AP/MODR1760 6.0 D: Reasoning About Morality and Values
Offered by: MODR
Session
Fall 2022
Term
Y
Format
LECT
Instructor
Calendar Description / Prerequisite / Co-Requisite
This is a skills-based course focusing on critical thinking, critical writing, and logical and linguistic analysis. The course uses examples drawn from areas in the humanities where value judgements are made. Different sections will stress different topics in ethics, aesthetics, religion or law. Course credit exclusions: AP/MODR 1730 6.00, AP/MODR 1770 6.00.
Course Start Up
Course Websites hosted on York's "eClass" are accessible to students during the first week of the term. It takes two business days from the time of your enrolment to access your course website. Course materials begin to be released on the course website during the first week. To log in to your eClass course visit the York U eClass Portal and login with your Student Passport York Account. If you are creating and participating in Zoom meetings you may also go directly to the York U Zoom Portal.
For further course Start Up details, review the Getting Started webpage.
For IT support, students may contact University Information Technology Client Services via askit@yorku.ca or (416) 736-5800. Please also visit Students Getting Started UIT or the Getting Help - UIT webpages.
Professor Stefan Rodde at roddesw@yorku.ca
Office hours: In-person office hours will be held immediately following class in Ross S417. I can also meet students online if they are not available after class.
Virtually every human being uses arguments because virtually every human being discusses claims with the aim of defending their own positions and critiquing those of others. The ability to detect bad arguments and to construct good ones is a skill which can be developed methodically. Through an examination of popular and scholarly articles, online media, film, and other sources, students will acquire the conceptual tools to recognize, evaluate, formulate and criticize arguments in their written, oral and group work.
This course focuses on moral reasoning and students will have the opportunity to apply their skills in discussions about substantive moral issues. But many of the skills needed to construct good moral arguments are broadly applicable, and students will gain some familiarity with other types of reasoning, such as that which we find in political discourse and in the social sciences.
This is a General Education course that counts as a Humanities Gen-Ed credit
Technical requirements for taking the course: This course will be delivered in-person. You will need an internet connection to upload homework and assignments.
Here are some useful links for student computing information, resources and help:
Zoom@YorkU User Reference Guide
Computing for Students Website
Student Guide to eLearning at York University
To determine Internet connection and speed, there are online tests, such as Speedtest, that can be run.]
Govier, Trudy. A Practical Study of Argument, 7th edition. Belmont: Thomson-Wadsworth, 2010.
OR
Govier, Trudy. A Practical Study of Argument, Enhanced 7th edition. Belmont: Thomson-Wadsworth, 2013.
The e-book version of these texts is also acceptable. Please note that in the past some students were able to find this text online
Links to additional readings will be posted on eclass
Quizzes (Best 5 out of 6). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15%
Homework (20) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10%
Assignments (2). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20%
Dialectical Essay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20%
In-Class Debate (group assignment) . . . . . . . .10%
Debate Revision Paper (group assignment). . .10%
Final Exam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15%
Times and locations: This course will be delivered in-person (unless we have to move online because of COVID restrictions). The lectures are on Tuesdays 2:30-5:30 (though we will rarely go the full three hours) in HNE 030 (Health, Nursing and Environmental Studies Building).
Organization of the course
The lectures in this course will be delivered in person, and the quizzes, and the debates will be completed in class. There will also be in-class group activities which may result in small bonus marks. Other assignments will be completed on your time. The final exam will be scheduled by the Registrar.
| This course has two main objectives. The first is to develop skills, including:
· The ability to critically evaluate what you read and hear · The ability to present your position in a clear, concise and persuasive manner, both orally and in your written work · The ability to engage in civil discourse with others, including those who disagree with your views The second is to establish a good foundation for moral reasoning. Students will become familiar with: · The types of arguments that are most frequently encountered in moral discourse such as analogical, conductive and syllogistic reasoning · The theoretical framework for constructing moral arguments, including consequentialist and principle-based reasoning, as well as virtue-based and non-traditional approaches to moral discourse
|
- This is a General Education course that counts as a Humanities Gen-Ed credit.
- There are three Modes of Reasoning courses: MODR 1730 (Reasoning in the Social Sciences), MODR 1760 (Reasoning about Morality and Values) and MODR 1770 (Techniques of Persuasion). You may NOT take more than one MODR course.
- A late penalty of 2%/day will be given for late assignments or essays. Homework is taken up in class and so it will not be accepted after the deadline.
- Academic Honesty
- Student Rights and Responsibilities
- Religious Observance
- Grading Scheme and Feedback
- 20% Rule
No examinations or tests collectively worth more than 20% of the final grade in a course will be given during the final 14 calendar days of classes in a term. The exceptions to the rule are classes which regularly meet Friday evenings or on Saturday and/or Sunday at any time, and courses offered in the compressed summer terms. - Academic Accommodation for Students with Disabilities
