AUG 27

1: AUG 27. First Day of Class

Types of Ethics courses. The type this one is.
Major Ethics Course Questions
This is a writing enriched course. More about my approach later. (Some student introductions.)

Websites in this Course. I do not use Canvas. Review handout.
Unit 1: Evolution of Morality
Unit 2: Moral Psychology
Unit 3: Basic Liberties - Is Abortion a basic liberty?
Unit 4: Justice and Partiality - What do I owe strangers?
Unit 5: Cultural Evolution
Unit 6: Free Will, Moral Responsibility, and Criminal Justice - (Some student introductions.)

What are Values? Expectations we have of ourselves and others to act, think, speak, and feel certain ways in certain circumstances.
Naturalism in Ethics -- What if Ethics has its origins in our natural history? Why this is/was a radical claim. What if humans use expectations of each other to solve basic problems that we confront because of the kind of creatures we are? (Student introductions.)

You will be able to make some choices about what you are graded on and the weight of different assignments. This is your "grading scheme." You can customize up to 30% of your grading scheme to suite your learning style or motivations in the course. You will also have some grade information about "Points" assignments that will allow you to raise or lower the weight of "Points". This allows you to work on early difficulties without a big effect on your final grade.

In this course we use pseudonyms to allow sharing of grade information and student work - You will see most of the writing and scoring for required writing assignments, including my assessments of other student's work. This has many benefits.

a. Learning to assess writing. Writers improve when they acquire skills in evaluating their own and others' writing. We will cultivate these skills directly and through peer review.
b. Building from small, short writing, to longer, more complex writing. The writing skills in this course are sequenced and early assignments give you performance information without affecting your grade much.
c. Looking at reading comprehension. I no longer use reading quizes, but you should compare your "recall" from reading in class with others'. Comment on reading comprehension and its role in performance. (Some student introductions.)

There is no final exam in this course, so your success depends upon demonstrating the philosophical skills we build toward in required and optional assignments.
Prep Cycle - view reading notes as you are reading, read, note, evaluate preparation against other students' access to reading content in class and small discussions. Hierarchy of skills and goals.
Reading - Keep track of the time you spend reading for the course. Mark a physical text. Contact me about your reading experience. Advice on Reading
Speaking and Discussion - Don't underestimate the importance of practicing the articulation of your views. This happens in class together and in small groups. Speaking well is at least as important as writing well. Small group discussions provide your most extensive opportunities to improve your articulateness ahead of writing assignments.
Writing - We will train on the rubric early on, you will be able to read lots of other students' writing and compare scores, and discuss your writing with me, especially during office hours. Because everything is transparent, you can compare your work to slightly higher and lower evaluated student work. This often leads to productive office hour discussions. (Some student introductions.)

Read "Websites in this Course".
Go to the two course websites and make sure you understand what information and resources each provides.

From the wiki: Click on Fall 2024 Readings to see what you need to read for Thursday.
Make sure you can log in to courses.alfino.org. That is where you find the readings for next class. Click on "Links".