THE PHILOSOPHY OF STAR TREK
PHIL. Honors 295 Dr. Robert Greenleaf Brice Loyola University New Orleans Description of Course: ______Boldly go where no class has gone before…a meeting time: MWF 10:30-11:20 am philosophical analysis of Star Trek. In this class we room: Monroe Hall Rm. 601 will consider topics in ethics, epistemology, office: Bobet Hall Rm. 437 metaphysics, logic, and language that emerge in Star office hours: MWF 8:30-9:20 am (& by Trek. Questions include: Is it always better to be appt.) ruled by logic than by emotion? Is Lieutenant phone: (504) 865-2347 Commander Data a person? Is time travel possible? email: [email protected] Do we have a moral duty toward other living website: www.loyno.edu/~rbrice/ things…including aliens?
Required Books: All reading assignments will be posted on Blackboard (BB).
Grading There will be three kinds of assignments in this class First, there will be a mixture of short paper assignments—referred to as Thought & Reflection Papers (or TRPs)—and quizzes. We will have 10-12 TRPs/quizzes throughout the semester. The second assignment is a 7-10 page paper term covering lectures and readings. The third assignment is the final exam. The final will be comprehensive, entailing all material covered throughout the course. Also, throughout the semester, each student will submit one discussion question about the reading. This question will serve to open up a classroom dialogue among students. We will begin every class with this assignment. (Grade on this assignment will be assessed based on the sophistication of the question as determined by the professor. Scores range 1-10 and will be folded into the TRP section of the grading rubric.) Neither Papers nor TRPs will be accepted late and will not be accepted via email.1 A paper is considered “late” anytime after I declare, “Last call for papers.” Last call will be issued after I have collected all assignments at the beginning of class. If you do not turn your paper in at this time, it is officially late. All students are expected to have assigned readings completed for class discussion. Class attendance is required, and more than four absences will result in a lowering of the student’s final grade (after the fourth absence, one letter grade, and then one whole grade for every two additional absences). Students may have an absence excused only with written documentation, for serious reasons (illness, family emergency, etc.) at the discretion of the instructor. The only official record of attendance is the student’s signature of a signin sheet provided by the professor.
1 Students who believe their cases exceptional should speak to Dr. Brice about it ahead of time.
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THE PHILOSOPHY OF STAR TREK
Course Grades Grades will be based on total points earned from Paper Assignments (100 points), TRPs/quizzes (totaling 100 points), and the Final Exam (100 points). The grading scale is as follows:
274-300 points = A 211-218 points = C 260-273 points = A- 200-210 points = C- 249-259 points = B+ 190-199 points = D+ 241-248 points = B 170-189 points = D 230-240 points = B- < 169 points = F 219-239 points = C+
Evaluation of TRPs TRPs are short, 1 page (double-spaced) papers2 designed to make sure you grasp the important point/s of the assigned reading. TRPs consist of two questions: (a) Thought: What is the most important point raised in the reading? (b) Reflection: Why do you think it is important? “What” is most important—part (a)—means you present an unbiased, straight-forward account of what you think is the most important point in the reading, with as full an explication of what this point means. The “why” part of the TRP—part (b)—is evaluative. Here you offer a critical evaluation, reflecting on why this point matters. Grades will be determined—in part—by how well you follow these directions. Both parts to question should be given equal weight. Curious what an exemplary TRP looks like? Go to my website: www.loyno.edu/~rbrice/PDF/resources/Exemplary_TRP.pdf
Evaluation of Paper Assignments When evaluating your papers, I will be posing the following questions: 1. How well does the author understand and appreciate the complexity of the problem/s and issue/s s/he is addressing? To what extent has the author made judicious use of the relevant concepts, categories, distinctions, positions, arguments, etc. that have been included in the course readings, lectures, and discussions? 2. Is the paper clearly written? Are its aims precise? Does it have an explicit overall direction? Would it be intelligible to another student at this level who is interested in the topic, but not enrolled in the course? 3. To what extent has the author identified the assumptions or presuppositions underlying his/her position? To what extent does the author address the possible difficulties of his/her assumptions or presuppositions? 4. Are the author’s claims supported by cogent arguments? Are the claims and arguments included in different parts of the paper consistent with each other? 5. Has the author been fairly thorough? Can the reader think of some fairly obvious objection to the author’s position, raised in class, readings, lecture, that s/he has not anticipated and addressed?
2 All paper assignments must be done in 12 point font.
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THE PHILOSOPHY OF STAR TREK
Academic Honesty: University policy on cheating and plagiarism will be strictly observed in this course. Students often wonder what constitutes plagiarism. Let’s be clear: “plagiarism may take the form of repeating another’s sentences as your own, adopting a particularly apt phrase as your own, paraphrasing someone else’s argument as your own, or even presenting someone else’s line of thinking in the development of a thesis as though it were your own.”3 For more information on the University’s policy, go to: http://2009bulletin.loyno.edu/undergraduate/academic_regs/contents.php#integrity
The Philosophy Department’s Policy on Plagiarism: Every case of plagiarism receives all three of the following sanctions: 1. A report of the incident to the Department Chair and the Associate Dean. 2. A zero on the particular assignment. 3. A failing grade in the course.
Attendance: Attendance at all class meetings is mandatory, and will be recorded with a daily sign-in sheet. Since I consider your signature on this sheet to be the only formal record of your presence, it is imperative that you remember to sign it. You are allowed three absences; these will automatically count as “excused.” Every absence thereafter counts as unexcused and will result in a lowering of your final grade (after the third absence, one letter grade, and then one whole grade for every two additional absences). Any student who misses 6 or more classes will receive a failing grade as the final grade in the course. Officially, it is your responsibility—not mine to be aware of how many absences you have accumulated.
Emergency Closures and/or Evacuations: At times, ordinary university operations are interrupted as a result of tropical storms, hurricanes, or other emergencies that require evacuation or suspension of on-campus activities. To prepare for such emergencies, all students will do the following during the first week of classes: 1. Practice signing on for each course through Blackboard. 2. Provide regular and alternative e-mail address and phone contact information to each instructor. In the event of an interruption to our course due emergency requiring an evacuation or suspension of campus activities, students will: 3. Pack textbooks, assignments, syllabi and any other needed materials for each course and bring during an evacuation/suspension. 4. Keep up with course work during the evacuation/suspension as specified on course syllabi and on- line Blackboard courses. 5. Complete any reading and/or writing assignments given by professors before emergency began. Assuming a power source is available.... 6. Log on to university Web site within 48 hours of an evacuation/suspension. 7. Monitor the main university site (www.loyno.edu) for general information.
3 MLA Handbook, 1985.
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THE PHILOSOPHY OF STAR TREK
8. Log on to each course through Blackboard or e-mail within 48 hours of an evacuation/suspension to receive further information regarding contacting course instructors for assignments, etc. 9. Complete Blackboard and/or other online assignments posted by professors (students are required to turn in assignments on time during the evacuation/suspension period and once the university campus has reopened. 10. Contact professors during an evacuation/suspension (or as soon as classes resume on campus) to explain any emergency circumstances that may have prevented them from completing expected work. Further information about student responsibilities in emergencies is available on the Academic Affairs web site: http://academicaffairs.loyno.edu/students-emergency-responsibilities
Accommodations for Disabilities If you have a disability and wish to receive accommodations, please contact the office of Disability Services at 504-855-2990. If you wish to receive test accommodations (e.g., extended test time), you will need to give the course instructor an official Accommodation Form from Disability Services. The Office of Disability Services is located in Marquette Hall 112.
Class Rules: You are expected to be here when class begins. If you enter the classroom after the attendance sheet has been picked up, you are officially absent. You will not be allowed to sign the attendance sheet. All cell phones must be silenced when you enter the classroom. Use of laptops, i-pods, smart-phones, or any other electrical device when class is in session is strictly prohibited.
Schedule4 ______PART I: LOGIC, LANGUAGE, & MIND ______Introduction to Course Clips from the show ______Logic & Critical Thinking: Vulcan Salvation Readings on Blackboard [BB]: A Little Bit of Logic Clips from the show ______BB Readings: selection from Paul Churchland’s Matter and Consciousness “Spock's Vulcan Mind Meld: A Primer for the Philosophy of Mind” Clips from the show ______
4 This syllabus is subject to change.
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THE PHILOSOPHY OF STAR TREK
BB Readings: selection from Ludwig Wittgenstein’s Philosophical Investigations “From Shakespeare to Wittgenstein: ‘Darmok’ and Cultural Literacy” Clips from the show ______PART II: METAPHYSICS & EPISTEMOLOGY ______BB Readings: selection from Noam Chomsky’s “Form and Meaning in Natural Languages” “Prime Suspects” Clips from the show ______BB Readings: selection from Alan Turing’s “Computing Machinery and Intelligence” “Insufficient Data” Clips from the show ______BB Readings: selection from John Searle’s “Minds, Brains, and Programs” “Pro Creation” Clips from the show ______PART III: ETHICS ______BB Readings: selection from William Graham Sumner ”A Defense of Cultural Relativism” “Cultural Relativism” Clips from the show ______BB Readings: selection from Plato’s Crito In-Class Project: Star Trek and the Social Contract Clips from the show ______BB Readings: “The Kobayashi Maru, No-Win Scenarios, And Ethical Leadership” from Janet Stemwedel Clips from the show ______Time Permitting: Watch some full episodes/movie ______Final Exam: Friday, December 18, 9am-11am ______
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