Course Requirements

Texts:
Pojman, Louis. How Should We Live: An Introduction to Ethics. Wadsworth Publishing 2005.

Moral Reasoning: Values, Morality, Ethics. Version 6. St. Edwards University. Most of this material is available online so if you prefer to read the material on your computer, you do not need to purchase this booklet; although it may make your life slightly easier to do so. The booklet costs about $6 in the bookstore.

Examinations:
There are two examinations given during the course. These examinations will include an analysis and evaluation of the material which includes the assigned web sites, the readings from the book, audio lectures, my occasional mini-lectures, and possibly information which other students have posted. Unless there are extenuating circumstances discussed in advance of the due date, late exams will be penalized one letter grade and will not be accepted if more than three additional days late. In grading the essay part of the exam, I look for five things:

1. specific illustrative examples from the text
2. correct use of technical terminology
3. coherent expression of basic lines of reasoning
4. explanation of all important claims
5. detail sufficient to indicate familiarity with the entire relevant reading

Online Discussions:
The student is expected participate in our classroom discussions at least twice per week (this is the minimum, not the recommended) and to be involved in the online discussions through the entire week. A post is considered a substantive contribution to the discussion (say "I agree" is not a substantive contribution). Your online discussion should demonstrate understanding of the philosophical and ethical position and arguments, the normative theory and the principles involved, as well as the main issues of each assignment. The opinions you express must be supported by information, including page numbers, from our readings. Grading standards for our discussion are here. Please review these closely as you are held responsible for adhering to them. In addition, you will not be allowed to take the examinations or do any of the assignments if you have not been participating in our discussions on a regular basis.

I will have a new startup discussion question posted to our discussion forum Thursday night of most weeks and either I or the discussion leaders will occasionally have an additional question posted on Monday the following week. Remember, our class weeks run from Friday through the following Thursday morning. I will sometime participate in the discussion and I will sometimes not. I will assign one or two of you as discussion leader for each week. For specific information about being discussion leader see the course home page. For readings and assignments see assignment link for information.

Each week you should respond to the start-up focus question and to the responses of your classmates or the discussion leaders. Should you need to miss a week's discussion, you will be able to substitute a writing assignment, but only three missed weeks can be made up by means of writing assignments. These make-up assignments must be submitted within three days the end of the week your were absent (Noon Sunday). For more information see Substitute Discussion Assignments below.

While a minimum of two substantive posting each week is required for a "C" or "D" level discussion grade, I encourage you to participate as much as you can especially if you desire a higher grade. I recommend involving yourself in class discussions three or four days each week. Since this is not a correspondence course, in order to receive the examinations and be allowed to submit any assignments, you must participate in the weekly discussions!

You must have your first response posted by 8 a.m. Monday and the additional ones by Noon Thursday. This is the minimum number, not the recommended number. Although we will be working asynchronous, you are still participating in a class discussion. Using the computer simply gives you more time to reflect upon your responses and the responses of your classmates.

The Blackboard discussion forum will be open on the first day of the semester. I would make a couple of posts to be sure you know how to use the system and software. Failure to be able to use the SEU system is not a sufficient reason to not participate in our online discussion. Contact me for problems relating to the class or the SEU Helpline (448-8443) if you are having computer problems - dialup problems, network difficulties, SEU software problems, etc.

Assignments: Late assignments will be penalized one letter grade and will not be accepted after three days. You are expected to complete all the assignments on time and to participate in class discussions. Please click for specific assignments.

Substitute Discussion Assignments. There are eight discussion weeks and I realize that sometimes life intrudes and for whatever reason you may no be able to attend class every week. You have the option of substituting writing assignments for three of those weeks. The grade on your writing assignment will substitute for that particular week's discussion grade. The writing assignment must be submitted within the discussion week or up to 48 hours before the discussion week begins (Friday afternoon) or 48 hours after the discussion week ends (Noon on Thursday). The assignment consists of a very detailed outline of all the readings for that week. I want to be able to read your outline and see that you have analysized and understood the material for that week. The assignment should be emailed to me within the time frame discussed above and grades will be assigned in five point increments: 100, 95, 90, 85, 80, and so on. Writing assignments cannot substitute for poor discussion grades or serve as extra credit.

Moral Reasoning Essays:
Three analytical and evaluative papers are required based on the Moral Reasoning Guidelines (hereafter MRG). These are found either online or in the Moral Reasoning Booklet. Please review the guidelines very closely before beginning these assignments.

The first is a one to two page typed summary (at least 250 words) of a personal moral dilemma you have encountered or are currently encountering. This is section A of the Moral Reasoning Guidelines. The second, section B, should be a minimum of three full typed double-spaced pages (at least 900 words) and the third, section C, a minimum of four full typed double-spaced pages (at least 1200 words). Failure to meet the minimum length will result in an automatic "D" (at best) for that assignment. Also realize that this is the minimum not necessarily the recommended. If you essays need to be longer, that is okay.

The second paper, the Discovery essay, asks you to evaluate your personal moral dilemma which you summarized in essay one and which was drawn either from your job or your personal life. See section B of the Moral Reasoning Guidelines. The minimum length is 900 words, this is the minimum, not the recommended.

In the third paper, the Justification essay, you are asked to offer a normative ethical defense or argument for your moral judgment and moral rule which you uncovered during your discovery analysis. Your normative defense should be grounded in either Utilitarian, Kantian, or Virtue Ethics. You will do this by using the Justification part of our moral reasoning method, section C of the Moral Reasoning Guidelines; you are arguing for or justifying your position using one of the valid normative ethical theories we studied this semester. The minimum length is 1200 words.

The grading emphasis for for these essays are based on how well you demonstrate an understanding of the normative theory, the sophistication you showed in applying the principles, and your depth of analysis as well as the objectivity of your arguments, the sophistication of the application of the Discovery and Justification processes, as well as on epistemology, orthography, and graphology.

Sample papers can be found under Class Resources. Late papers will be penalized one letter grade. A paper is considered late if it is submitted after the due date and time listed on this syllabus. All late assignments must be submitted within three days of the paper due date otherwise a "F" will be given for that assignment unless prior arrangement have been made. The paper must conform to the standards set in the MLA Handbook. If you have not been participating in our discussions, you will not be allowed to submit this assignment.

Evaluation:

Exams	20% each = 40%
Moral Dilemma Essay	05%
Discovery Essay	15%
Justification Essay	20%
Class Participation	15%
Leadership	05%

Academic Integrity:
Students are expected to maintain high standards of academic integrity in all work for this course. Dishonesty in any work will result in a grade of "F" for the course. Plagiarism is a form of academic dishonesty that may result in the same penalty. In cases of mitigating circumstances, the instructor may assign a lesser penalty. Once a grade of "F" has been assigned on the basis of academic dishonesty, the student may not withdraw from the course. For additional information see the Student Handbook.

Online Etiquette:
When we communicate with each other in person we have facial and verbal expressions to rely on to help us in understanding each other. On a computer we have only our words and often we are meaning one thing but it sounds to others like we mean something else or are attacking them. Be sensitive to the feelings and attitudes of others (in computer jargon, don't flame each other). If you type in all caps people think you are yelling so please refrain from this. We are dealing with sensitive issues so be considerate of others.

Computer Competencies
All undergraduate and New College students who entered St. Edward's University under the Fall 1999 catalog and later are required to satisfy the Computer Competency Requirement (CCR). The CCR modules comprise Introduction to Computers, Introduction to Email, Introduction to Netscape and the World Wide Web, Basic Library Research, Introduction to Word Processing, and Introduction to Spreadsheets. Students must satisfactorily complete a web-based test over each module in order to fulfill this requirement. More information about the CCR is available through Instructional Technology or by calling 464-8816.

updated 7January 2010
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