REQUIRED TEXTBOOK

No textbooks are required for this course.  This is a Zero Textbook Course

INSTRUCTIONAL METHODOLOGY

Each week we will be discussing BIG questions—how do we create a just society?  What is reality?  How do we KNOW something is true?  Is the mind separate from the body?  This course will provide an introduction to several major divisions in philosophy: ontology (the study of ultimate reality or being), epistemology (the study of human knowledge), moral philosophy, and basic logic and argumentation.  You will take two exams to test your understanding of the material, and you will submit two papers asking you to analyze, evaluate, and engage with the philosophical ideas in the course.  We’ll complete a series of argumentation and logic lessons to learn the tools of critical thinking, and we’ll put these tools to work each week discussing mind-boggling philosophical questions in a discussion board.  The course will be discussion-based, and you will be assigned to a discussion group in each unit.  These groups can help you navigate the philosophical topics, the assignments, and college life in general. 

DISTANCE EDUCATION

Please review the ACC Distance Education General Information available at https://online.austincc.edu/faq/

SKILLS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO SUCCESS IN DISTANCE LEARNING CLASSES

There are skills you can develop and actions you can take to contribute to success in distance learning courses.

• Set goals and deadlines
• Remain on track and on time
• Complete projects
• Seek assistance (from instructor and/or classmates) when needed
• Improve reading and writing skills
• Communicate comfortably via email and other online platforms
• Develop strong problem-solving skills
• Plan in advance to provide adequate time for completing readings and assignments
• Have a designated, distraction-free place to work on assignments
• Keep a record of assignments and due dates
• Plan to login to the online class daily

THIS IS NOT A SELF-PACED COURSE! Success is dependent upon keeping up with the material in the course in the order listed on the syllabus, just as it would be in a classroom section. Note that the time requirements are the same, as well. Plan to spend 10-20 hours a week on the 16-week online course, or 15-25 hours per week on a 12-week course, or 25+ hours on a 5 or 8-week course.

STUDENT TECHNOLOGY SUPPORT

Austin Community College provides free, secure drive-up WiFi to students and employees in the parking lots of all campus locations. WiFi can be accessed seven days a week, 7 am to 11 pm. Additional details are available at Student Technology Access.

Students who do not have the necessary technology to complete their ACC courses can request to borrow devices from Student Technology Services. Available devices include iPads, webcams, headsets, calculators, etc. Students must be registered for a credit course, Adult Education, or Continuing Education course to be eligible. For more information, including how to request a device, visit Student Technology Access.

Student Technology Services offers phone, live-chat, and email-based technical support for students and can provide support on topics such as password resets, accessing or using Blackboard, access to technology, etc. To view hours of operation and ways to request support, visit Student Technology Access

COURSEWORK AND GRADING

10%       What is Wisdom? Video Project

10%      Logic Project

10%     Mid-Term Exam           

5%       Community Engagement Reflections (Remote options available)                         

10%      Descartes Demonstration Video

10%      Paper:  Answering a Great Philosophical Question

10%      Final Exam       

10%     Videos and Quizzes

25%      Weekly Discussion Board Forums

The total points possible will be 1000.  An A will be awarded for 900 points and above.  B’s will be awarded for 800-899 points.  C’s will be awarded for 700-799 points.  D’s will be given for 600-699 points, and 599 points and below will receive an F. 

What is Wisdom? Video Project

In Plato’s Apology, Socrates is charged with finding someone wiser than himself.  He interviews people from all walks of life to investigate what wisdom truly is.  For this assignment, you will also investigate wisdom by interviewing one or more people and then create a 5-minute video with your findings. 

Logic Project

A series of online lessons will help you develop skills in logic and argumentation, and you will discuss what you learn in a group discussion board and/or in group Zoom meetings.  You may continue to improve your score on the Lesson modules throughout the semester. By the end of the week, you’ll prepare and post an argument analysis video individually or in a group (your choice).  You may not use AI, such as Chat GPT, to assist with your project.

Exams

Exams will be cumulative and will cover the philosophical material as well as argumentation and logic.  Exams will contain multiple choice as well as short answer and essay questions.  Study questions will be provided in advance.  You must have appropriate and documented justification for missing a test in order to avoid receiving a zero on the test.  Make up exams will be by professor’s discretion.  You may not use AI, such as Chat GPT, to assist with your exam.

Descartes Video

After you’ve read Descartes’ Meditations I-II, you’ll create a 5-10-minute video demonstrating his argument, adding your own personal style to the project. 

Paper:  Answering a Great Philosophical Question

Now it’s time to do a deep dive into a great philosophical question as promised in this Great Questions Journey course.  This assignment will allow you to identify a philosophical problem in one of the epistemological areas that most interests you—such as the existence of God, the problem of evil, the separation of the mind and body, etc.  You will read assigned texts, summarize and respond to the texts in discussion board posts, and write a paper comparing the texts.  Finally, you’ll make and support a claim regarding what YOU think the answer to this great question might be.  Instructions and a grading rubric are provided.

Quizzes

For each module, you’ll watch a series of videos and take a series of short quizzes (some of which may be embedded in the videos).  You’ll have an opportunity to improve your score on each quiz. You may not use AI, such as Chat GPT, to assist with your quizzes. 

Community Dialogue Participation and Reflection

While philosophy is often pursued alone, following logical conclusions and developing arguments in response to the great ongoing conversations throughout history, many philosophers find that the pursuit of wisdom cannot be done without others—we must put ourselves in positions to interact with and be in dialogue with others. You will be asked to attend an in-person, Zoom, or fully remote community dialogue and then to reflect on that experience in light of our course materials.  This project gives you an opportunity to interact with other people regarding important questions of the day or regarding timeless values. There are options for in-person, Zoom, and fully remote experiences that you will then reflect on in a short journal assignment.

Discussions

Our weekly Discussion Boards will allow you to reflect on your readings, ask clarifying questions, and raise open-ended questions for others in your group to answer.  You will be assigned to an online Discussion Group for the semester, and, while not required, you are encouraged to meet virtually or even on-campus to keep asking the ‘Great Questions.’  This course is a Great Questions Journey Course.  Great Questions Journey courses center around the discussion-based exploration of transformative texts, works and ideas rather than merely a textbook.  Great Questions Journey classrooms help students raise and explore questions that are important to us as human beings and emphasize works within various academic disciplines that help us to become more thoughtful about those questions. All students in Great Questions Journey courses are active participants in class discussions and help shape the nature of that discussion.

POLICY ON GENERATIVE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (GAI)

Introduction: Generative AI (GAI) is an incredible tool. As with most tools, it can be used in ways that are positive, but also that are negative and even dishonest.  While AI has a role in education, the objectives of this course are to practice and improve your critical reading, thinking, and writing skills and to consider what it means to live responsibly in a world where people have different moral beliefs.  Your own voice and expressive style is valued in this course, along with your authentic experiences and/or reasoning to support your beliefs. 

Rationale:  Using GAI to assist with your assignments would hinder your ability to develop critical thinking ‘muscles’ in the same way that using electric bicycles would hinder your ability to train properly for a bike race.  It would be counterproductive if you showed up to a spin class with an electric stationary bicycle, and it would be similarly counterproductive to let artificial intelligence answer questions concerning what it means to be human and what it means to have authentic conversations with your classmates.  

Definition: GAI refers to artificial intelligence systems that can generate text, images, or other content based on minimal input (e.g. user prompts). This includes chatbots, image generation tools, and code assistants.

Usage Permissions:  If you are permitted to use GAI for specific assignments to meet specific objectives, you will have explicit instructions on what is expected and acceptable in those instances.  In the rare case where you do use GAI for assistance, you must cite how you used it, and I will consider whether you are gaining the skills by using it.  Otherwise, using AI will constitute academic dishonesty in this course.

Prohibitions:  Do not let GAI write your work for you or strip you of your voice. Do not copy its responses into your work.  Do not accept a word substitution of a word that you do not understand or do not know how to define for yourself. It is prohibited to use either direct wording or paraphrased wording from GAI or to credit ideas from GAI as your own.  You should be able to understand and explain everything you write, and you may be asked to do so through conferences or meetings.

Penalties: If I suspect that you have used GAI in an inappropriate manner to assist with any assignment in the course, I will follow the steps outlined below in section “Policy on Academic Dishonesty.”

Privacy

In accordance with our dedication to privacy and security, students are advised to refrain from sharing any sensitive or personally identifiable information on GAI platforms. Given that content inputted into or generated by these platforms may become accessible to the platform’s operators, caution is advised. Always ensure your data is clean, accurate, and does not include personal information before interacting with these technologies.

Academic Honesty and AI

Presenting AI-generated content as your own without proper attribution is considered a violation of academic integrity. All work you submit must reflect your own understanding and effort. If you use generative AI to help with your work, you must clearly acknowledge how and where it was used. Intellectual honesty is essential to a fair and supportive academic environment.

Bias and Erroneous Information:

Students are cautioned that GAI may inadvertently produce biased or inaccurate content. It is incumbent upon the student to critically evaluate and verify the information provided by these platforms. Relying on unverified GAI content for academic work is unacceptable and may lead to disciplinary action.

POLICY ON ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Austin Community College values academic integrity in the educational process. Acts of academic dishonesty/misconduct undermine the learning process, present a disadvantage to students who earn credit honestly, and subvert the academic mission of the institution. The potential consequences of fraudulent credentials raise additional concerns for individuals and communities beyond campus who rely on institutions of higher learning to certify students' academic achievements and expect to benefit from the claimed knowledge and skills of their graduates. Students must follow all instructions given by faculty or designated college representatives when taking examinations, placement assessments, tests, quizzes, and evaluations. Actions constituting scholastic dishonesty include, but are not limited to, plagiarism, cheating, fabrication, collusion, falsifying documents, or the inappropriate use of the college’s information technology resources or artificial intelligence programs, such as ChatGPT. Further information is available at https://www.austincc.edu/about-acc/academic-integrity-and-disciplinary-process.

Note that “all members of the College community are ethically bound to report suspected violations of academic dishonesty.”  The first step “when an instructor suspects or witnesses a violation of academic integrity, or receives a report of an alleged violation, is to notify the department chair, and meet privately and individually with the accused student(s) to discuss the allegations and review the supporting evidence. The student may not withdraw from the course or the College during the disciplinary review process.”  Academic integrity violations will result in a minimum of an F on the assignment and potential expulsion from the class and college.

COURSE POLICIES

Attendance/Participation

Our class depends upon each class member’s respectful participation in the open exchange of ideas, so your online attendance and participation is crucial. When one student fails to participate, the entire class suffers as a result. Regular and punctual online class attendance in discussion board forums is expected of all students.  If attendance or compliance with other course policies is unsatisfactory, the instructor may withdraw students from the class.

Withdrawals

It is the responsibility of each student to ensure that his or her name is removed from the rolls should they decide to withdraw from the class. The instructor does, however, reserve the right to drop a student should he or she feel it is necessary. If a student decides to withdraw, he or she should also verify that the withdrawal is recorded before the Final Withdrawal Date. The Final Withdrawal Date for this semester

is April 27, 2026. The student is also strongly encouraged to keep any paperwork in case a problem arises.

Students are responsible for understanding the impact that withdrawal from a course may have on their financial aid, veterans’ benefits, and international student status. Per state law, students enrolling for the first time in Fall 2007 or later at any public Texas college or university may not withdraw (receive a W) from more than six courses during their undergraduate college education. Some exemptions for good cause could allow a student to withdraw from a course without having it count toward this limit. Students are strongly encouraged to meet with an advisor when making decisions about course selection, course loads, and course withdrawals.

Missed Exams and Late Work

ALL WORK HAS A SPECIFIC DUE DATE FOR SUBMISSION—usually the time is midnight on the date specified. This is not a self-paced course! Late papers will be accepted with a minimum late penalty of one-half letter grade. Make-up exams are offered only in documented emergency situations with prior approval of the instructor.

Incompletes

An incomplete (grade of "I") will only be given for extenuating circumstances.  What constitutes “extenuating circumstances” is left to the instructor’s discretion, while following any rules or guidelines set by the department.  If a grade of I is given, the remaining course work must be completed by a date set by the student and professor and given on the “Report of Incomplete” form.  This date is often about three weeks prior to the end of the following semester.  A grade of I also requires completion and submission of the Incomplete Grade form, to be signed by the faculty member (and student if possible) and submitted to the department chair.

Students may request an Incomplete from their faculty member if they believe circumstances warrant.  The faculty member will determine whether the Incomplete is appropriate to award or not.  

If an Incomplete is not resolved by the deadline, the grade automatically converts to an “F.”  Approval to carry an Incomplete for longer than the following semester or session deadline is not frequently granted.

Problem Resolution

If you are having a problem related to this course or related to me as your professor, your first step generally should be to speak with your professor. If I cannot resolve the problem or satisfy your concern, or, if for some reason you would prefer not to address the issue with your professor, you may contact the Chair of the Department for help. 

Please contact the Department Chair of Philosophy, Religion and Humanities: 

Jean Anne Lauer, PhD 

Office: Highland Campus Building 1000, Room 1.1427.0 (Lower Level)  

mail: jlauer@austincc.edu 

HLC Office: +1-512-223-7916

COURSE CALENDAR

Please note that schedule changes may occur during the semester. Any changes will be posted as a Blackboard Announcement.

See the end of this document for the current Course Calendar.

COLLEGE POLICIES

Important: Please be sure to review the College Policies available to you through the Blackboard link College Policies & Student Support Services — this site details additional official Syllabus policies for all

Faculty and Student support.

Readings

COURSE DESCRIPTION

• Credit hours: 3
• Weekly assignments with due dates most Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays
• All exams may be taken from a home computer, not a testing center

Students will be introduced to various significant philosophical issues and thinkers and to the practice of philosophical analysis. There are no course prerequisites for this class. A passing score or the equivalent on the reading and writing portions of the TASP is required.

COURSE RATIONALE

Philosophy is one of the principal forces that have shaped Western civilization and history, so a basic understanding of the methods and subject matter of philosophy affords a deeper understanding of ourselves and an informed grasp of the present. In addition, critical thinking skills are so central to the methods of philosophy that the study of philosophy provides an excellent opportunity to learn and practice those skills in a focused way.

DEPARTMENTAL COURSE STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES

After successful completion of this course a student should be able to do the following:

• Identify, demonstrate understanding of, and describe various major figures, divisions, theories, and concepts in philosophy
• Analyze written texts from philosophy
• Apply concepts from philosophy to issues of both individual and universal significance
• Develop and defend a philosophical argument in a written essay

INSTRUCTOR COURSE LEVEL OUTCOMES

After successful completion of this course a student should be able to do the following:

1. Demonstrate an understanding of a variety of philosophical figures, divisions, theories, concepts by recalling, summarizing, comparing, contrasting, and applying their main ideas and arguments.
2. Write effective essays that are relevant, accurate in their philosophical content, well-organized with a strong thesis, clearly formulated, supported by sound arguments and/or strong evidence, and mechanically strong.
3. Expand, evaluate, and clarify your views and opinions by engaging in respectful discussions that ask questions, listen to other perspectives, raise potential objections, and articulate the outcome of this process effectively.
4. Analyze an author’s argument by distinguishing whether the argument is deductive or inductive, differentiating the premises from the conclusion, clarifying the argument, and evaluating whether the argument is sound (if deductive) or cogent (if inductive).
5. Develop an awareness and commitment towards effective citizenship and social responsibility by acknowledging and valuing human and civil rights, peaceful protest, and social justice. 
6. Develop knowledge and awareness of intercultural fluency around identities, cultures, and society by comparing a variety of global perspectives on philosophical questions.

GENERAL EDUCATION COMPETENCIES

After successful completion of this course a student should be able to do the following:

• Communication Skills: Develop, interpret, and express ideas and information through written, oral and visual communication that is adapted to purpose, structure, audience, and medium.
• Critical Thinking Skills: Gather, analyze, synthesize, evaluate and apply information for the purposes of innovation, inquiry, and creative thinking.
• Personal Responsibility: Identify and apply ethical principles and practices to decision-making by connecting choices, actions and consequences.
• Social Responsibility (Civic and Cultural Awareness): Analyze differences and commonalities among peoples, ideas, aesthetic traditions, and cultural practices to include intercultural competence, knowledge of civic responsibility, and the ability to engage effectively in regional, national, and global communities.