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KILLING THE KILLERS: PHILOSOPHY OF WAR

PHILOSOPHY 121
COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES
FALL 2015
Instructor:
E-mail:
Office:
Office Hours:
Office Phone:

Chamindi Wijesinghe
wachamindi.wijesinghe@drake.edu
111 Somewhere
Tuesday
08 30-12 00
Thursday 14 00-16 00
By appointment
515-111-1111

REQUIRED TEXTS:
1. Art of war Sun Tzu
2. The Book of Five Rings Miyamoto Musashi (excerpts from book
will be handed out in class)
3. The 15 Decisive Battles of the World: From Marathon to Waterloo
Sir Edward Shepherd Creasy
4. Black Hawk Down (movie)
5. The Western Way of War: Infantry Battle in Classical Greece
Victor Davis Hanson (excerpts from book will be handed out in
class)
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they
kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets Voltaire
The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting it
Sun Tzu
In Philosophy of War, we will go beyond the weapon and strategies,
into the core of war, human nature in the face of it and controversial
ethical values chained to it. In simpler words, Phil 121 aims at
investigating philosophical, tendentious questions that arise with war:
where mankind is both at its best and worst.
COURSE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES:

Feed curiosity and wonder by offering different points of view


on how war can be identified in a biological, cultural and
rational conceptual framework.
Challenge critically and contemplate on mainstream
ideologies associated with war and its definitions, by learning
how the West and East viewed it. Justify your stance on questions
such as why war is a necessity? How to morally justify war?
Gain enlightenment and wisdom through readings and
discussions to broaden your horizon. Intertwine your values,
beliefs and ethics into what you have learnt and how the concept
of war changed from the Ancient World to the Modern Century.

HOMEWORK:
There will be short, free response reflections (300 words) due every
odd-numbered week and longer reflections and analysis (600 words)
due the other weeks. I will provide the subject for the longer reflections
while you may suggest topics you would be interested in for the freeresponse ones. I expect all reflections to be philosophical and not
just a summary of the idea presented (unless specified to write a
summary). As such, there are no right/wrong answers and you will be
graded on your quality of work. Please keep grammatical errors to a
minimum and make sure you are structuring sentences properly.
QUIZZES & EXAMS:
There will be none. So, rejoice.
FINAL PROJECT:
You will submit an 11 page double-spaced paper and a PowerPoint
presentation/video or any other creative summary of the paper on a
topic that will be communicated to you in class. No two individuals will
have the same topic. I am not a harsh grader but if your paper
contains words just to fill up space or you use any Microsoft Word trick
to do so, I will deduct 15 points from your final grade. Once again,
quality and no plagiarism are the golden keys to an A.
INTEGRITY POLICIES:
Plagiarism is a serious offense and any work found to have infringed
academic integrity will result in an automatic zero and you will no
longer attend the class. I will not go out of my way to refer you to the
College of Arts and Sciences for disciplinary action since you are adult
enough to understand. However, I do expect that this will come up at

some point before you graduate, so dont even think about doing it.
Yet, in case you think you will not get caught and decide to adventure
down that path, I would strongly recommend reviewing Drakes policies
on integrity at http://artsci.drake.edu/nide/87 and speak some sense
into you.
TECHNOLOGICAL POLICIES:
NO computers, laptops, mobiles or any other technological device may
be used in class, unless instructed to. Violation of these policies will
result in the deduction of 17 points from the final grade.
EMAIL POLICIES:
All e-mails sent before 7pm will be answered the day itself. In all other
cases, I will respond the next morning.
PARTICIPATION POLICIES:
Credit will be granted for useful class participation and I value quality
over quantity. However, all students are expected to participate in a
final debate that will be a chance to recap and strategies theories and
material learnt throughout the semester.
ACCOMODATIONS:
I am dedicated to ensuring that each student is able to maximize his or
her learning opportunities and potential. As such, please share with
me, at your earliest, specific information concerning any special
accommodation that might be needed. A variety of accommodations
are at your disposal and can be arranged through Drakes Disability
Services Coordinator, Michelle Laughlin. She may be contacted at 515271-1835 or at michelle.laughlin@drake.edu
FINAL COURSE GRADE:
Attendance:
5%
Short free-form Responses: 20%
Longer Analysis Essays:30%
Participation:
5%
Final Project:
40%

LETTER GRADES:
90%-100% A
80%-89% B
70%-79% C
60-69%
D
<59%
F
OTHER STUFF TO KNOW:
The syllabus is subject to change at my discretion and I will inform you
of any change a week prior. This is a philosophy class where I expect
controversial ideas to be thrown around, as long as there is no personal
attack or it is done in a civilized manner. If you have an appalling
opinion, speak up (but be ready to defend it and take it like an adult
when/if you are proven wrong). It is the definition of education. More
details about projects, reflections and any questions you may have will
be answered the first week.
COURSE SCHEDULE*:
WEEK 1
Syllabus overview and pre-assessment
WEEK 2
War & Philoophy? Is it different in the West and the East?
WEEK 3
Sun Tzu
WEEK 4
Sun Tzu
WEEK 5
Sun Tzu
WEEK 6
Miyamoto Musashi
WEEK 7
Miyamoto Musashi
WEEK 8
Black Hawk Dawn
WEEK 9
Creasy
WEEK 10 Creasy
WEEK 11 Library Research Day (No class but do research)
WEEK 12 Hanson
WEEK 13 Hanson
WEEK 14 Class Workday
WEEK 15 Recap/Class Debate: The changing philosophy of war from
the ancient world to now
WEEK 16 Projects Due or You can enter break earlier if you have
already submitted projects
*Subject to change

~~END~~

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