Socrates led his philosophical discussions in the agora (public marketplace) of ancient Athens. Zeno, the founder of Stoicism, gave his lectures in the Stoa poikile ('painted porch'), a public space. There is a long tradition of doing philosophy in public. This is a good thing: first, because philosophy is not supposed to be a secret, esoteric pursuit; second, because public exposure pushes us to be as honest, thoughtful, and precise as we can in our discussions. (Consider how easy it is to be lazy with a writing assignment if you know no one's going to read it; then consider how much more careful you're likely to be if you know all your classmates will read and judge it!)
This blog is our agora. Here we will post our weekly Development Papers, and respond to each others'. I'll post course documents here, as well as discussion questions, occasional interesting tidbits and announcements, links to news items, other blogs, etc.
(Regular and substantial) participation in this blog COUNTS in the participation component (35%) of your grade, along with in-class participation, so make sure to check in and contribute often! If you've ever thought of a really great point to make in a class discussion...but thought of it too late...posting it as a follow-up on the blog is the perfect opportunity to make your voice heard!
NOTA BENE (Latin for 'note well'): don't forget that the blog is a course-related forum, and will be monitored by me for content. Basic standards of civility, respect, and adequate grammar WILL BE STRICTLY ENFORCED.
Thus says Dr. P.
This blog is our agora. Here we will post our weekly Development Papers, and respond to each others'. I'll post course documents here, as well as discussion questions, occasional interesting tidbits and announcements, links to news items, other blogs, etc.
(Regular and substantial) participation in this blog COUNTS in the participation component (35%) of your grade, along with in-class participation, so make sure to check in and contribute often! If you've ever thought of a really great point to make in a class discussion...but thought of it too late...posting it as a follow-up on the blog is the perfect opportunity to make your voice heard!
NOTA BENE (Latin for 'note well'): don't forget that the blog is a course-related forum, and will be monitored by me for content. Basic standards of civility, respect, and adequate grammar WILL BE STRICTLY ENFORCED.
Thus says Dr. P.
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