues of metaphysics, mind, epistemology, and ethics as they arise in ancient, medieval, modern, and
contemporary philosophy.

COURSE OBJECTIVES
A continuing focus of the course is how various philosophical theories evoke an understanding of the self in
relation to knowledge, the world, and others in order to satisfactorily answer difficult questions that arise in our
daily lives. The goal of education is to inspire independent thinking and to build bridges from the world of theory
into the lived experience of careers, relationships, politics, global issues, and the pursuit of happiness.

LEARNING OUTCOMES
By successfully completing this course you will develop the skills and principles for philosophical inquiry; uncover
new ways of questioning, examining, and formulating basic assumptions concerning the self and others; develop
abilities to read and analyze challenging original texts; verbally express thoughts in class discussion; debate
philosophical issues with others; present interpretations of texts and articulate why philosophical questions are
significant; write papers and assignments that engage philosophical ideas on a high level; and apply practical theory to
life experiences. Above all, you will learn to cherish the tremendous importance of the philosopher’s way in both
personal and social life and hopefully live in such a way as to experience the joy and fulfillment of the good life of the
mind

TEXTS
The Philosopher's Way (5th Edition), John Chaffee, Pearson/ Prentice Hall, 2015.
 GRADE REQUIREMENTS 100 - 95 A (4.0) Superlative
94 - 90 A- (3.7) Excellent
89 - 87 B+ (3.3) Very Good
Participation 10% 86 - 84 B (3.0) Good
Written Assignments 60% 83 - 80 B- (2.7) Above Average
Reading Quizzes 10% 79 - 77 C+ (2.3) Satisfactory
Final Project 20% 76 - 74 C (2.0) Average
73 - 70 C- (1.7) Minimum Effort
69 - 67 D+ (1.3) Poor
66 - 64 D (1.0) Very Poor
63 - 60 D- (0.7) Barely Sufficient
59 - 0 F (0.0) Insufficient

Daily Participation is worth 10% of your grade. You are required to come to each class on time, prepared
with readings and assignments, ready to learn and participate in class. Participation is essential in philosophy, and
it is a part of the philosophical tradition. Asking and responding to questions, making thought-provoking
observations, opening your mind to new ways of thinking, creatively applying ideas to everyday experiences, and
collectively muddling through the texts are all ways to experience philosophy and begin to question our most basic
assumptions through rich dialogue. Curiosity, wonderment, and playfulness along with vigorous critical reflection
and hard work are key!

Written Assignments and the Final Project are worth 80% of your grade. The goal of this collection of
written assignments is for you to analyze philosophical ideas and apply those ideas to your life in a meaningful
way. This is an opportunity for you to delve deeper, to go beyond class discussion, and develop your own thoughts
in a reflective way. Writing done sloppily or hastily will not be accepted as college level work. Before you hand in
any written assignment, be sure to proofread your work, paying particular attention to the errors you know
frequently occur in your own writing such as grammar, capitalization, punctuation, etc. Work handed in late is
subject to a grade reduction of one grade. Work submitted via email will not be accepted. All assignments must
be standard format: typed, Times New Roman, 12-point font, double-spaced, 1” margins. For more information
visit the website “Purdue Owl: MLA Formatting and Style Guide.”

Reading Quizzes are worth 10% of your grade. There will be a quiz at the beginning of class approximately
once per week. The quizzes will take 10 minutes. You may not have extra time if you are late. No make-ups for
absences. There will be total of 10 quizzes and your grade will be based on your total number of points.

“The unexamined life is not worth living.” Socrates

“Wonder is the feeling of a philosopher, and philosophy is rooted in wonder.” Plato

“It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool
satisfied. And if the fool, or the pig, are of a different opinion, it is because they only know their own side of the
question.” John Stuart Mill

“You must expect the unexpected, for it cannot be found by search or trail.” Heraclitus

“Do not sleepwalk through life.” Heraclitus

“Be kind to those you meet, for they are fighting a hard battle.” Plato
Attendance
• Attending each class is vital for your success and is reflected in your final participation grade. Anyone not present when
attendance is taken will be marked absent. It is your responsibility to talk to the instructor after class about the
reasons for your lateness. Chronic lateness will not be tolerated and will result in the student being marked
“absent” regardless of reasons. Analogously, students are expected to remain in the class until it’s conclusion.
• It is your responsibility to be ON TIME and PREPARED for EACH class. If you cannot meet this requirement, then
do not take the class. Rather, enroll in a class when and where you can successfully meet all the requirements.
• An absence is an absence; all absences are treated in the same manner. Students cannot make up quizzes, exams, or in-
class activities, and are responsible for all missed work. If your behavior in class is disruptive (talking, sleeping,
reading, cell phone usage, etc.) you will be asked to leave and/or counted absent.
• If you are absent 2 times you will automatically fail the course. LCC’s policy: “The maximum number of
absences is limited to 15% of the number of class hours [12 classes = 36 hours].

Writing Center
This is a reading and writing intensive course. It is expected that you will utilize the Writing Center for help with
content, grammar, and sentence structure in each of your papers BEFORE you turn it in. I strongly suggest that each
of you make use of this resource; this resource has helped students improve their writing and, as a result, improve their
grade in this class. Room E-111, Monday –Friday (9:15am – 9:30pm) http://www.lagcc.cuny.edu/english/
writingcenter/schedule.htm

Cell Phones
I have a no tolerance technology policy. Cell phones and other electronic devices must be turned off and out of sight.

Academic Integrity
Cheating is defined as giving or receiving assistance or using prohibited material as a test aid. Cases of plagiarism or cheating
will result in an automatic “F” or “0” for the assignment. Plagiarism is defined as taking words, sentences or ideas from another
person and submitting it as your own without giving proper credit to that person. If it is found that you have used online sources
inappropriately by copy and pasting or ‘borrowing’ in part or in whole from previously written essays, texts, or webpages, you
will be reported in accordance with LaGCC’s Academic Integrity Policies. It is better to err on the side of caution than to get a
zero on the assignment. Simply forgetting to cite a source still counts as plagiarism. For more details see “Academic Dishonesty”
on page 190 in the Catalog. http://web.laguardia.edu/catalog/pdf/Complete-LaG-Catalog-2010-2011.pdf

Services for Students

Students with mobility, vision, hearing and other disabilities and who are interested in requesting accommodations and/or
supportive services while they are on campus, should phone the Office for Student Services at (718)482-5279 located at M-102
Shenker Hall. For more information review pages 204-208 in the Catalog.
If you have any other special circumstance such as a religious or military obligation that could affect your participation
in this course at any time throughout this semester, it is your responsibility to bring it to your instructor’s attention and review
the appropriate documentation and procedures for each circumstance. All requests are confidential. Requests must be made the
first week of class. Students will not be granted services retrospectively.

A Shared Journey: Creating a Community of Thinkers

Our goal for this course is to create a community of thoughtful, reflective individuals engaged in mutual
quest, a shared adventure exploring essential dimensions of what it means to be human. We wish to
become more than just a collection of individuals: our aim is to become a “community,” a group of
individuals working together to accomplish shared goals. I’m looking forward to a stimulating and
rewarding semester together, and my goal is for this to be a life-changing experience for you. In the final
analysis, however, what you derive from the courses will be directly proportional to what you invest in it.
If you commit yourself to excellence, then you will elevate your own understanding while enriching the
experience of all members of the class community.

“Thought is great, and swift, and free, the light of the world and the chief glory of man.”
Bertrand Russell