Philosophy 302: Happiness & Well-Being
Instructor: Prof. James (Jim) Sias
Monday & Thursday, 1:30–2:45pm — EC 112 — Fall 2021
What does it mean to be happy? What kind of value is there in being happy? Are some lives better
than others? What sorts of features make for a “good life”? The purpose of this course is to seek answers
to these questions. In doing so, we’ll examine various theories of happiness and well-being.
Contact Information
Email is the best way to contact me, as
Office location: East College 206 I check it frequently most days. If I do
not reply to your email within 48 hours,
Office hours: Thurs, 10am–12:30pm; or by appt you should assume that it was never
received in my inbox. Try sending
Office phone: (717) 245-1217 another.
Required Texts
1. S. Cahn & C. Vitrano (eds.), Happiness: Classic & Contemporary Readings (Oxford University Press, 2007)
2. J. Haidt, The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom (Basic Books, 2006)
*Additional readings will be posted online.
Assignments
In addition to carrying a reading load appropriate to an upper-level Grade Distribution
seminar, this is a writing-in-the-discipline course (‘WID’ designation). 20% Attendance & participation
Students will therefore complete two types of writing assignments, 30% Critical responses
both designed to sharpen their skills as philosophical writers. The 50% Research paper
first is called a “critical response.” This is a very short (1-2 page) 10% Proposal
critical engagement with a course reading. Each student is required 15% Progress through drafts
to complete 10 of these before the end of the semester, and at least 5 25% Final draft
before Fall Pause. (Detailed instructions for critical responses will be
posted to the course website.)
Students will also write a 10-12 page research paper. The research paper is worth 50% of your final grade,
but this will be divided between different stages of the writing process. Students will begin by submitting
a research proposal, which consists of (i) a proposed paper topic, (ii) a thesis statement, (iii) a general de-
scription of how the paper will be organized, and (iv) a tentative bibliography. Each student will then meet
with the professor to discuss the proposals before beginning the paper’s first draft. The first draft will be
due near the end of the semester, with adequate time left for students to make revisions before submitting
their final drafts. (Detailed instructions for the research paper will be posted to the course website.)
Course Policies & Procedures
Attendance & Participation
While I do not take attendance at each class meeting, I do keep track Please note that your physical presence
of who attends regularly and who does not. I also keep track of the in the room during a class meeting does
frequency with which students participate in class discussion. Full not constitute “participation” in the
course.
credit (20%) is reserved for those students with perfect or near-perfect
attendance, and who regularly participate in class discussion. Students
who attend regularly, but rarely or never participate in class discussion,
will receive a grade of 15% or lower.
Academic Conduct & Integrity
Academic misconduct of any form will not be tolerated. All cases of Plagiarism is any kind of presentation
suspected academic misconduct will be reported to the College. This of someone else’s ideas as your own. So
includes plagiarism and other forms of cheating, as well as the re-use defined, this includes more than just di-
rect quotation without proper citation.
of work submitted for credit in another course. And according to the Neither ignorance nor accident counts
“Community Standards” page on Dickinson’s website, “The typical as a valid excuse for plagiarism.
sanction for academic misconduct is an F in the course and stayed
suspension.” If students have any questions about the standards for
academic conduct and integrity at Dickinson College, they are encour-
aged either to consult with the professor or to review the college’s full
policies, which are available online.
Late work
Late work will be accepted without penalty only if the student can pro- For the record: New days are counted
vide compelling evidence that the tardiness is due to illness, hardship, from the end of class on the day the
or required attendance at a school-sponsored event. Students must assignment was due. So, for instance,
if an assignment is due in class on a
notify the professor (via email) as soon as they become aware of one Thursday, and that class period ends
of these possible causes of tardiness. In all other cases—i.e., cases in at 2:45pm, the assignment will be
which a student’s work is late for reasons that are not recognized as considered one day late as of 2:46pm on
valid excuses—the student will be penalized one-third of a letter grade the same day.
for each day (including weekends) that the assignment is late—e.g.,
from a B+ to a B, then from a B to a B-, etc.
Accommodating students with disabilities
Dickinson values diverse types of learners and is committed to ensuring that each student is afforded equitable
access to participate in all learning experiences. If you have (or think you may have) a learning difference or
a disability – including a mental health, medical, or physical impairment – that would hinder your access to
learning or demonstrating knowledge in this class, please contact Access and Disability Services (ADS). They
will confidentially explain the accommodation request process and the type of documentation that Dean and
Director Marni Jones will need to determine your eligibility for reasonable accommodations. To learn more
about available supports, go to www.dickinson.edu/ADS, email
[email protected], call (717) 245-1734, or go
to the ADS office in Room 005 of Old West, Lower Level (aka “the OWLL”).
If you’ve already been granted accommodations at Dickinson, please follow the guidance at www.dickinson.edu/
AccessPlan for disclosing the accommodations for which you are eligible and scheduling a meeting with me as
soon as possible so that we can discuss your accommodations and finalize your Access Plan. If test proctoring
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will be needed from ADS, remember that we will need to complete your Access Plan in time to give them at least
one week’s advance notice.
Writing center
The Norman M. Eberly Multilingual Writing Center (MWC) consists of both English and foreign language writ-
ing tutoring services. The English writing tutors work with native and nonnative speakers of English, and the
foreign language writing tutors work with writers of Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese,
Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish. Writers of all levels and abilities need feedback in order to develop their ideas
and grow as writers. Dickinson’s trained peer writing tutors can help you generate ideas, begin drafting, revise
a rough draft, figure out your professor’s preferred documentation style, understand and respond to professor
feedback, and edit your writing – among other things.
For Fall 2021, you have the option to meet with tutors online or face-to-face in the MWC, which is located on
the first floor of Waidner-Spahr Library. For online appointments, tutors will send you a Zoom link prior to
your scheduled time. Please show up promptly for both online and face-to-face appointments as there will be a
ten-minute grace period after which the tutor may no longer be available.
To schedule an appointment for an online or face-to-face appointment, use our scheduler at https://dickinson.
mywconline.com/.
Other notes of varied importance
• Courses at the 300-level will be taught in the seminar style (as opposed to the more traditional lecture style).
If you are unfamiliar, this means that class meetings will be heavily discussion-based, and there is a corre-
spondingly heightened expectation of student participation. And for the record, since enrollment in 300-level
courses is markedly lower, a student’s lack of participation in class discussion will stand out even more than it
would in a lower-level course.
• On a related note: Class discussion will be mostly informal. Think of it like a twice-a-week book club meet-
ing. Obviously, the normal standards of respect and basic human decency still apply (rudeness of any kind
will not be tolerated). But, for instance, students need not raise their hands before participating.
• Noisy or otherwise distracting electronic devices are not to be used in class. This applies especially to cell
phones. Computers are allowed, but if your use of a computer becomes a distraction to anyone, you’ll be told
to put it away or leave the classroom.
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