UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO - STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK
The Department of Computer Science & Engineering

CSE 410/510 & PHI 498: PHILOSOPHY OF COMPUTER SCIENCE Spring 2004

SYLLABUS

STAFF:

Professor:

Dr. William J. Rapaport, 214 Bell Hall, 645-3180 x 112, rapaport@cse.buffalo.edu
Office Hours: Mondays, 11:00-11:50 a.m.; Tuesdays, 2:00-2:50 p.m.; or by appointment.

Teaching Assistant:

Dmitriy (Dima) Dligach, Trailer E-14, 645-3771, ddligach@cse.buffalo.edu
Office Hours: Tuesdays, 11:00 a.m.--1:00 p.m., or by appointment.

Note: Trailer E is between Furnas Hall & Ketter Hall.

1. Colburn, Timothy R. (2000), Philosophy and Computer Science (Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe); ISBN 1-56324-991-X.

2. Floridi, Luciano (1999), Philosophy and Computing: An Introduction (London: Routledge); ISBN 0-415-18025-2.
   • Webliography

3. Floridi, Luciano (2004), The Blackwell Guide to the Philosophy of Computing and Information (Malden, MA: Blackwell); ISBN 0-631-22919-1.

4. Woodhouse, Mark B. (2003), A Preface to Philosophy, 7th edition (Wadsworth Publishing); ISBN 0534595448.

IMPORTANT DATES & TENTATIVE SCHEDULE:

Note: This is the most tentative schedule I have ever created, since this is a brand-new course. I make no promises about sticking to it (not even the assignment dates, though I'll try to maintain those as much as possible)! I have adjusted some of the dates below to reflect what we actually did in class, rather than on what I had hoped to do:-)

There are a lot of topics to cover, and not nearly as many lectures as there are topics. Consequently, in lectures, I will only be able to skim the surface of the issues. But I will assign a lot of reading, which I will expect you all to do. I also think it will be useful to you if you keep a "Reading Journal": For each item you read, copy interesting quotes (or at least full references to them) and--most importantly--your comments on them and on the issues raised in each item you read. (For suggestions on how to do this, see the "Keep a Notebook" section of my "How to Study" guide on the Web.) I will collect these Journals at the end of the semester, and include them in the grade calculation.

There are 3 levels at which you can keep up with the reading assignments:

1. Minimal: Just read the assigned items.

2. Medium: Read at the minimal level, plus read the recommended-reading items that I will announce from time to time.

3. Maximal: Read at the medium level, plus read some or all of the other readings that I will suggest in lecture or post to the course website or newsgroup, and/or that are listed in the bibliographies of any of these readings.

For advice on how to read a both philosophy and computer science writings, see "How to Read (a Computer Science Text)".

ATTENDANCE, HOMEWORKS, NEWSGROUP, ETC.:

1. You will be expected to attend all lectures (attendance will be taken), and to complete all readings and assignments on time. There will be 5 short position papers (about 1 page each), the Reading Journal, and an optional take-home final exam XOR an optional term paper.

   In some cases, the short papers will really be first drafts of "position papers" on the major topics: a "before" paper in which you will be asked to give your present opinions on the issues. This will be followed by class discussion ("peer-editing" sessions), after which you will write an "after" paper in which you will revise your position based on your readings, the peer-editing sessions, and the class discussions. Grades on the essays will be a function of both your ideas and how well you defend and express them. You will have an opportunity to revise some (but not all) of these.

2. All position papers and assignments will be announced in lecture. Therefore, be sure to get a classmate's phone number or email address (for instance, 1 or 2 people sitting next to you in class, whoever they are!) so that you will not miss assignments in the unlikely event that you miss a class.

   Most, but not necessarily all, assignments will also be posted to the course website or newsgroup.

3. On the other hand, some urgent announcements will only be posted to the newsgroup! So you should subscribe to, and regularly monitor, the newsgroup sunyab.cse.510. You may also post questions and comments there that are of general interest to the entire class. If you send me email that I deem to be of general interest, I will feel free to post it anonymously to the newsgroup along with my reply unless you explicitly tell me otherwise.

4. Students should notify Prof. Rapaport within the first two weeks of class if they have a disability which would make it difficult to carry out course work as outlined (requiring note-takers, readers).

1. Minimal: Attend all lectures, participate in class or on-line discussions, participate in all peer-editing sessions (whether or not you choose to write the position papers), do all assigned readings, and turn in a complete Reading Journal. The maximum grade such students can receive is C.

2. Medium: Do all work required at the Minimal level, plus write all 5 position papers. The maximum grade such students can receive is B.

3. Maximal: Do all work required at the Medium level, plus write either the take-home exam or else a term paper (but not both). The maximum grade such students can receive is A.

Weights:

minimal:	attendance	20%
	participation (in class, on newsgroup, and/or peer-editing sessions	10%
	reading journal	20%
medium:	= minimum + 5 position papers	25%
maximal:	= medium +: final exam xor term paper	25%

These weightings automatically guarantee that a student who gets "A" grades for each component of the minimal level will get a C in the course, that a student who gets an A for each component of the medium level will get a B in the course, and that a student who gets an A for each component of the maximal level will get an A in the course.

Note that even if you do all the work at any level, you might still get a grade lower than indicated above if, for instance, you did not attend all lectures or if your letter grade for the papers or exam is less than A, etc.

Note to (CSE) graduate students taking 510: In order to get a minimum passing grade for credit towards your degree, you will need to do work at least at the "medium" level of participation in order to get at least a B-.

I will post more information on both the mechanics of the position papers (and peer editing sessions) and the term paper later in the semester.

For further information on my philosophy of grading, see my web document on "Grading Principles"

Incompletes:

For more information on Incomplete policies, see the web page, "Incompletes".

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: