Phl 340 / Hms 410 
FREEDOM AND DETERMINISM
TTh 3:00-4:15 HM 468 seminar room. Winter, 2000 

DESCRIPTION OF THE COURSE
With Calendar and the various assignments.
        Research Paper Requirments
        Writing Assignment Requirments
          Class Notes Index Page
 

Instructor: Michael H. Barnes, Ph.D. 
Office: HM 446 
Phone: x2034 (home: 223-3300 before 9:00 p.m.)
Regular office Hours: MTWThF, 11:30 - 1:30. 
Other times by prior arrangement.

Introduction

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE COURSE:
Inner freedom has long been in dispute. Karma rules for Buddhists and Hindus; Christians preach Predestination; Muslims submit to the will of Allah. Philosophers have argued about this from the Stoics to Sartre. Marxists, Freudians, and behaviorists have added their opinions. Evolutionary psychologists now claim our behavior and values are molded by innate tendencies. The course will review sources and others to find out how free we are, what inner freedom might consist of, and whether it can be taught or learned. 

These are the major sections of the course:
• Introduction: readings and a film to provide a sense of the issues at stake.
• A survey of major religious positions on fate and predestination, with an emphasis on Western beliefs
• A review of major philosophical positions on inner freedom, especially Western thought
• An wide examination of several positions from sociobiology, anthropology, and psychology
• Student presentations based on their research papers
• Summary and conclusion of course.

For further information about specific course content, see the calendar of classes and the topics and readings listed. 

TEXTS:
The only full book for the course is the Bhagavad Gita, available in the bookstore. Numerous other readings, and at least one film, are part of the course. See the calendar of classes for the sequence. These will be handed out in class. 

EVALUATION:
Thirty percent of the grade will be based on a ten to fifteen page Research Paper on the topic of inner freedom, using resources selected by each student. Forty percent will be based on four brief (5-6 page) analyses based on classes and texts at the end of each of the four first sections of the course. Twenty percent will be based on a final "exam" of 10 to 12 pages. Five percent will be based on the student's brief presentation about the paper. The last five percent will be based on participation in class.

OTHER REQUIREMENTS
    As in any course you are responsible for whatever happens in class, even in your absence. In case of your absence sure to have someone who can inform you about class material and announcements.
    If you are going to miss an exam or be late on an assignment, please call me in advance if at all possible.
    All assignments for this class must represent new learning for this course; papers done for other courses are not acceptable, though you are welcome to build upon your work in another course provided you clear it with me, Barnes, in advance. 
    Cooperative learning is good. Please feel free to work with others in the course to learn with and from them, especially if you are having trouble with aspects of the course. But on the exams and on the paper, the material you hand in must be your own understanding and your own wording of that understanding. Always be sure to identify any sources from whom you are taking material. It is especially important that you cite your source when you quote; and it is important to use quotation marks when you are quoting. (See the student handbook, 37-39 for more on this.) (As always any instance of plagiarism can earn an "F" for the entire course. See the student handbook for descriptions of plagiarism.)