INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY

Welcome!

Welcome to this online version of my “Introduction to Philosophy” (PHIL 201, Manchester College). This course satisfies the GE-I2 and 4PH Core requirement at Manchester College.

The next offering of this course will be Summer Session One (2010), which begins May 25 (Tuesday), and ends July 6 (Tuesday). If interested in enrolling, contact the Registrar’s Office.

We will meet for the first time on Wednesday, May 26, from 10-11 AM and from 9-10 PM EDT, in Second Life (for more information on Second Life, see Course Requirements and What You’ll Need). You need to attend only one of these hours; this first meeting will be dedicated to making sure that everyone is more or less oriented in the Second Life environment. [Why Second Life?]

Please take a moment to read the brief discussion on who should take online courses, and who should probably avoid them — they are an excellent form of learning for many students, but certainly not for all!

This course is divided into twenty-five modules, which translates into approximately one module every day of the term. Each module includes a list of learning objectives, as well as materials to help you meet those objectives. The most important page is the assignment schedule, which lists all the readings, learning objectives, and assignments (quizzes, discussion forums, and group discussions in Second Life).

You will use the ANGEL courseware (through the Manchester College website) for taking online quizzes (both practice quizzes and quizzes to be graded) and posting/commenting on the various Discussion Forums. Everything else will occur on these web pages.

Apart from various technical skills and personal traits that are either necessary or quite useful for online courses (see), there is also a list of specifics of what you’ll need, along with a general set of course objectives, and a list of the course requirements.

Contacting Me

Click on my name (above) to reach my home page with contact information and a link for my current schedule.

I will be online in Second Life every Tuesday and Thursday for our class discussions (10-11 AM and 9-10 PM), and plan to be in my SL office one-half hour before and after each of those meetings for anyone with additional questions or an interest in discussing some issue further (if I’m not in the office, send me an IM).

Apart from SL, I will try to get online each workday at around 10 AM and 4 PM to answer queries left earlier. The best way to ask a question is using email through the ANGEL site. In emergencies, you are always welcome to phone me, but not after 10 PM (EDT).

Manchester College // Registrar // Department of Religion and Philosophy // Last updated: 10 May 2010