GROUP DISCUSSIONS IN CONTEMPORARY MORAL PROBLEMS

Assignment guide

PHIL 2350/50: SPRING 2001 (II)

Bob Corbett, instructor

Each person in the group has been assigned a particular "perspective." Each student must prepare to participate in the discussion in which you will take positions and respond to any claim of others from "inside" the perspective you represent. You will have to articulate ideas themselves and respond to how one with your perspective would respond to the claims, objections and positions of others.

Corbett will open the discussion by asking one person to talk a couple of minutes about how he or she responds to the issue under consideration. Then others will be invited into the discussion and EXPECTED to participate. At times Corbett will call on you, but that would only be in cases where you simply are not holding up your end of the discussion as you should.

The things I will watch for in the discussion are:

• Does the student participate in the discussion in a porportional manner?
• Does the student stay completely 100% INSIDE the perspective he or she is assigned?
• Does the student's participation evidence a clear and deep understanding of the assigned perspective?

If I feel obligated to call on you, this indicates that you are not volunteering to parcipate in a proportional manner. My calling on you rather than your volunteering your participation will weigh negatively on your grade.

The meaning of grades will roughly signify:

• A grade of A means the student participated in the discussion a proportional amount of the time, stayed completely within the assigned perspective and revealed a clear and profound understanding of the perspective in question.

• Grades B and C will indicate a basic understanding was revealed, but with a weaker clarity, or a less voluntary level of participation.

• Grades of D and F will indicate a more serious level of failure to adopt the assigned perspective, or to demonstrate adequate understanding of it and ability to use it in context of a live discussion.

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