Philosophy 105
Reason and Argument
Fall 2005
Syllabus

I. Instructors

II. Description
The course begins with an examination of the conceptual background needed to understand and evaluate arguments. The second part of the course develops a method for identifying, interpreting, and evaluating arguments. In the final part this method is applied to arguments about a wide variety topics. Students who complete the course will be able to distinguish rhetoric and emotional speech from rational argumentation and will be able to distinguish successful from unsuccessful arguments. Class will meet MWF at 11:00 in Morey 525.

III. Texts
Feldman, Reason and Argument (2^nd Edition)
Barnet and Bedau, Contemporary & Classic Arguments: A Portable Anthology

IV. Web Page
Course information, including this syllabus, assignments, lecture notes, and schedule changes, is available online at http://www.ling.rochester.edu/~feldman/philosophy105/index.html.

V. Course Clusters
This course may serve as an entry into several clusters in the philosophy department. One of these is the Philosophy and Teaching Internship Cluster. As part of this cluster, students teach material of the sort covered in this course to elementary school children. The course is also part of the Legal Studies Cluster.

VI. Assignments and Grading (All dates listed here are tentative.)
a. Quizzes

There will be short (approximately 20 minutes) quizzes most weeks during the first three-quarters of the semester (usually on Fridays). There will be 9 or 10 quizzes in all. Your best 7 will be counted. There will be no make-ups for missed quizzes. 35% of course grade. It is possible that some of the quizzes will be replaced by short homework assignments.

b. Homework Assignments

2 homework assignments will be drawn from exercises in the text or from the articles in the Barnet and Bedau book. 40% of the course grade. Tentative due dates: Nov. 21, Dec. 4

c. Final Assignment

The final assignment for the course will be an analysis of the arguments in some of the exercises in the text, or in some essays in the Barnet and Bedau book, or in some essays distributed in class. 25% of course grade. Tentative due date: December 15.

VII. Readings and Lecture Schedule (Tentative)