Phil 1010, Critical Thinking Shanna Slank CRN 84190, Fall 2011, MW 8-8:50am, Aderhold 224 CRN 84197,

Fall 2011, MW 9-9:50am, Aderhold 204

Contact Info Instructor Office Office Hours Phone Email Shanna Slank 34 Peachtree Bldg, Suite 1100 M, W 10-11:30, and by appointment (404) 413-6100 (office message) sslank1@student.gsu.edu

Check your GoSOLAR schedule today and be sure that the CRN on your schedule is 84190 (8am) or 84197 (9am). You must be registered for CRN 84190 (8am) or 84197 (9am) to receive credit for this course. Course Objectives The primary objective of Phil 1010 is to help you improve your critical thinking skills. Critical thinking is the skill of recognizing, composing and evaluating arguments. All college courses rely on arguments. Examples include: arguments about business plans, arguments about the qualities of a novel, arguments about the significance of historical events, and arguments about the nature and function of genetic material. Because arguments are found in all your courses, doing well in this course should increase your chances of successfully completing the core curriculum, the courses required by your major, and the other courses required to earn your degree. This course is not intended to be an introduction to philosophy and it does not focus on the questions discussed in most philosophy classes (e.g., the nature of justice, the nature of knowledge, the history of philosophical ideas). For an introduction to philosophy, take Phil 2010, Introduction to Philosophy. Phil 1010 is not a prerequisite for Phil 2010. Materials Critical Thinking: The Art of Argument, Rainbolt & Dwyer ISBN 9781133269458 There are several editions of this book. You need this one. Check the ISBN. There is an edition with color and Chap 6. It costs more, but you dont need it. Aplia for Critical Thinking: The Art of Argument ISBN 9781111928650 This is the software to do the exercises for this course. It is required. Other handouts available in class, on Aplia, and sent by email. The authors of this textbook do not receive any money from the sale of course materials to GSU students. 1

Grading 1. Components Exercises/Participation Midterm Final Exam 10% 10% 30% S&E 1 S&E 2 S&E 3 10% 15% 25%

2. Scale Assignments in this class are scored on a scale from 1 to 100. Scores transfer to point scale and letter grades as follows: A+ A AB+ B BC+ C CD F 4.3 4.00 3.7 3.3 3.00 2.7 2.3 2.00 1.7 1.00 0.00 100 93 99 90 92 87 89 83 86 80 82 77 79 73 76 70 72 60 69 0 59

3. To pass the course, students must earn an overall average of 60, take both the midterm and the final, get least a 60 on either the midterm or the final, and turn in all three S&Es. 4. I reserve the right to withdraw any student who, prior to October 7, 2011, misses more than 2 exercises or misses more than 2 class periods. However, missing more than 2 exercises or 2 class periods does not guarantee that I will withdraw you. If you want to withdraw, you need to do that yourself via GoSOLAR. 5. If you are not doing as well as you would like in this or any of your other courses, consider making an appointment with the Undergraduate Studies Office, Sparks 224. It offers one-on-one academic coaching, as well as workshops and tutorials on study skills.

S&Es S&E stands for Standardize and Evaluate Arguments in a passage. These will be discussed in detail in class. S&E 1: Identify and Standardize arguments. S&E 2: Evaluate arguments. S&E 3: Identify, Standardize and evaluate arguments. I reserve the right to use any students S&E for pedagogical purposes. Students names and any other identifying marks will be removed to ensure anonymity.

Exercises & Aplia Exercises are completed via Aplia. They are due once a week at 11:45 pm on Sunday. Note that the computer will close at precisely that time so you need to be sure your exercises are submitted before that time. Your grade on each set of exercises is the percentage of the questions you get right. For example, if there are eight questions in an exercise set, and you get six of them right, your grade on that set is a 75. Because life and computer problems happen, I will drop the two lowest exercise grades. This means that, except in extremely exceptional circumstances (for example, hospitalization), I will not allow you to turn in the exercises late. Accessing Exercises on Aplia See below.

Important Tip It is hard to get less than a C in this course if you come to all of the class sessions, do all the exercises, take both exams, and complete all three S&Es. It is easy to get an F if you miss more than class periods, miss more than 2 sets of exercises, miss an exam, or miss a S&E. In other words, effort counts.

Make-Ups and Late Assignments 1. Late assignments and absences are excused only when there is a well-documented, last minute significant emergency. The following are examples of valid reasons for an excused absence or an excused late assignment: a death in the family or a serious illness. The following are examples of invalid reasons: a cold, lots of other work, or end-of-the-term travel plans. 2. Unexcused late assignments are penalized 5 points for each calendar day late. 3

3. If you turn in an assignment in the wrong computer format, your assignment will not be counted as submitted until the date you have submit in a correct format. See below for information about electronic formats. Email 1. Email is the best way to contact me. 2. You should check your official Georgia State email at least once every 24 hours. 3. By University policy, I must use your official Georgia State student email address. If you send an email from a non-GSU email account, I cannot respond. 4. If you email me from your GSU account and have not received a reply within 24 hours, you should assume that I did not receive the message. Contact me in person. 5. If you turn in any assignment by email, it is your responsibility to confirm that I received it on time. You will know that I got it because I reply to all student emails. If I do not receive it on time, you will not get credit for the assignment without time-stamped email proof that you sent it before it was due. Having trouble with your email, computer, or ISP is not an excused late assignment. Electronic Formats for Assignments S&Es must be turned in via email in Word documents. Exercises must be done via Aplia. Attendance Everyones presence is an intrinsic and vital feature of the class. Even if you do not speak, your presence has a positive effect on what is said by others. Attendance can be the deciding factor for course grades on the borderline. Class Format The class will be a combination of lecture, discussion and practice. This format demands that students be well prepared for class. You do not have to understand all the readings before class, but you need to read all the readings before class and be prepared to ask questions about what you do not understand. Electronic Devices No computers, cell phones, smart phones, PDAs, pagers, or other electronic devices may be used in the classroom. If you carry such a device, turn it off before class begins.

Academic Dishonesty Failure of the course is the default departmental penalty for plagiarism, cheating on a test, copying someone elses work, letting someone else copy your work, or any other form of academic dishonesty. For example, copying someone elses standardization of an argument is a case of plagiarism and will result in failure of the course. You are encouraged to study with your classmates, but all work turned in for credit must be either 4

your own work, or correctly cited. If you use even a small part of a classmates work or a line from an online source, you must use proper citation. If you dont, you have violated GSUs academic honesty policy. Moreover, you are liable for further administrative action, which might include expulsion with notation on your permanent record. See the GSU Policy on Academic Dishonesty attached to this syllabus, available in the University Student Handbook, and found online at http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwcam/overview/index.html

Final Note Everything in this syllabus can change (and something always does). You are responsible for all changes announced in class, on PAWS, and via email.

Department of Philosophy General Syllabus Statement Fall 2011 This syllabus provides a general plan for the course. Deviations may be necessary. The last day to withdraw from a course with the possibility of receiving a W is Friday, October 7. Students are responsible for confirming that they are attending the course section for which they are registered. Failure to do so may result in an F for the course. By University policy and to respect the confidentiality of all students, final grades may not be posted or given out over the phone. To see your grades, use PAWS. The customary penalty for a violation of the academic honesty rules is an "F" in the course. See the University Policy on Academic Honesty on the reverse of this sheet. Copying or using material from the internet without citation is a violation of the academic honesty rules. A student may be awarded a grade of "W" no more than 6 times in their careers at Georgia State. After 6 Ws, a withdrawal is recorded as a WF on the student's record. A WF counts as an F in a GPA. Your constructive assessment of this course plays an indispensable role in shaping education at Georgia State University. Upon completing the course, please take the time to fill out the online course evaluation. A+ grades are not parallel to grades of B+ and C+. They are reserved for outstanding work. 5

Students who wish to request accommodation for a disability may do so by registering with the Office of Disability Services in Suite 230 of the Student Center. Students may only be accommodated upon issuance by the Office of Disability Services of a singed Accommodation Plan and are responsible for providing a copy of that plan to instructors of all classes in which an accommodation is sought.

Subscribe to the Philosophy listserv for current information and events: www2.gsu.edu/~wwwphi/5267.html Messages will go to the address from which you send the message, so you need to resubscribe every time you change e-mail addresses.

For more information on the philosophy program visit: www.gsu.edu/philosophy Policy on Academic Honesty From the GSU Catalog As members of the academic community, students are expected to recognize and uphold standards of intellectual and academic integrity. The university assumes as a basic and minimum standard of conduct in academic matters that students be honest and that they submit for credit only the products of their own efforts. Both the ideals of scholarship and the need for fairness require that all dishonest work be rejected as a basis for academic credit. They also require that students refrain from any and all forms of dishonor-able or unethical conduct related to their academic work. The universitys policy on academic honesty is published in the Faculty Handbook and On Campus: The Student Handbook and is available to all members of the university community. The policy represents a core value of the university, and all members of the university community are responsible for abiding by its tenets. Lack of knowledge of this policy is not an acceptable defense to any charge of academic dishonesty. All members of the academic communitystudents, faculty, and staffare expected to report violations of these standards of academic conduct to the appropriate authorities. The procedures for such reporting are on file in the offices of the deans of each college, the office of the dean of students, and the office of the provost. In an effort to foster an environment of academic integrity and to prevent academic dishonesty, students are expected to discuss with faculty the expectations regarding course assignments and standards of conduct. Students are encouraged to discuss freely with faculty, academic advisers, and other members of the university community any 6

questions pertaining to the provisions of this policy. In addition, students are encouraged to avail themselves of programs in establishing personal standards and ethics offered through the universitys Counseling Center. Definitions and Examples The examples and definitions given below are intended to clarify the standards by which academic honesty and academically honorable conduct are to be judged. The list is merely illustrative of the kinds of infractions that may occur, and it is not intended to be exhaustive. Moreover, the definitions and examples suggest conditions under which unacceptable behavior of the indicated types normally occurs; however, there may be unusual cases that fall outside these conditions that also will be judged unacceptable by the academic community. Plagiarism: Plagiarism is presenting another persons work as ones own. Plagiarism includes any paraphrasing or summarizing of the works of another person without acknowledgment, including the submitting of another students work as ones own. Plagiarism frequently involves a failure to acknowledge in the text, notes, or footnotes the quotation of the paragraphs, sentences, or even a few phrases written or spoken by someone else. The submission of research or completed papers or projects by someone else is plagiarism, as is the unacknowledged use of research sources gathered by someone else when that use is specifically forbidden by the faculty member. Failure to indicate the extent and nature of ones reliance on other sources is also a form of plagiarism. Any work, in whole or in part, taken from the Internet or other computer-based resource without properly referencing the source (for example, the URL) is considered plagiarism. A complete reference is required in order that all parties may locate and view the original source. Finally, there may be forms of plagiarism that are unique to an individual discipline or course, examples of which should be provided in advance by the faculty member. The student is responsible for understanding the legitimate use of sources, the appropriate ways of acknowledging academic, scholarly or creative indebtedness, and the consequences of violating this responsibility. Cheating on Examinations: Cheating on examinations involves giving or receiving unauthorized help before, during, or after an examination. Examples of unauthorized help include the use of notes, computer-based resources, texts, or "crib sheets" during an examination (unless specifically approved by the faculty member), or sharing information with another student during an examination (unless specifically approved by the faculty member). Other examples include intentionally allowing another student to view ones own examination and collaboration before or after an examination if such collaboration is specifically forbidden by the faculty member. Unauthorized Collaboration: Submission for academic credit of a work product, or a part thereof, represented as its being ones own effort, which has been developed in substantial collaboration with another person or source or with a computer-based resource is a violation of academic honesty. It is also a violation of academic honesty 7

knowingly to provide such assistance. Collaborative work specifically authorized by a faculty member is allowed. Falsification: It is a violation of academic honesty to misrepresent material or fabricate information in an academic exercise, assignment or proceeding (e.g., false or misleading citation of sources, falsification of the results of experiments or computer data, false or misleading information in an academic context in order to gain an unfair advantage). Multiple Submissions: It is a violation of academic honesty to submit substantial portions of the same work for credit more than once without the explicit consent of the faculty member(s) to whom the material is submitted for additional credit. In cases in which there is a natural development of research or knowledge in a sequence of courses, use of prior work may be desirable, even required; however the student is responsible for indicating in writing, as a part of such use, that the current work submitted for credit is cumulative in nature.

Phil 1010, Critical Thinking Fall 2011 TENTATIVE Schedule of Assignments

M 8/22 W 8/24 F 8/26 M 8/29 W 8/31 M 9/5 W 9/7 M 9/12 W 9/14 M 9/19 W 9/21 M 9/26 W 9/28 M 10/3 W 10/5 F 10/7 M 10/12 W 10/14 M 10/17 W 10/19 Chap 1, What is Critical Thinking, What is an Argument, pp. 4-13 Chap 1, Finding Arguments, pp. 13-26 No class, but last day to Add/Drop Chap 1, Putting Arguments into Standard Form, pp. 31-36 Chap 1, Putting Arguments into Standard Form continued LABOR DAY. No classes meet. Chap 2, Two Characteristics of a Good Argument, True Premises, and Proper Form, pp. 42-48 and 51-53 Chap 2, Deductive and Inductive Arguments and Relevance, pp. 55-67 Chap 2, Fallacies and Relevance, pp 70-79 Chap 3, Three Kinds of Premises, pp. 86-102 Review for S&E 1 and Midterm Midterm in class, & S&E 1 Due Chap 4, Identifying Definitions, pp. 116-127 Chap 4, Evaluating Definitions, Language and Clarity, pp. 128-138 Chap 5, Identifying Propositional Statements, pp. 146-156 No class, but last day to withdraw with a W Chap 5, Evaluating Propositional Arguments, pp. 159-169 Chap 7, Identifying Analogical Arguments, pp. 228-234 Chap 7, Evaluating Analogical Arguments, pp. 244-256 S&E 2 Due Chap 8, Descriptive Statistics, pp. 258-275 Chap 8, Identifying Statistical Arguments, pp. 275-278 Chap 8, Evaluating Statistical Arguments, pp. 281-285 Chap 8, Evaluating Statistical Arguments continued, quiz counts double Chap 9, The Many Meanings of Cause and Identifying Causal Arguments, pp. 294-303 Chap 9, Evaluating Causal Arguments, pp. 306-314 Chap 9, Evaluating Causal Arguments Continued, pp. 316-321 Chap 9, The Scientific Method, pp. 326-331 Causal Arguments continued, no new readings, quiz counts double S&E3 Due

M 10/24 W 10/26 M 10/31 W 11/2

M 11/7 W 11/9 M 11/14 W 11/16

M 11/21 W 11/23 M 11/28

Thanksgiving break Thanksgiving break Chap 10, Identifying Moral Arguments, pp. 342-345 and Chap 10, Evaluating Moral Arguments, Consequentialist Arguments, pp. 351358 Chap 10, Deontic Moral Arguments, pp. 359-365 Chap 10, Aretaic Moral Arguments, pp. 365-366 Common Final Exam, Friday, December 9, 1:304pm, ROOM TBA

W 11/30 M 12/5 F 12/9

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NAME______________________________

DATE__________________

I have received, read, or will read, and accept responsibility for following the policies noted in the syllabus. I understand that not following the course policies or not completing all assignments can negatively affect my grade in the course. I also understand that FAILURE OF THE COURSE is the departmental default policy for cases of academic dishonesty. I also understand that I am responsible for using and checking my GSU email account daily, and that my instructor is required by university policy to use my GSU email account for all academic correspondence.

______________________________________

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ACCESSING APLIA Phil 1010, Critical Thinking Step 1: Go to www.cengagebrain.com/login (You will use this site to log into all Cengage products) Click Create New Account on the right-hand side

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Step 2: Enter the Aplia Course Key: GYFT-GEGJ-LY3K.

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Step 3: Confirm your course information. You will need to confirm your school (GA State), course (PHIL 1010), Section Number, CRN, and instructor. To have your grades properly recorded, you need to fill in the correct CRN. Check PAWS if you dont know your CRN. The graphic below serves as an example.

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Step 4: Complete registration form. You will only do this step once! For your email address, be sure to put in your official GSU email address (for example, jsmith999@student.gsu.edu). If you enter another address, your instructor will not be able to contact you. Make sure all fields are complete and click Continue.

Step 5: Review your dashboard. You have arrived at your My Home page. Here you can verify your e-Mail address with CengageBrain and pay for your course (See Step 6).

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Note that any prior (and future) Cengage Learning purchases will appear on this page.

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Step 6: Completing your payment for your Aplia Course.

PHIL 1010 Critical Thinking

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Step 6 (Continued) Open the access code card that you bought at the GSU bookstore.

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Step 6 (Continued): Completing Payment for Aplia. Enter the payment code that you bought at the GSU bookstore. Make sure you enter the codes EXACTLY as it appears on the card. NOTE: the payment (access code) is different from the course key your instructor provided you.

Final Step: Payment Confirmation

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