Environmental Philosophy (INTD 425)

Writing

[discussion forums and topics] [daily paragraphs] [academic dishonesty]

Discussion Forums [rubric]

Full credit in the course will require writing four posts and commenting on eight posts written by others (so, for each forum, you will write one post and comment on two posts by other students).

I think of these Discussion Forums as an extension of our class sessions: You are writing the posts for your fellow students, who will in turn write a response.

The writing will take place on Canvas (under the "Communications" tab: select "Discussions"), where you will find the topics and due dates (for the posts and comments); the latter are also listed below and on the reading and assignment Schedule. NB: Please make these posts as early as you can, and feel free to comment on posts as soon as they are available. The due dates that Canvas automatically lists for these posts is always for the comments; please see the actual assignments for the due dates for the initial post.

Each post should be at least 500 words (between 500-600 is good) and is worth up to 6 points; the comments should be at least 100 words each, and each is worth up to 2 points (see the rubric).

A good post will show evidence of having worked through the relevant readings, perhaps also responding to class discussion, and is written free of grammatical errors and typos.

About the comments: [rubric]

(1) If a post already has two comments, then choose another post on which to comment.

(2) These comments should be more than simply praise or a note of agreement. You should interact with the claims made in the post, or with the argumentation: Do you agree or disagree, and why? Is the author overlooking something? You might offer further evidence for the author’s views, or else counter-evidence. Try to raise at least one useful question for furthering the discussion.

(3) Feel welcome to comment as often as you wish on the posts; for any given forum, I’ll grade your two most substantial comments (that appear to be 100 words or more), but shorter comments are also welcome, and can add immeasurably to the conversation.

Discussion Forum Topics [top]

Forum #1: “Getting to Know You.” [rubric]

This first forum is dedicated to getting to know each other. Please post a three paragraph essay about yourself:

(1) The name you prefer to be called, where you grew up, your academic and non-academic interests, why you are taking this class and what you hope to learn or accomplish in this course, and anything else that you think might be helpful or interesting for others to know.

(2) List what you take to be the three most serious environmental problems facing humans right now, and why you think they are so serious.

(3) Conclude your essay with the epitaph that you would like to have engraved on your tombstone (i.e., the words with which you would most like to be remembered — if you aren't planning on having a tombstone, imagine some memorial plaque).

As with all the discussion forums, everyone needs to make two comments (on the posts of others) as well. For the purposes of this forum, your comments should take the form of follow-up questions (for instance, what else you would like to know about the person). Original posters should feel free to respond to these questions, and so on, until we all get our proper fill of each other.

Before you write the post and comments, be sure to check out the grading rubric. [rubric] Your writing will be graded on how well it measures up to this.

Due dates

... for the original post: Tuesday, Jan 28 (midnight)

... for the two comments: Friday, Jan 31 (midnight)

Forum #2: “When Neighbors Starve.” [rubric]

Do you have an obligation or duty to help others in need? Do they have a right against you, that you help them? Justify your position as carefully as you can.

Before you write the post and comments, be sure to read through the grading rubric. Your writing will be graded on how well it measures up to this. Similarly, be sure to write your post after you have read the relevant essays, and make use of them as appropriate.

Due dates

... for the original post: Friday, Feb 21 (midnight)

... for the two comments: Tuesday, Feb 25 (midnight)

Forum #3: “Other Animals.” [rubric]

Are there any moral constraints in our dealings with other animals, or may we treat them in any way we wish? If there are constraints, what are they? Explain yourself, and justify your position as best you can.

Before you write the post and comments, be sure to read through the grading rubric. Your writing will be graded on how well it measures up to this. Among other things, your post should make use of appropriate class readings and discussions.

Due dates

... for the original post: Friday, Mar 6 (midnight)

... for the two comments: Tuesday, Mar 10 (midnight)

Forum #4: “The Nature and Scope of Value.” [rubric]

This post involves two related questions. First, does something have value only if some human being values it? For instance, is a wilderness area valuable only if there are human beings who care about it (that is, who prefer a world with some wilderness area, over a world with none, or with fewer such areas)? Similarly: Do non-human animals have value only if some human thinks they do?

Second, locate yourself on the value-grid [pdf] dicussed in class (moral atomist/moral holist and anthropocentrist/biocentrist). Describe your position, and justify it as best you can.

Due dates

... for the original post: Friday, Apr 17 (midnight)

... for the two comments: Tuesday, Apr 21 (midnight)

Daily Paragraphs [rubric]

Each day before class – and the sooner the better (preferably the night before), but at the latest 30 minutes before class begins – please post on the appropriate “Discussion” in Canvas a brief passage from the day’s reading that you found interesting or puzzling. Please quote the text itself (preferably at most just a few sentences, and be sure to indicate where the passage is from so that others can easily locate it) and then your question or comment about the text you quoted (what you found puzzling or interesting – why you think this passage merits our attention). I would like to structure class discussions around these, when possible.

Your paragraph (apart from the quote) should be from 100-200 words. Please do not write on a passage that somone else has already discussed (unless you have a distinctly different worry or observation about the passage).

[Makeup: Paragraphs submitted after the beginning of class will be counted as late but still accepted until the close of that day, i.e., midnight.]

Academic Dishonesty [top]

[This text is copied from the university Catalog]

Membership in the Manchester University community requires a devotion to the highest principles of academic and personal integrity, a commitment to maintain honor, and a continuous regard for the rights of others. There can be no rights without individual responsibility.

Manchester University faculty are committed to teaching and learning as a career and a profession. Each instructor is presumed to develop and use methods and techniques which enhance learning and which best fit his or her personality and subject matter area. At the same time, the instructor is expected to abide by the general principles of responsible teaching which are commonly accepted by the academic profession. These principles suggest that faculty keep complete records of student performance and that they develop and apply express, uniform criteria for evaluating student performance.

Students are free to take reasoned exception to the data or views offered in any course of study. While they may reserve judgment about matters of opinion, they are responsible for learning the content of any course in which they are enrolled. At the same time, students are expected to abide by the general principles of academic honesty which are commonly accepted in educational settings.

When a student chooses not to follow the general principles of academic honesty, the following policies and procedures bear their sad fruit.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the presentation of information (either written or oral) as one’s own when some or all of the information was derived from some other source.

Specific types of plagiarism encountered in written and oral assignments include the following:

● Sources have been properly identified, but excerpts have been quoted without proper use of quotation marks; or the material has been slightly modified or rephrased rather than restated in the student’s own words.

● Key ideas or items of information derived from specific sources that present material that is not common knowledge have been presented without proper identification of the source or sources.

● Unidentified excerpts from other sources have been woven into the student’s own presentation.

● A paper or speech may be a mosaic of excerpts from several sources and presented as the student’s own.

● An entire paper or speech has been obtained from some other source and presented as the student’s own.

● Texts in another language are translated into English and presented as the student’s own.

Cheating

Cheating consists of any unpermitted use of notes, texts or other sources so as to give an unfair advantage to a student in completing a class assignment or an examination. Intentionally aiding another student engaged in academic dishonesty is also considered cheating.

Submission of the same work (essay, speech, art piece, etc.) to fulfill assignments in separate classes requires the permission of both faculty members (if both courses are being taken in the same semester), or the permission of the second faculty member (if they are taken during different semesters).

Penalties

• Unintentional Plagiarism. In cases of plagiarism in which no deception is intended (such as ignorance of proper citation of sources), the student should expect a reduction in the paper’s grade; in some cases, the student may be given an option to rewrite the paper. No disciplinary letter will be filed.

• Deliberate Plagiarism and Cheating. In cases of deliberate plagiarism, and in all cases of cheating and attempted cheating, the work assigned will be failed. At the instructor’s discretion, the student may also fail the course (regardless of the grade-weight of the work assigned).

In either a case of deliberate plagiarism or cheating, a disciplinary letter recording the deception will be sent to the student, with copies sent to the associate dean of academic resources and the student’s academic advisor. For more information, as well as for information regarding your rights of appeal, see the MU Source.

Manchester University // Registrar // Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies // Last updated: 23 Jan 2020