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Course Description

The Examined Life is a 26-episode telecourse in introductory philosophy that offers learners a challenging venture into the realm of philosophical inquiry. Each half-hour program addresses one of the "Great Questions" philosophers have pursued from ancient times to the present: What is human nature? What is real? Do we have free will? Does God exist? These questions, and other equally stimulating ones, are pursued through the writings of historic philosophers and interviews with contemporary philosophers. Learners are introduced to the diverse ways different philosophers have approached and answered these questions, and are encouraged to form their own views. Viewers are shown not only the universal relevance of each question, but also the application to their everyday life.

The series features historical reenactments, such as Descartes arriving at his thesis, "I think, therefore I am," along with many relevant images from today's world such as the Mars Explorer. Over 50 modern philosophers contribute to the series, including: Julia Annas, Paul Churchland, Arne Naess, Martha Nussbaum, W.V. Quine, Paul Ricoeur, John Searle, Charles Taylor and Stephen Toulmin. Using writings of past philosophers, archival footage of more recent 20th century philosophers, and interviews with contemporary philosophers, the series underscores how these classic questions still reverberate in modern man.

The Examined Life is an international co-production created by INTELECOM Intelligent Telecommunications; the Educational Broadcasting Corporation TELEAC/NOT (The Netherlands); and Swedish Educational Broadcasting (Utbildnigsradion).

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Syllabus
1. Watch the 26, 30 min. television programs.

2. Read the Study Guide for each lesson and read the relevant selections as indicated in the Study Guide from Manuel Velasquez's text Philosophy: a Text with Readings

3. Take 3 online quizzes during the semester

4. Demonstrate your mastery of the course material on the midterm and final exams.

Grades will be based on

a midterm exam (25%),
a final exam (30%),
study session participation (5%),
3 online quizzes (34% total)





Course Materials:

1.Manuel Velasquez, Philosophy: a Text with readings

2. Telecourse Study Guide.

3. The course website at www.smccd.net/accounts/ballj

TV: MTWThF, 1 - 1:30 pm, June 23 - July 28

Campus Meetings: Thur, 6 - 8 pm
Bldg. 18, Rm 205

Introduction: June 19th

Online Quiz #1 Monday July 7th at 6am to Wednesday July 9th at 8pm

Midterm Review (In class): July 10 (changed)

Midterm (Online): July 17 from 6-8 pm m (changed)

Online Quiz #2 Monday July 21st at 6am to WednesdayJuly 23rd at 8pm

Final Review (In class): July 24

Online Quiz #3 Monday July 28th at 6am to Wednesday July 30th at 8pm

Final exam (online): July 31 from 6-8pm

Registration Deadline: June 19
Last Day to Drop with Refund: June 26
Last Day to Withdraw: July 21

 

Testing Information

There will be a midterm and final exam for this course. The final will be comprehensive. For both exams I will post study questions on the web page one week before the review secessions. The questions for the test will be taken from these study questions. The exams will be essay and bluebooks should be used. You are encouraged to work in groups preparing for the exams.

Make-up Exams

If for some reason you are unable to make the exam, let me know (by email) prior to the exam.

Online Quizzes:

During the class you will need to take 3 online quizzes. These will consist of a combination of True/False and multiple-choice questions. Quizzes will cover material from the readings and films. You will have a limited amount of time to take them. And you will not be able to log on multiple times. Quizzes are open-book but you are expected to take them by yourself.

Withdrawal

You are responsible for dropping from the course if you choose to do so (don't count of me dropping you for non-participation).

Course Schedule

Follow the series of videos per the listed airtime. Read the corresponding lessons in the Thelecourse Study Guide. The Study Guide has a section in each lesson titled "Text Links" that refers to specific sections of Velasquez's Text-read these sections as indicated. For best results, do the reading before you watch the video episode.

Warning:
Philosophy 100 TV is a very difficult telecourse. It is intended for a very specific kind of student. You need to be highly self-motivated, good at working by yourself, skilled at reading and comprehending difficult material, and confident working with a computer. Because of this-and the fact that you will not have weekly interaction with the professor or other classmates-the vast majority of people will find the online version of this class far more difficult that a more traditional meet-with-a-class version. Success in this course will require substantially more time and effort than a more traditional class. The benefit for this is that you can more or less decide when you want to do the work-so long as you follow the basic schedule**. Do not set yourself up for failure by underestimating the demands of such a course or by overestimating your commitment to working on your own.

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