*Note that the Session 3 offering of PHIL/PHIX2010 is an intensive (accelerated) unit of only five teaching weeks, and the course load is identical to the standard 13-week session in which one topic is studied per week. There is no difference in the requirements between an ordinary unit and an intensive unit, except for the shortened time frame.

Detailed assessment information and rubrics

Detailed information about each of the assessments, including rubrics and submission instructions will be available in the Assessment block in  iLearn. Please make sure you read the assessment information carefully, watch the Guide to Assessment video, and post a message in the relevant Assessment forum if you have any questions. 

Special Consideration

Requests for extensions should be submitted via a Special Consideration request, which is available in the http://ask.mq.edu.au portal. Your request should be submitted no later than five days after the due date and should be accompanied by appropriate documentation. Please see the Special Consideration policy in the list of policies at the end of this document for further details.

Read the policy closely as your request may be turned down if you have not followed procedure, or if you have not submitted a request in a timely manner.

Late Submission Penalty

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, (a) a penalty for lateness will apply – 5 marks out of 100 credit will be deducted per day for assignments submitted after the due date – (b) no assignment will be accepted more than seven days (incl. weekends) after the original submission date - and (c) No late submissions will be accepted for timed assessments – e.g. quizzes, online tests.

Academic Integrity

In Philosophy, academic honesty is taken very seriously, and a range of methods, including but not restricted to the use of Turnitin, are used to detect plagiarism. Misrepresenting someone else's work as your own may be grounds for referral to the Faculty Disciplinary Committee. If you have questions about how to properly cite work or how to credit sources, please ask the convenor for help and see also the  Academic Integrity Policy https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policies/academic-integrity

Note: All assignments in this unit are individual assignments. Collusion (unauthorised collaboration on individual assignments) is a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy. If in doubt, contact a member of teaching staff. 

A helpful resource if you would like to know more about referencing and avoiding plagiarism is  Macquarie's Academic Integrity Module, available here: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/skills-development. You will need to complete this Module before accessing the unit content, if you have not already done so. More information is available in iLearn. 

Academic Writing and Study Support

Macquarie University offers a number of services to help with academic writing, referencing and study skills. For details, see: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/skills/assignments

For information about policies related to Assessment, see Policies and Procedures section below.

Note on Artificial Intelligence: 

You have undoubtedly heard about ChatGPT and other Generative AI tools that can be used to generate content in relation to prompts. You may find it useful and interesting to see what these tools can tell you about some of the topics we’re looking at. We will also be thinking about some interesting philosophical questions arising out of artificial intelligence. A few warnings are in order, though, about content generated by ChatGPT or similar tools:

1. It’s not your work, so you can’t submit it, or adapt it a bit and then submit it. This will count as a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy. This applies to any assessments. 

2. It’s not reliable. It gets a lot of things right, but it also gets things wrong, makes up references etc, and its outputs tend to be shallow and generic.

3. It doesn’t count as research. We’ll talk more later about what count as good sources for academic work, but using ChatGPT means you don’t always have a way to trace and check the sources of the content you’re using. 

A useful analogy, I think, is to think of ChatGPT as being like a knowledgable but slightly unpredictable acquaintance. Talking to them might be a good way to get some ideas to inspire your own thinking and research, but you can’t take what they say for granted, and you can’t pretend their work is your own.

If teaching staff suspect the use of AI in an assessment task, you may be called to a meeting to discuss the contents of your submitted work and the process by which you researched and wrote it.

Additional information about this unit's policy on the use of AI will be made available in the Assessment block in iLearn. Please check that information and contact the convenor if you have any questions.

This unit covers a lot of really interesting topics. We want you to engage, and we want you to learn. You won't do that if you try to outsource your thinking.

Required and recommended texts and/or materials

All weekly readings for the unit will be made available through the Leganto link in iLearn.

Lectures 

Lectures in this unit will be accessible online through the Echo 360 block in iLearn. There will be two one-hour lectures for each of the 12 topics. You should watch the lectures before participating in the relevant forums.

Forum discussions

Active Participation is an important part of your assessment in this unit. Active participation is assessed by a student's engagement in contributions to online discussion forums facilitated by teaching staff. Participation is expected to be well considered and relevant to the topic of study. There are no tutorials or other scheduled classes.

There will be multiple forums each week, addressing the material for the week's topics. Each forum will contain two or three discussions, which you should participate in over the week. Check iLearn for further information about how Participation is assessed in this unit. 

Note that normal standards of Academic Integrity apply in the discussion forums, and any breaches (including unauthorised use of AI, the use of uncited sources, or copying form other students) will be followed up in accordance with the Academic Integrity Policy. If you are unsure about this, please check with teaching staff. 

Unit Webpages and E-Resources

Much of this unit (lectures, readings, assessment instructions etc.) is delivered online through iLearn (http://ilearn.mq.edu.au). PC and Internet access are required. Basic computer skills (e.g., internet browsing) and skills in word processing are also a requirement. Please consult teaching staff for any further, more specific requirements. 

Please Note:

This is an intensive (accelerated) unit, and the course load is identical to the standard 13-week session in which one topic is studied per week. There is no difference in the requirements between an ordinary unit and an intensive unit, except for the shortened time frame.

PART 1 (Lecturer: Prof. Jean-Philippe Deranty)

Week 1 (Beginning 9/12)

• Topic 1: Introduction

• Topic 2: What is work and why does it matter?

• Topic  3: Work and freedom

Week 2 (Beginning 16/12)

• Topic  4: The goods of work

• Topic  5: Work in a just society

• Topic  6: The end of work? 

                                        Mid-semester break (23/12-1/1)

Week 3 (2/1-3/1: No lectures. Test due Sunday 5/1)

Part 2 (Lecturer: Dr. Paul-Mikhail Catapang Podosky)

Week 4 (Beginning 6/1)

• Topic  7: Business ethics: narrow and broad

• Topic  8: Equality and freedom in the workplace

• Topic  9: Sweatshops and globalisation

Week 5 (Beginning 13/1)

• Topic  10: Discrimination, bias & stereotypes at work

• Topic  11: Factoring animals into business ethics

• Topic  12: Business and the environment

Week 6 (Beginning 20/1: No lectures. Case Study due Monday 20/1)