PHI115 ETHICS
Week 1 Discussion
Forums will be very important for us. We’ll exchange ideas, work with the ideas of others and we will be doing so often. To help with that. I’ve made forum posts worth part of your grade. In most weeks, I will grade your posts, looking for rigor, depth and constructiveness. I will say more about that as we proceed and as I introduce topics. This week I will only grade for completeness.
The main thing to think about is whether you’re advancing or starting a good conversation. Easy questions don’t start conversations. Vague comments don’t start conversations. Genuine questions that show depth or comments that show some thought can start conversations. That will be our goal: to have good conversations about philosophy. This week, I want us all to say hello and to begin learning how this course is to be arranged. So, post a ‘hello’ and a bit about yourself or why you’re taking this course. If you have any special pronoun preferences, this would be the time to let me and everyone else know (see below). If you have any questions about this or anything else, bring them to the forum! That is the best place for public questions. If you have any confidential questions, email me privately, please. Good luck and I can’t wait to get to know you all! Also, don’t forget to do the reading and post comments questions here, as well. We’re going to learn a lot together and it starts this week.
On pronouns: not everyone uses the pronouns we might assume they would. In my case, I present as male, so I use ‘he/him/his’ as my pronouns. You would say, “Dr. Horton, he teaches my philosophy class” or “I’m taking his course.” If someone is a female, they might prefer ‘she/her/hers’. These are not the only pronouns, however. Someone might prefer ‘they/them/their’, as their singular pronouns, as in “Bobby wants their coffee black” or “I know them (said of Bobby).” Or, alternatively, someone might prefer ‘xe/xem/xyr’, as in “Jem wants xyr coffee black” or “I know xem very well.”
In this class, I respect each of you. I’m happy to help make sure we respect each other. Please let me know via email or in whatever way you prefer what pronouns we should use and we will respect you by doing so.
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