Optional revision or rewrite of Harris paper due in less than two weeks: next Friday (November 9), both online via Turnitin and in hardcopy in class.

Recall that the assignment, simply put, is this: explain three of Harris's main claims or arguments, raise at least one objection to those claims or arguments and evaluate that objection. Your paper, of course, should be well organized and clearly written. It should be such that you could submit it as a writing sample. You should follow all the advice from Vaughn, Pryor and from class.

You are encouraged to visit the writing center(s) and meet with Dr. Nobis. Here are some tips below.

To improve your writing, make a Youtube video (or Vimeo, which allows for password protection), or an MP3, of yourself reading your paper out loud! Then listen/watch critically: does what you say make sense? Are you easy to follow? Is your paper / presentation well organized? Then revise and rewrite accordingly!

Another tip: erase the first paragraph, copy the last paragraph, paste it at the beginning of the paper, and rewrite it so it's the introduction. Does that improve the paper?
 

Here are this week's assignments. I have to go to Tuskegee University today for some bioethics talks, so I will miss class. :(

Monday - please work on revising or rewriting your Harris papers. I encourage you to visit the writing center.

Morehouse Writing Center
Brawley 200

The Writing Center is open 9-5 for tutoring and/or independent use of computers. Tutors do not proofread or edit papers. They provide overall guidance on how students can improve their papers. The approach tutors take is peer review. They frequently reference the grammar text so students have some reference point.

Wednesday Oct 24 - Read Ch. 3 on Cosmological Arguments, write detailed summary of the chapter to turn in in class and via Turnitin. I will get these slots up very soon.

Friday Oct 24 - Read Ch. 2 on The Design Argument write detailed summary of the chapter to turn in in class and via Turnitin. I will get these slots up very soon.

Thanks! NN

Reading and writing assignments:

For this Friday - finish Ch. 8, including discussion of Pascal's Wager.

Monday - TBA

Wednesday Oct 24 - Read Ch. 3 on Cosmological Arguments, write detailed summary of the chapter to turn in in class and via Turnitin

Friday Oct 24 - Read Ch. 2 on The Design Argument write detailed summary of the chapter to turn in in class and via Turnitin.

I was thinking that instead of the cosmological argument, we should first look at this chapter:
Stairs 8: Faith and pragmatic reasons for belief
We will discuss this chapter Wednesday and Friday. Please read it carefully!

Guest speaker:
Dr. Horace Griffin !

Course:
Philosophy of Religion:

Main concerns:

Is there a God? Are there good reasons, good arguments, good evidence, to believe that there's a God? Or should we believe there's not a God (given the evils and, e.g., forms of discrimination -- e.g., racism, homophobia, etc., that have occurred?)? Which (if any) religious beliefs are rational?

Related (psychological / sociological / moral) concerns:

How do various religious beliefs influence one's moral views and ability to think about moral issues? Do they help? Hinder? How should religious beliefs influence social policy (if at all)?

68th Annual Family Institute Conference
October 14-17, 2012

Schedule

'

Sunday, October 14
2:30-4:50pm Wheeler Hall Rm. 214F	FACES Advisory Board Meeting
5:00-5:50pm Executive Conference Center Banquet Rooms	Pre Event Meet & Greet / Reception with VIP’s
6:00-8:30pm Executive Conference Center Banquet Rooms	Welcome Banquet and Opening Plenary Hosted by President Dr. Robert Franklin, President of Morehouse College Keynote: Michael Kimmel
Monday, October 15
9:00am-5pm Motorola Lobby	Conference Registration
9:00-10:30am Executive Conference Center Meeting Rooms A-F	Concurrent Sessions Moderators: Critical Thinking Leaders Session I:  The Power of Teaching Entrepreneurship to Black Children. Presenter: Ms. Samora Sobakwe-SoDaye Session II: The Masculinity Project. Presenters: Mr. DeWayne Powell and Mr. Daniel Edwards Session III: Transitions in Manhood: A Global Perspective Presenter: Dr. Mohanty Purna; Lineal Regeneration: Managing the Assets of Masculinity. Presenter: Mr. Charles Williams
11:00-12:30 Bank of America Auditorium	Plenary Session Men and African American Families Panelists: Michael Messner; Jennifer Hammer, Adia Harvey-Winfield, and Armon Perry
12:30-1:30pm	****LUNCH on your OWN ***
1:00-2:50pm Wheeler Hall Rm. 214F	Film Screening “Tough Guise” written by Jackson Katz Open forum discussion to follow Moderator: Dr. Anne Borden and Dr. M. Bilal King
3:00-5:00pm Bank of America Auditorium	Plenary Session Religion and Sexuality: The Role of Religion in Understanding Sexuality Panelists: Dr. Harold Bennett, Rev. Ernest Brooks, Mr. Chavis Jones. Moderator: Dr. Josef Sorett
6:00-8:00pm Bank of America Auditorium	Film Screening of “Hoodwinked”: What Black Men Think. Open forum discussion to follow Moderator: Mr. Janks Morton
Tuesday, October 16
9:00-5:00pm   Motorola Lobby	Registration
10:45-1:00pm African American Hall of Fame	Conference Luncheon Men Stopping Violence against Women Panelists: Dr. Anne Baird; Dr. Cynthia Neal Spence; Dr. Halbrook Polite, and Mr. Ramesh Kathanadhi (Men Stopping Violence)
1:00-2:15pm Executive Conference Center Meeting Rooms A-F	Concurrent Sessions Moderators:Dr. Fred Knight Session IV: Resonant Echoes: From Morehouse Men and Mentors-Benjamin Mays, Howard Thurman, Martin Luther King Jr. -21st Century issues of Personal Identity among Men at Morehouse. Presenters: Professors Dr. Kipton E. Jensen, Dr. Sam Livingston, and Dr. Illya Davis, Kyle Moore (student), Chavis Jones (student), and Katanga Johnson (student) Session V: Black Male Fathers: A Workshop. Presenter: Dr. Narviar Barker
2:25-3:40pm Executive Conference Center Meeting Rooms A-F	Plenary Session Black Masculinity and Health Outcomes Panelists: Dr. William L. Jeffries IV, Dr. Robert Aronson, and Mr. Robert B. Peterson
3:50-5:05 Executive Conference Center Meeting Rooms A-F	Concurrent Sessions Moderators:Dr. Fred Knight Session VI. Faculty interaction with campus diversity: Moderators: Dr. Linda Zatlin and Mr. Tre'vell Anderson; Discussants: FACULTY of Morehouse College (Faculty Session) Session VII. Integrating Masculinities and Sexualities into the Classroom. Presenters: Dr. Nathan Nobis; Dr. Anne Borden Gender Differences in Navigating Guyland. Presenter: Dr. Donald Gregory
6:30-9:00pm Ray Charles Performing Arts Center	Theatrical Presentation: “Emergency” Obie Award Winner Daniel Beaty Performance is 80 minutes and an informed discussion will follow the play.
Wednesday, October 17
10:00-11:50am Bank of America Leadership Auditorium	Anna Harvin Grant Student Paper Competition The First, Second, and Third Place student winners will present their work in a plenary session. Student Presenters TBA
12:00-1:00pm	Lunch on your own
1:00-2:30pm Wheeler Hall Rm. 214F	Word on the Campus: Student Dialogs What does it mean to be a “Man” at Morehouse College in the 21st Century? Moderator: Devon Lambert   Closing Remarks: Dr. Michael Hodge, Chair Department of Sociology, Morehouse College

Philosophy of Religion Paper on Harris Evaluation sheet; 20 points; due Monday, in class, Oct 14, in hardcopy and via Turnitin.com 

PLEASE BE ON TIME SINCE WE WILL LIKELY HAVE A GUEST OUTSIDE SPEAKER

Available in PDF here: https://docs.google.com/open?id=1HXT0JkAUy3X3KyUIxhZp5QxdEKvRW-JJU0n564cZQI9ZUqetizL8VRBEQiVn 

Recall the assignment:

“In this paper you should present three of the main claims or arguments from Harris, explain at least one objection to his arguments found in some online source, [changed, see below] and explain whether that objection is a strong objection or not, as well as explain - in your own view -- whether the other arguments from Harris are sound or not. Your paper should conform to all the guidance from Vaughn, and you must submit [a paragraph of reflection on how your paper has changed over the various drafts]. Note: obviously, you have done much of the work for this paper: now you must revise that work and expand on it.” “While I asked you to find some criticism(s) of Harris's claims, this perhaps was too ambitious at this time, and we will revisit this after we have met with the librarian. So, the assignment is now to write an essay where you clearly present and explain three of Harris's main claims or arguments in his Letter to a Christian Nation and you then explain whether at least one of those claims are true or his argument(s) sound or unsound. While you can use an outside source (as you were asked to find in an earlier assignment), you are not required to do so.”

Concern	Yes – No – Other	Comments
1.       Is there an introduction that conforms to Vaughn’s/Pryor’s guidance?
2.       Are three distinct main claims or arguments discussed?
3.       Are these three claims or arguments well explained? (Would Harris agree that you have accurately stated his claims or arguments and why he accepts them?)
4.       Is an objection to or an argument against at least one of the developed claims or arguments presented and adequately developed?
5.       Is this objection evaluated, i.e., do you explain whether the objection is a good one? (Do you think about how Harris would respond to the objection?)
6.       Is the paper well organized? Could it be outlined to display its structure?
7.       Are the sentences grammatical? Are all words spelled correctly?  Are all sentences punctuated correctly?
8.       Is the writing clear and straightforward, with short sentences and ordinary, common words?
9.       Would someone unfamiliar with Harris, or philosophy of religion, be able to read (or listen to) your paper and understand it?
10.    Is a proper citation method used?

Additional comments:

IMPORTANT UPDATES AND CHANGES:

QUIZ
1. Quiz on Friday covering
- Ch 1 & 2 of Vaughn (on basic concepts of of arguments: what arguments are, what logically valid
arguments are, what sound arguments are)
- Ch 1 and 10 of Stairs, on Concepts of God and God and Morality.

The quiz will NOT cover the Cosmological Argument, unlike what was previously mentioned. So will discuss an argument for God's existence like this next week:

1. Either the universe had a beginning or it did not have a beginning.
2. If it didn't have a beginning, then it wouldn't have started.
3. If it wouldn't have started, then it wouldn't exist.
4. But it does exist.
5. So it started.
6. So it had a beginning.
7. So God exists. 

There are other cosmological arguments as well.
PAPER
You have a paper on Harris due Monday, in class at class time and via Turnitin: if it is not submitted via Turnitin, it will not be graded.

The change is this. While I asked you to find some criticism(s) of Harris's claims, this perhaps was too ambitious at this time, and we will revisit this after we have met with the librarian. So, the assignment is now to write an essay where you clearly present and explain three of Harris's main claims or arguments in his Letter to a Christian Nation and you then explain whether at least one of those claims are true or his argument(s) sound or unsound. While you can use an outside source (as you were asked to find in an earlier assignment), you are not required to do so.

Here are some concerns to keep in mind for your paper:
1. You should follow all of Vaughn's advice on writing, as well as all advice given in class and here. You have been asked to read that book and really learn from it.
2. Your paper should be outline-able: that is, an outline could be made to show its structure.
3. You should write simply and straightforwardly. You should always try to write in the clearest possible manner: so no unusual or big words, unless an ordinary word wouldn't work.
4. Someone who hasn't read Harris should be able to read your paper and understand it.
5. Your paper should be carefully proofread: sentences should be grammatical, there should be no random capitalized words, quotes should be done correctly and so forth.
6. You should use a proper citation method.

Please also add a paragraph -- that is not park of the paper -- where you reflect on how your paper has changed over the various drafts.

Your job is to to show that you are able to read a short book, find three main claims or arguments and offer some criticism(s) of those arguments, and explain this all in a clear, well organized, concise, and understandable manner. Do a great job and show that you are a strong reader, thinker, writer and communicator!

I encourage you to read these "Guidelines on Writing a Philosophy Paper" by Jim Pryor:
http://www.jimpryor.net/teaching/guidelines/writing.html 

Note to these students: I will have comments on your drafts by this afternoon if you can stop by around 2 or 2:30 or so. Or I can email them to you, if you gave me your email:
CM
JM
EM
TP
CR
KR
LS
JW

Turnitin slot open; Wednesay's assignment; Friday's quiz

Assignments:

For Monday, Oct. 8.: detailed summary or outline of Vaughn, Chs. 6,7 & 8. Due in class in hardcopy and via Turnitin. [There is now a Turnitin slot for this assignment; sorry for it being late!]

Wednesday: Cosmological arguments: chapter from Stairs.

Friday, Oct. 12: QUIZ, in class; on Stairs Ch 1 (Concepts of God), 10 (God and Morality) and 3 (Cosmological Arguments), and concepts related to arguments (e.g., logical validity, soundness) from Vaughn. Note: Harris discussed a version of the cosmological argument [on pp. 72-73].

Monday, Oct. 15: PAPER due.

In this paper you should present three of the main claims or arguments from Harris, explain at least one objection to his arguments found in some online source, and explain whether that objection is a strong objection or not, as well as explain - in your own view -- whether the other arguments from Harris are sound or not. Your paper should conform to all the guidance from Vaughn, and you must submit your previous parts of this paper with your final version. Note: obviously, you have done much of the work for this paper: now you must revise that work and expand on it.

More details forthcoming!

Today's video: Friday and Monday we will discuss Stairs Ch. 10, so please have read it all very carefully:

Hi,

A few days ago the issue of whether the concept of God is the that of a concept of an immaterial person who has all sorts of exceptional person. Or there is the question: if God exists, is God a person? 

I argued that the concept of God is that of a person, since people think that, if God exists, God has beliefs, desires, knowledge, awareness and so forth, and that any being like that -- any being with a personality -- is a person. 

Some had doubts about this, arguing that this definition implies that dolphins and some other animals are persons. I informed you that there are people who argue just that. Here are two books on that theme:

In Defense of Dolphins: The New Moral Frontier 

http://www.amazon.com/Defense-Dolphins-Frontier-Blackwell-Philosophy/dp/1405157798

and Animals as Persons:

http://www.amazon.com/Animals-Persons-Essays-Abolition-Exploitation/dp/0231139519/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1349184323&sr=1-1&keywords=animals+as+persons 

I encourage Googling "is God a person?"

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ie=UTF-8&ion=1#hl=en&safe=off&sclient=psy-ab&q=%22is%20god%20a%20person%3F%22&oq=&gs_l=&pbx=1&fp=5936a6d8fe4522bb&ion=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&biw=1821&bih=889 

 This video is especially good:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYZbFxgbcWQ 

Enjoy! 

For Wednesday and Friday, we will be moving on to Ch. 10 "God and Morality" in the Stairs book. Please carefully read that chapter so you are familiar with the isues and arguments. There is some overlap with chapter 1 regarding what it means to say that the concept of God is that of an all good, morally perfect being who never does wrong.

Today ya'll turned in a draft of your "a criticism of Harris" paper and we discussed three sample papers. I hope that these in-class paper review sessions give you better ideas how to review, critique and improve your own writings.

Since I would like to get your previous paper back before I ask you to resubmit this new paper, just keep revising and improving your new "a criticism of Harris" paper until further notice. It will likely all be due next Monday, I suspect.
Thanks!