Syllabus Showcase: Sahar Joakim, Introduction to Philosophy

This course is an alternative to typical introductions in philosophy. We study mainly the work of Plato and students are required to write almost daily commenting on the topics at hand. I developed it with the impression that the course material should relate to the students own lives. Each topic we study (character, love, death, marriage, laws, etc.) will be immediately beneficial for the students to have spent serious time contemplating. The main goal I have with this class is that each student finishes having learnt about their stances; what they think and why, how they want to live and why. I want them to become philosophers- having reasons for their opinions and actions.

What the students seem to love about this class, unlike what they hear from their friends in other classes, is that we only take our time with material that they are excited about and interested in. If we read something and come to class unimpressed, then we only discuss it for that class session and move on; whereas if the students are particularly interested in the topic, I add secondary literature (not on the syllabus) and we read that for the next session before moving to the next syllabus item. There is no predetermined date by which we must read a certain item. The flexibility of pace is easy on me, too.

Their midterm and their final can be written on any topic we have discussed so far. I provide a very explicit rubric for their essays from the first day. Their final can be a further developed look into the issue they discussed for their midterm, or they can write on an entirely new issue. For those that refine and develop their midterms for their final, they improve their writing skills in addition to learning more about a philosophical issue. Their reflection assignments are on the topic we discussed that day in class – this takes the form of attendance but one can’t earn full credit unless one attended class. This encourages everyone to constantly write what they think, so they can see it and more easily evaluate it.

Here is the syllabus.

INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY: 1050 -15
Sahar Joakim
Monday, Wednesday, & Friday: 10:00am – 10:50am
Davis-Shaughnessy Hall 171
Office Hours: Fridays after class, and by appointment
Email: joakims@slu.edu
saharjoakim@gmail.com

Course Description

To me, Socrates and Plato are the greatest philosophers in the history of western philosophy. If I am right, there could be no better introduction to philosophy than studying their theories. The central theories we will study in this course revolve around the following questions: What is real? What is it to be a good person? What is the best way for a person to live? We will explore these questions on a personal level. You will learn how to articulate your answers to these and related questions. You will, then, also learn a lot about yourselves.

In this course, students will learn how to think carefully and critically as individuals through a group effort. The readings and discussions will bring to your conscious mind the theories you hold. So, a goal of the course is to develop your thoughts and then articulate them. Class participation is mandatory for success; without class discussions, you will be unable to do your homework. Students who plan to miss many class meetings should register for a different class to miss because such a student will at best will earn a “D”.

Students will have a homework assignment every Monday and Wednesday. After lecture, students must log onto Blackboard and write one paragraph concerning (1) what ideas from the day’s class sparked your interest; and,(2a) explain why you think this is (or is not) a serious notion for discussion or (2b) give a potential response to the issue. (Alternatively, voice recordings are accepted.) Notice that students who are not in class on a Monday or Wednesday will not be able to do their homework. There will be no homework assigned on Friday. So, if you want to miss class without losing points then you can only skip on Friday’s If student participation is low, I will assume students are not reading (and not, therefore, thinking about the reading). If student participation is low on both a Monday and a Wednesday, then I administer a quiz first thing Friday of that same week. Note: Such Friday pop- quizzes will not necessarily occur, they are contingent upon the participation of the students during that week.

The Course Book

Most of our reading assignments are authored by Plato. All western philosophy, for example, is said to be nothing more than responses to Plato’s texts. The following book contains all of Plato’s text and is therefore a great thing to own.

Plato: Complete Works. Ed. Cooper & Hutchinson. Hackett
 Publishing. 1997.

All I require is that you access the reading material: I expect students to have the assigned reading for the day with them for every class session (in the form of the book, printed out, or on the computer/lap-top/iPad…et cetera.).

I will distribute all other reading assignments. Likely, I will email those texts. Contact me immediately if this is a problem; don’t worry, we have a solution.

Small Assignments: Reflective Writing
Students must think and then write reflectively. For three points per assignment, have one paragraph posted onto Blackboard after class, due by midnight of each Monday and Wednesday (that we have class). One can also voice record this assignment and submit it via email. This assignment promotes introspection and requires each student to independently evaluate the worth of what has been read, thought, and discussed on each topic. It also provides an electronic diary for your developing ideas. Just come to class and pay attention, then write about what happened during class in at least three sentences on the internet. (Optional: students may read and reply to fellow classmates. Three comments equal one point extra credit. You are limited to one point extra credit per night, but feel free to make more than three posts if your classmates inspire you! Note: students who submit recordings instead of writings will not have this extra credit option.)

Large Assignments: Writing Philosophy

I will examine your progress through an essay question that you will answer in a 3-5-page paper. One is your mid-term, the other is your final. Students will choose one perspective from the many topics we have thus covered in class, have it approved, and then write an essay, arguing for or against a certain philosophical view. Your final essay can be a further developed and refined version of your mid-term essay, or you can write on a different topic.

Optional: students may meet with me after creating an outline and I will provide guidance on how best to proceed. Ultimately, those who earn borderline grades for the large assignment(s) will be given the higher score [on the large assignment] based on this optional work.)

Paper One is due:March 10, printed and handed-in at start of class.

Paper Two is due: May 5, printed and handed-in at start of class.

Communication Policy

Communication is the key to unlocking education. Students are welcome to email me with philosophical or administrative questions, concerns, or ideas of any kind. Messages should remain formal to respect the dignity of the profession, and should come from a SLU email address. To make an appointment, email me suggesting three possible dates and times, then I’ll confirm one.

Electronic Notes

You may take notes during class on an electronic device. You may also view our assigned reading for the day on your electronic device. If a student is using his or her electronic device for any reason other than philosophical purposes pertaining to our course, I will confiscate the device for the remainder of the class session.

Tentative Schedule

Greater or lower student participation will imply a slower or faster passage through the reading material. So, I have not put any dates next to the assignments. We will begin with day one, and we will make our way through the following schedule. (Note that our speed through the reading material does not affect your small or large assignments.)

Introduction

In Class: Discuss expectations for semester;

Handout syllabus and explain how to earn an A

Introduction to Philosophy as a subject to study, way of life, and profession

Marriage

Before Class, Read: Emma Goldman’s Love and Marriage

In Class: What is the objective of marriage?

Love

Before Class, Read: Plato’s Symposium 204d-206c (p.487-489)

In Class: What is the function of love?

Before Class, Read: Plato’s Symposium 189d-193a (p474-476)

In class: Love as the pursuit of human “wholeness”

Before Class, Read: Plato’s Phaedrus (page 516- bottom of 518) 237b-240b

In Class: Can something be harmful and necessary?

Friendship

Before class, read Aesop’s The Ass, The Fox, and The Lion (#18)

In Class: What we owe others, What to expect in a friendship

Before class, read Plato’s Lysis (page 695) 211d-212e, Plato’s Lysis (page 698) 214b-215d

In Class: Is friendship normative? Plato on friendship

Before class, read Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics Book VIII (page 1825-1827) Section 1. Read line 1-30; Section 2.; Section 3, Line 1-21

In Class: Aristotle on the three kinds of friendship

Before class, read Kant’s The Metaphysics of Morals, Chap. II, Section 47 (page 586-588 of The Critique of Practical Reason)

In Class: Kant on Moral Friendship

Logic: Tools for Philosophizing

Before Class, Read: The Fallacy list (PDF)

In Class: introduction to “logic,” discuss rules and fallacies

Before Class: no reading

In Class: Valid and Sound Reasoning (Worksheets)

Before class, read Plato Euthyphro pages 1-16

In Class: Rules of Reasoning/ Tools for Philosophizing

Before class, read Plato’s Euthyphropages 9-16 again

In Class: find logic terms and arguments in Euthyphro

Before Class, Read Plato’s Apology25c-26b

In Class: find logic terms  and arguments in Apology

Dreams, Reality, & Skepticism

Before class, read Plato’s Theaetetus (page 175-6) 157e-159

In Class: Plato’s Dream Argument, How do you know what is true, anyway?

Before Class, Read: Descartes’ Meditations I

In Class: Descartes’ Dream Argument, What do I know for certain?

Before Class: Read: Descartes) Meditations II

In Class: Evil Demon Argument

Before Class, Read: Hilary Putnam’s Brain in a Vat

In Class: Can you rule out bring a brain in a vat?

Epistemology

Before class, read Plato’s Theaetetus 151e-152c

Read: Plato’s Theaetetus 156d “Thus the eye..” -158b

In Class: Intro to Epistemology, what is knowledge?

Before class, read Plato’s Meno 96-100

Plato’s Republic Book V page 1102 (476- end)

In Class: belief and opinion versus Knowledge

Before class, read Plato’s Symposium 202a- 202b.5 (page 484-485)

In Class Lecture on: Ontology, Knowledge, Ignorance

Before class, read Plato’s Charmides 164a- 169d (end)

In Class Lecture on: Temperance as Self-Knowledge; Can you know yourself?

Before class, read Plato’s Protagoras page 755-756

(skim 318) then read 319-320c seriously

In Class Lecture on: Is virtue teachable?

Plato: Metaphysics and the Good

Before class, read Plato’s Phaedo 100c-e (page 86)

In Class: Intro to Metaphysics, Participating in the Forms

Before class, read Plato’s Symposium 210a- 212b (page 492-494)

In Class: How do we learn things? (Form of Beauty),

Before class, read Plato’s Republic Book VI- 505- 509 (page 1123-1129)

In Class: The Form of Good, The Allegory of the Sun

Before class, read Plato’s Republic Book VI 509d-end (1130-1132)

In Class: the Divided-Line

Before class, read Plato’s Republic Book VII (p1132) 514- 518d

In Class: The Allegory of the Cave, what appears and what is

Aristotle: Reality and the Good

Before class, read Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics Book I

Skim sections 1-6 and then read section 7 seriously

In Class: Aristotle’s “The Good” for Humans

Before class, read Aristotle’s Metaphysics Book I, Sections 1, 2

Page 1552- end of first paragraph on 1556.

In Class: Aristotle’s Metaphysics

Character and Self

Before Class read: Plato’s Apology20d- 23c

In Class: What is it like to be a Philosopher?

Before Class: read: Plato’s Republic, IV, (page 1067) 436a-441c

In Class: the threefold structure of our “Soul”

Before Class: read: Plato’s Republic Book V (p.1101) 474c-475, Plato’s Theaetetus (page 162-163) 145d-147c

In Class: Doing Philosophy, the Nature of a Philosopher

Before Class, Read: Thomas Nagel’s Moral Luck

In Class: What determines, if anything, our actions? Judging others.

Death, Society & Law

Before Class: read: Plato’s Republic Book VI (484- 487b) p. 1107-1110

In Class: (nature of) Ruler of a City

Before Class: read: Plato’s Crito p. 43-48 (49b-54e)

In Class: Social Contracts and Implicit Rules of the City

Before Class: read: Plato’s Republic The Gyges Ring 417a-b

In Class: Why be moral?

Before Class: read: Plato’s Phaedo pages 54-p59 (62b-68c)

In Class: The Ruling and its causes.

Student Learning Outcomes
(1) Achieve a basic understanding of some of the philosophical texts most foundational to the Western intellectual tradition, including the divided-line and the allegory of the cave (Book VI and VII of Plato’s Republic), and Book I of Aristotle’s Metaphysics and Book I of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics.

(2) Be able to think independently and creatively about some of the perennial questions of the human condition, including the self and the nature of reality, marriage, love, friendship, building of our character, how best to deal with others.

(3) Be able to understand and evaluate arguments offered (either in speech or in writing) for the philosophical positions of others. Basic logic skills of the symbolic and conceptual sort will be grasped.

(4) Be able to develop and evaluate clear and precise arguments (either in speech or in writing) for their own philosophical positions.

(5) Achieve a greater awareness of the nature and importance of intellectual virtues, such as honesty and integrity, respect for others (especially those with opposing views), objectivity, and openness to the transcendent.

Student Success Center Syllabus Statement:
In recognition that people learn in a variety of ways and that learning is influenced by multiple factors (e.g., prior experience, study skills, learning disability), resources to support student success are available on campus. The Student Success Center assists students with academic and career related services, is located in the Busch Student Center (Suite, 331) and the School of Nursing (Suite, 114). Students can visit www.slu.edu/success to learn more about: Course-level support (e.g., faculty member, departmental resources, etc.) by asking your course instructor. University-level support (e.g., tutoring services, university writing services, disability services, academic coaching, career services, and/or facets of curriculum planning).

Disability Services Academic Accommodations Syllabus Statement
Students with a documented disability who wish to request academic accommodations must contact Disability Services to discuss accommodation requests and eligibility. Once successfully registered, the student also must notify the course instructor that they wish to access accommodations in the course.

Please contact Disability Services, located within the Student Success Center, at Disability_services@slu.edu or 314.977.3484 to schedule an appointment. Confidentiality will be observed in all inquiries. Once approved, information about the student’s eligibility for academic accommodations will be shared with course instructors via email from Disability Services and viewed within Banner via the instructor’s course roster.

Note: Students who do not have a documented disability but who think they may have one are encouraged to contact to Disability Services.

Title IX Syllabus Statement
Saint Louis University and its faculty are committed to supporting our students and seeking an environment that is free of bias, discrimination, and harassment. If you have encountered any form of sexual misconduct (e.g. sexual assault, sexual harassment, stalking, domestic or dating violence), we encourage you to report this to the University. If you speak with a faculty member about an incident of misconduct, that faculty member must notify SLU’s Title IX coordinator, Anna R. Kratky (DuBourg Hall, room 36;akratky@slu.edu; 314-977- 3886) and share the basic facts of your experience with her. The Title IX coordinator will then be available to assist you in understanding all of your options and in connecting you with all possible resources on and off campus.

If you wish to speak with a confidential source, you may contact the counselors at the University Counseling Center at 314-977- TALK. To view SLU’s sexual misconduct policy and for resources, please visit the following web addresses: http://www.slu.edu/general-counsel- home/office-of- institutional-equity- and-diversity/sexual-misconduct- policy www.slu.edu/here4you .

Academic Integrity Syllabus Statement
Academic integrity is honest, truthful and responsible conduct in all academic
endeavors. The mission of Saint Louis University is "the pursuit of truth for the greater glory of God and for the service of humanity."  Accordingly, all acts of falsehood demean and compromise the corporate endeavors of teaching, research, health care, and community service via which SLU embodies its mission. The University strives to prepare students for lives of personal and professional integrity, and therefore regards all breaches of academic integrity as matters of serious concern.

The governing University-level Academic Integrity Policy was adopted in Spring 2015, and can be accessed on the Provost's Office website at: http://www.slu.edu/Documents/provost/academic_affairs/University-wide%20Academic%20Integrity%20Policy%20FINAL%20%206-26- 15.pdf.

Additionally, each SLU College, School, and Center has adopted its own academic integrity policies, available on their respective websites.  All SLU students are expected to know and abide by these policies, which detail definitions of violations, processes for reporting violations, sanctions, and appeals. Please direct questions about any facet of academic integrity to your faculty, the chair of the department of your academic program, or the Dean/Director of the College, School or Center in which your program is housed.

The instructor reserves the right to modify this syllabus or any of its provisions at any time. Students will be notified in writing of any such changes.

The Syllabus Showcase of the APA Blog is designed to share insights into the syllabi of philosophy educators.  We include syllabi that showcase a wide variety of philosophy classes.  We would love for you to be a part of this project.  Please email sabrinamisirhiralall@apaonline.org to nominate yourself or a colleague.

Sahar Joakim

Sahar Joakim received her B.A. in Philosophy from UCLA in 2014 and her Ph.D. in Philosophy from St. Louis University in 2020. Dr. Joakim has been a philosophy professor at St. Louis Community College since 2021 where she teaches philosophy, ethics, logic, and religion. Her research is in epistemology, specifically arguing that knowledge does not entail belief.