PHIL 243:

SOCIAL AND POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY I

2023-2024 Academic Year
ENGLISH COMPONENT
1. Introduction

Instructor: Dr. J.W. Day

Office: HZ-45B
Telephone: x1108
E-mail: john.day@bilkent.edu.tr
Office Hours: TBD

2. Course Description and Goals

2.1 Course Description

PHIL 243: Social and Political Philosophy I: This course is based on classic texts in the history of philoso-
phy, starting from the ancient Greek period through to the Renaissance. The course is equally divided into
Philosophy and English Language parts. While both parts of the course focus on the same set of texts, the
emphasis and assessment criteria for each are different. The Philosophy part places more emphasis on evalu-
ating the ideas and arguments expressed by each philosopher. Questions to be considered include: What does
it mean to live one's life well? Is there a single true morality? How can we know what is the right and the
wrong thing to do? Why should I do the right thing? The English part will place more emphasis on develop-
ing the ability to read and interpret challenging texts, as well as the ability to communicate verbally and in
writing. Thus, the English part uses the original texts to further develop the goals achieved during first year
English courses (ENG 101/102).

2.2 Course Texts

Please note: It is very important that we use the same editions by the same publishers. Using different trans-
lations with different page numbers complicates everyday course activities.

The Republic, Plato (translated by G.M.A. Grube, revised by C.D.C. Reeve), 1992, Hackett
Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle (translated and introduced by D. Ross), 1998, Oxford University Press
Five Dialogues, Plato (translated by G.M.A. Grube), 2002, Hackett
On Duties, Cicero (translated by M. Griffin, edited by M. Atkins), 1991, Cambridge University Press
On the Nature of Things, Lucretius (translated by M.F. Smith), 2001, Hackett

2.3 Course Learning Outcomes

There are three major learning outcomes in the PHIL 243/244 English Component. During this course, stu-
dents learn to:
- Independently read and interpret intellectually and grammatically challenging philosophical texts.
- Produce coherent and thesis-driven academic writing using sophisticated language accurately and appro-
priately;
- Effectively communicate orally with others in the form of discussions/debates/presentations on a wide
range of intellectually engaging topics;

2.4 Objectives
Learners accomplish the course goals through other sub-skills and strategies, which make up the objectives
of PHIL 243 and 244. These are:
- Developing their facility with the features of philosophical writing in English;
- Identifying, analyzing and critically evaluating the arguments of the course texts;
- Constructing valid, sound, and persuasive (spoken/written) arguments and responses;
- Locating and effectively integrating appropriate supporting information and material;
- Distinguishing their own position/voice from those in course texts consistently;
- Using an appropriate system of citation and referencing accurately;
- Planning and delivering effective oral presentations and discussions of course texts;
- Speaking impromptu about their own and others’ understanding of philosophical ideas;
- Contributing to others’ understanding of complex philosophical writing and arguments;
- Identifying strengths and weaknesses in their performance for future improvement.

3. Assessment Plan

3.1 Assessment Plan

Type Label Count Contribution
1 Project Analytical Response Papers (700 3 15% + 15% + 20%
words excluding quotes, ± 5%) (50% total)
2 Project Interview 1 15%

3 Individual/Group a. Group-led Discussion 2 20%

Work b. Participation 15%

3.2 Course Work Descriptions

ANALYTICAL RESPONSE PAPERS: (2 x 15% + 1x 20%, total 50%)

You will write three analytical response papers, all of the same length (700 words ± 5%, excluding quotes),
covering three of the five course texts. Prompts will present you with a selected passage from the text, to
which you are asked to analytically respond. Analytical response involves moving beyond description and
reporting what the text says. Rather, emphasis is on careful, critical assessment of the uses and limits of the
passage—of the concepts, proposals, or assumptions it contains. A successful response paper will:

- communicate a comprehensive and detailed understanding of the text

- carefully develop a convincing argument, in a way that attends to logical progression of ideas and coher-
ence
- draw on the text through relevant and valid paraphrasing and quotations that are judiciously chosen, well
integrated (in terms of meaning and language), and accurately referenced
- demonstrate excellent reader awareness
- communicate in consistently accurate and stylistically sophisticated language, in an appropriate register
- comply fully with task guidelines

Your instructor will share further details in class and in the response paper prompts about the sorts of pas-
sages you will be asked to respond to, and about what analytical response involves.

The table below summarizes the implementation rules/procedure for the three analytical responses:

Paper Method
 1 [a] Text studied in class/as homework.
[b] Text reviewed/task brainstormed (question shared in advance).
[c] First drafts are written in class across 2 hours of class time; the handwritten draft is
typed/corrected at home – both versions (handwritten and typed) are uploaded to Moodle.
[d] First drafts are revised and resubmitted based on teacher feedback.

2+3 [a] Text studied in class/as homework.

[b] Text reviewed/task brainstormed.
[c] With the task question given on the day, a (complete) single draft is written in-class
(within 2 class hours). This written draft is typed up at home, allowing for minor corrections
to language, formatting, etc., and submitted within two days. Both the handwritten draft
and typed final version must be submitted through Moodle for grading.
[d] Focused explanation of grade (highlighting strengths/weakness of paper) shared after
each paper.

INTERVIEW (%15)
The interview is a performance-based task designed to measure your understanding of course texts
and your ability to construct valid, sound, and persuasive spoken arguments and responses.
Interviews will take place in pairs, or in small groups if necessary. During the interview, you will be
asked questions about one of the course texts and are expected to give sustained and insightful
answers. You will also be asked to provide a response to or analysis of another student’s response to
a question.
Think of this as an oral version of the analytical response papers: you will be tested through an in-
terview on your knowledge and understanding of a selected course reading. Here is a sample inter-
view format:

Sample interview format

Done in pairs – 15 to 20 minutes for each pair.
(First Round)
[a] A short, meaningful quote taken from the chosen text. Both students read (vocab help given if necessary).
[b] Student 1 asked to explain/unpack the quote – if this response is lacking, student 2 might be asked to contrib-
ute.
[c] Student 2 asked to affirm or challenge claims contained within this quote, briefly justifying their response.
[d] Student 1 given opportunity to add to student 1’s response (to be cut short if merely repetition/reformulation).
(Second Round)
Round one is repeated using an alternative quote from the same text. This time the order is reversed – student 2
performs step a, etc...
(Final Round – if time)
In a more free-form discussion, both students are given an opportunity to share their general views/evaluation of
the given text.

STUDENT-LED DISCUSSION - LEADING (%20)

Student-led discussions are designed to help you critically engage with the course texts and develop an array
of presentation and discussion skills.

Working in groups, you will analyze a given text to use as a basis for a deep and inclusive class discussion.
During the semester, each student will perform this task once and will be graded (individually) on their abil-
ity to engage accurately, critically, and in a relevant way with the given reading, and then use this knowledge
to teach key aspects of the text in order to stimulate intellectual discussion.

Groups will consist of three to five students, depending on class size, with a double block of class time typi-
cally being sufficient to execute the task. Discussions are spaced throughout the semester and cover a range
of course readings.

Please note: These discussions are designed help you critically engage with the course texts and develop
your discussion skills. Remember that it is your job to know what the philosopher you’ve been assigned ar-
gues and to help the class share their thoughts about this by designing careful, meaningful questions. If you
do your job well, the class will have collectively created a broader and deeper understanding of the text being
studied.

STUDENT-LED DISCUSSION - PARTICIPATION (%15)

This task assesses how meaningfully and how often you participate when other groups are leading the dis-
cussion. A tally is kept, across the term, of both the quality and quantity of your engagement in discussions.
Yes, you should aim to participate frequently. But as important, if not more so, is how you participate. That
is, it is important that your contributions demonstrate meaningful engagement with course readings, and are
relevant both to what the discussion leaders have proposed for discussion (i.e., their questions) and to the
evolving discussion in the class (i.e., what your peers have also added to the discussion).

3.3 Submitting Work: Deadlines and Requirements

Students are expected to meet deadlines and submit work on time. In the case of failure to turn in a project/
essay or any other task assigned on time, 5% percent will be deducted on a daily basis. Assignments more
than 5 days late will not be accepted and will automatically receive a zero.

3.4 Final Exam Eligibility

A student is assigned an FZ grade if his/her total grade for the English part of the course is 58 or below, or if
he/she does not attend a minimum of 80% of total course hours (see “Attendance Policy” below). Students
who receive a failing grade from either the English or Philosophy component are not eligible to take the Phi-
losophy final exam. There is no final exam for the English part of the course.

3.5 Grading Scale

Your final grade is the average of your grade in the English and Philosophy components. Each part of the
course is assigned 100 points. Failure in one component, regardless of performance in the other, will auto-
matically result in failure for the entire six credits of the course.

Recall, PHIL243/4 is a ti-credit course. Thus, it has double the effect on your CGPA than an ordinary 3
credit course. Also, both parts of the course are mutually supporting (i.e. the same five texts, in the same se-
quence). Thus, it is inefficient to work on one part of the course and not very much on the other.

Both parts of the course will be using the same grading scale:

95-100 A
Exceptional work—well above the expected standard
90-94 A-

8ti-89 B+

82-85 B Good work—above the expected standard

78-81 B-
 74-77 C+
Satisfactory work—meets the expected standard
70-73 C

ti7-ti9 C- Not satisfactory—just below the expected standard

ti3-titi D+
Unsatisfactory—below the expected standard
59-ti2 D

0-58 F Unacceptable—well below the expected standard

4. Course Rules and Regulations

4.1 Attendance Policy

Students are expected to attend 80% of the English class hours for one semester. Attendance is counted from
the first class. Students who exceed the attendance limit for the English component will fail this part of the
course, and will thus not be able to sit the Philosophy final exam.

Excused Absence
Late registering students, or students adding a course during the add/drop period, must visit the Philosophy
Department Chair to verify their legitimate late registration and notify their instructor, indicating the date
when they registered. Students will be credited for the lessons missed prior to the date of registration only.
Those adding or dropping a course will not be credited for attendance in other courses, and will need to be
vigilant of attendance for the remainder of the semester.
Students switching from one English component class of PHIL 243/4 to another in the first week must have a
signed note/email from their first instructor to present to their second instructor in order to be excused for
those hours they missed in the second section.

Students involved in university organized activities, such as sport or cultural activities, during lesson time,
may have their attendance credited if their instructor gets a notification via the STARS system. As decided
by Bilkent University, no student can miss more than 5 days for such activities.

PLEASE BEAR IN MIND THAT THE 20% (FAE) ABSENTEEISM LIMIT IS FOR STUDENTS TO USE
IN CASE OF UNEXPECTED HEALTH PROBLEMS OR OTHER EMERGENCIES.

Attendance requirements are not affected by medical reports. Students are considered “absent” even if they
have a medical report.

Students are not admitted to exams, classes, or other activities on days for which they have a medical report.
If a student has already attended an exam or evaluation activity while having a medical report on file for that
day, they are considered absent for that exam or activity.

Students can contact the Dean’s or Director’s office with questions.

Only in serious cases when students’ health problems exceed the 20% absence limit should students file a pe-
tition with the FAE Directorate within three days of their return to school, attaching an approved health re-
port explaining the seriousness of their health problem and/or any other formal document supporting their
case as to the emergency of the problem. A program higher committee will evaluate individual students’ ap-
peals and give decisions regarding each petitioner’s case.

Absence for In-Class Assessments

Students are eligible for a make-up of any assessed task missed due to legitimate health reasons. As decided
by Bilkent University, course instructors will give a make-up to students if they receive a formal notification
via the STARS system.
For more information about the university rules and regulations regarding final exams please visit (in Turk-
ish only):
http://w3.bilkent.edu.tr/www/lisans-ve-on-lisans-egitim-ogretim-yonetmeligi/

4.2 Punctuality
Coming to class on time is mandatory, not just for the benefit of the individual students, but as a basic cour-
tesy to the instructor and to other students. Class starts when the instructor announces so.

4.3 Plagiarism
Bilkent University defines plagiarism as: “The use of somebody else’s ideas, viewpoints, findings or works
in a paper, project, or report, or any similar document which is presented as part of a course requirement,
without proper acknowledgment of the source.”

It is your responsibility to avoid plagiarism in your work. Should the final draft of your assignment still have
serious problems with plagiarism, or if it is copied from another student or written by or with inappropriate
help from someone else or computer applications, you will receive a failing grade, probably an F. Disci-
plinary action will also be taken according to “Bilkent University undergraduate and graduate rules and regu-
lations” item 4.9. Please visit http://w3.bilkent.edu.tr/www/lisans-ve-on-lisans-egitim-ogretim-yonetmeligi/
(Turkish only).

Please visit the following Bilkent webpage to learn about the Bilkent University Policy on Academic Honest
and the relevant potential disciplinary actions, as stated in Bilkent University’s “Policy on Conflict of Inter-
ests and Commitment to Academic Integrity.” http://w3.bilkent.edu.tr/bilkent/policy-on-conflicts-of-interest-
and-committment-academic-integrity/

4.4 Generative AI Use

FAE Statement on Generative AI Use

GenAI use in any academic work is subject to the regulations stated in Bilkent University's academic in-
tegrity policy. https://www.bilkent.edu/bilkent/policy-on-conflicts-of-interest-and-commitment-academic-in-
tegrity/.

GenAI tool use is not permitted for any assessed task in this course.

Philosophy Department Statement on AI

The Philosophy department considers unauthorized use of artificial intelligence (AI) writing programs on
any writing assignment in Philosophy classes a form of plagiarism: presenting something you did not write
as if you wrote it. ChatGPT, which produces written responses to prompts provided to it by a human user, is
one such program, but there are also others. AI writing can be easily identified as such, and Philosophy fac-
ulty members will actively work to identify instances of AI writing on written assignments in their courses.
If Philosophy faculty members identify such cases, they will treat them as instances of plagiarism and, there-
fore, a disciplinary issue.

Students in Philosophy classes are required to research and write their own work. AI writing programs do not
give meaningful readings of philosophical texts, and many times, the writing produced by these programs ei-
ther contains incorrect information or is so vague that it is critically useless. Furthermore, using AI technol-
ogy in an essay does not help a student to satisfy departmental learning outcomes. If you have any questions
about best practices for writing, please feel free to contact your professors in the department.
5. Expectations and Protocol

5.1 Classroom Health Precautions

Please refer to the following link: https://w3.bilkent.edu.tr/www/koronavirus-ve-covid-19-hakkinda-bil-
gilendirme/

5.2 Preparation and Participation

Discussing course readings and related ideas is an important part of this course. In order to be able to discuss
meaningfully, it is crucial that you do the readings each week, carefully, in full, and before our first meeting
of the week. If you do not, you will struggle to follow the course. You will not be able to benefit as a learner
from all that comes with active participation. And you will probably not do well on your assignments. So, do
the readings.

Recall that you are graded based on participation during group-led discussions. You will not get much from
these discussions (or from other un-assessed discussion, for that matter) if you have not done the readings,
carefully and in full. Nor can you meaningfully participate. Please do not raise your hand and speak just to
get credit for participation if you haven’t done the readings. Generic remarks (“I think justice is very impor-
tant because it is very significant”) or tangential reflections (“I just saw this movie or heard this law or IR
lecture that made me think of Plato, so let me talk about Russian foreign policy or the Constitution of France
[instead of Plato]”) are not helpful.
Also, make sure to come to class with all you need to meaningfully participate. Foremost, this means having
the course readings in printed form (books, printed chapters). We will often work closely with the texts, so it
is important you have them before you. (My advice here is to simply buy the books ASAP from Meteksan,
or, if you cannot, print off the chapters from the correct edition of the books listed above). This also means
making sure to do quite basic things such as bringing paper and a pen or pencil to every class. Failure to do
such basic things shows a lack of seriousness and engagement, which will probably be reflected in your
grade, too.

Your instructor reserves the right to disallow computers and tablets in class when deemed necessary.

Finally, do not forget that the medium of instruction at Bilkent University is English. You are expected to
speak in English at all times with your instructor. It is not the responsibility of the instructor to remind you of
this.

5.3 Academic Courtesy and Code of Conduct

To repeat, exploring ideas present in and clearly related to the course readings is central to this course. How
you do so is important. Decorum matters for the free discussion of ideas to be fruitful and pedagogically ben-
eficial. Be respectful towards your classmates and instructor. Communicate in a language that is suitable
(formal, thoughtful, appropriate) for a university classroom. Understand that other people will have different
views, and that they have a right to express views that you may not agree with, just as you have the right to
express your ideas. Do not sleep, read non-course related materials, use your phone, chat with classmates, or
otherwise indicate disinterest or disregard.

Grades: A Code of Conduct.

Please understand the following:

· You are entitled to receive feedback on your assessed work from your instructor
in order to improve future performance.
· If you believe that a mistake occurred in your grading you may, politely, raise this
issue with your instructor.
· However, an instructor’s final grade is not negotiable. These can only be chal-
lenged through a formal petition. It is unacceptable for a student to put persistent
pressure on an instructor, however politely, in order to raise his/her grade.
Responsibilities
A healthy and productive academic environment is one in which academic and scholarly activities are con-
ducted in an atmosphere of honesty and trust. Any conduct that endangers this atmosphere cannot be toler-
ated or condoned. Responsibilities fall upon the administration, faculty, staff and students in ensuring that
the fundamental concept of academic honesty is known, acknowledged, maintained, and made an integral
part of the learning process:

- Administration - Establishing rules and guidelines; disseminating the information; providing support to
the efforts of others in this regard
- Faculty - Maintaining academic honesty in the classroom so that grades given to students are truly indica-
tive of the knowledge and skill level of the students; taking appropriate and prompt action against viola-
tions of academic honesty on the part of students
- Staff - Supporting the efforts of administration and staff in maintaining academic honesty; notifying ap-
propriate persons in cases of observed incidents of academic dishonesty
- Students - Not committing dishonest academic behavior; notifying appropriate persons in cases of ob-
served incidents of academic dishonesty

5.4 Emails
You are expected to check your Bilkent University email daily. Important course information— updates
about what we’re doing on a particular week, or details about, say, assignment submission or tutorials—is
sent through email. Failure to check your email is not a valid excuse for not knowing about something I have
sent.

All emails should be written in a civil, formal, and respectful language. Make your point clearly and con-
cisely. And include your name, student ID number, and sec6on number. Messages that do not conform to the
above rules will not receive a reply. Please allow 24 hours for a reply during week days, and 48 hours for a
response during weekends.

As implied above under “Grades: A Code of Conduct”, do not use email to ask about your grades. This is not
appropriate, and can easily lead to misunderstandings from you and me. For such matters, talking face to
face is best.

Finally, please do not email me with questions that are answered in the syllabus. If you have a question about
course policies, or about the details of a particular assignment, or about anything related to the course, al-
ways read the syllabus, weekly plan, and other course documents (prompts, task descriptions, schedules, etc.)
before asking.

5.5 Office hours

Details TBA.

5.6 Turnitin
Turnitin is a software program that teachers and students can use via the course Moodle page in order to de-
tect or avoid plagiarism. In this course, you are required to submit the following to Turnitin:

Analytical Response Papers

6. 14-Week Plan
See course Moodle page.