1. Rene Descartes, Discourse on Method, trans. Donald Cress, (Hackett, 1998).

2. Women, Knowledge and Reality, eds. Ann Garry and Marilyn Pearsall, (Routledge 1996).
3. John Neihardt, Black Elk Speaks, (University of Nebraska Press, 1988).
4. The Analects of Confucius, trans. Simon Leys, (W.W. Norton & Co., 1997).

1. Thomas Norton-Smith, "An Arithmetic of Action Kinds," Philosophical Studies 63 (1991): 217-230.
2. Karen Wynn, "Children’s Acquisition of the Number Words and the Counting System," Cognitive Psychology 24 (1992): 220-251.
3. Karen Wynn, "Infant’s Individuation and Enumeration of Actions," Psychological Science 7 (May 1996): 164-169.
4. Karen Wynn, "Addition and subtraction by human infants," Nature 358 (August 1992): 749-750.
5. Robert Schwartz, "Is Mathematical Competence Innate?" Philosophy of Science 62 (1995): 227-240.

"Ways of Knowing" has several objectives:

1. To improve your reading and critical thinking skills through a careful consideration of the reading assignments;
2. To exercise and improve your writing skills with many writing opportunities;
3. To enhance your ability to express yourself through classroom participation, and to foster your respect for and appreciation of beliefs with which you may not agree;
4. To promote your understanding and appreciation of a variety of different ways of knowing, e.g., Cartesian rationalism and feminist epistemology;
5. To demonstrate the similarities and differences between two approaches to the question of knowing, namely, the historical and the philosophical;
6. To stress the importance of diversity in thought.

5. COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

2. There will be two writing assignments, a research paper worth 30% of the final grade, and a "thought experiment" worth 15% of the final grade. The research paper will give you the opportunity to put into practice the methods employed in the discipline of history, that is, you will have the opportunity to become historians yourselves. Philosophers are people who ask "fundamental" questions about the nature of reality, knowledge and value. Philosophy is thus a kind of activity, and like other activities, you can learn much about philosophy by doing it. The thought experiment gives you the opportunity to do some philosophizing.
3. A class participation grade, heavily influenced by attendance and involvement (7.5%) and a brief presentation introducing one day’s reading (7.5%) counts the final 15% of your grade.

Midterm examination 80 points (20%)

Final examination 80 points (20%)

Research paper 120 points (30%)

Thought experiment 60 points (15%)

Participation

Attendance and involvement 30 points (7.5%)

Opening presentation 30 points (7.5%)

A (Excellent Scholarship) 400 – 368 points (100% - 92%)

B (Good Scholarship) 367 – 336 points (<92% - 84%)

C (Average Scholarship) 335 – 288 points (<84% -72%)

D (Poor Scholarship) 287 – 256 points (<72% - 64%)

F (Failure) Fewer than 256 points (<64%)

6. CHEATING, PLAGIARISM AND OTHER DECEPTIONS:

Cheating and plagiarism are wrong. For most people, no more needs to be said. However, there are people who believe that they have a right to steal the intellectual property produced by other people, probably because this kind of property is accessible, easy to take without the owner's permission. But the same is true of your vacationing neighbor's lawn mower in her unlocked garage, and not many people believe that that they have a right to steal the lawn mower without asking permission.

Anyway, we will treat everyone with a respect that extends to the products of their intellectual labors. Any person who chooses instead to "intentionally . . . misrepresent the source, nature, or other conditions of academic work so as to accrue undeserved credit" will be subject to the sanctions outlined in the section "Cheating and Plagiarism" in Kent State University's Digest of Rules and Regulations.

7. GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE:

8. STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES:

In accordance with University policy, if you have a documented disability and require accommodations to obtain equal access in this course, please contact me at the beginning of the semester or when given an assignment for which an accommodation is required. Students with disabilities must verify their eligibility through the office of Student Disability Services (SDS) on the first floor of Main Hall. You can contact Kelly Oster at ext. 287.

9. AMENDMENTS:

Nov. 18: Read Chapters 1-4 and the corresponding notes (p. 4-18 and 105-136) in The Analects

Nov. 23: Read Chapters 5-8 and the corresponding notes (p. 19-38 and 137-157) in The Analects

Dec. 2: Read Chapters 13-16 and the corresponding notes (p. 60-84 and 181-199) in The Analects

Week XV: December 6 - 10

Dec. 9: Summary and Review

Fall 1999