CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS

Okay folks, wow this takes a while; you had a lot of grades to be computed! Below are point totals. The first # was your points at midterm; the # of possible points for that period was 165.

The second # is your points since the midterm. We have had more grades (and more extra credit!) that are now all added up. The # of possible points is 275.

That means so far we have a possible 440 points.

The final essay will be worth 50 points and the presentation will be worth 50 points. So the overall points for whole semester will add up to 540.

I WILL then, as I did at midterm, do a curve (showing great mercy for you), with the top 10 students receiving A or A- for the semester; the next 10 will be in B range, and the next 10 in the C range, and hopefully not many below that. That means almost 1/3 of the class will get A or A-, and the average grade will be in somewhere in the B/B- range. That's pretty good.

On the final, doing a great job will land you between 45 and 50 on each part. To get a 50 it must be simply exceptional. If you do a decent job you will get in the 40 range on each part. So work hard and turn in papers that are typo and error free and which make clear and concise points. And practice your 3 minute speeches. I WILL be timing them, so do not go more than 45 seconds under or over.

Remember to make comment on this post if you want to come for the early final at noon on Thursday in V-143.

Alright, then, add up your scores and see where you will stand depending on how well you do on the final...


800031357 77 150

800023132 153 262

800019819 116 204

800041681 124 229

800035014 151 299

800025391 136 199

800035726 150 192

800033807 87 163

800028022 141 205

800035221 159 224

800023261 117 261

800041689 82 187

800040930 151 216

800036478 159 132

800035958 132 244

800023380 129 205

800054445 137 230

800026035 89 83

800027445 113 168

800034120 145 173

800047245 86 147

800035197 166 237

800022382 75 226

800046491 173 219

800037933 148 202

800035366 92 221

800041728 95 159

800034487 37 10

800047141 131 241

800045876 175 262

800036370 112 212

800021036 127 171

Still Not Done

This grading takes a long, long time. I insist on reading papers carefully. So here is the deal. The big reason to do this extra informing you of where you are at is to help you really crank it up for the final, so I will get you not only your present points but your present grade and how much it can be raised / lowered by your final. That will take longer to compute but will be more useful, I assume. So you will get that Friday.

As for now, my fiancee Catherine is waiting for me to meet her for dinner.

Peace all,

Indiana set to execute David Woods

I learned today that next Friday the State of Indiana will execute David Woods. The Clemency Board just denied his plea. Barring the intevention of Governor Daniels or the U.S. Supreme Court, the state will kill him at midnight as next Thursday turns into Friday.

I plan to raise as much opposition to this as I can. I will lead an HCC caravan this Thursday night to the prayer vigil outside the prison, if this goes forward. People also can join by learning about his case and signing a petition at the Blog of "ND Against State Killing."
As a Catholic, I oppose all execution, but I also have visited for the last 8 years a man on Indiana's death row, have come to know him as a friend. And so I oppose with even more vigor state killing. No matter what someone has done, they are still someone's son, father, brother, friend. Violence never affects just one, as the victims' families can also attest.

Consider this letter yesterday to the Suth Bend Tribune:
May 4 execution first since bar association reported flaws
VOICE OF THE PEOPLE



The pending execution of Indiana death row inmate David Woods on May 4 is a milestone in the history of Indiana's death penalty.

Our nagging doubts and fears about the death penalty system being Indiana's "other lottery" have now been confirmed and thoroughly documented in a recent report by the American Bar Association. Out of this report rises an opportunity to show that Indiana will not stand by while a man is executed as a result of so flawed and suspect a system. Instead, we must show that Indiana stands for fairness and true justice by demanding a hold on executions until the ABA report's recommendations can be further examined and the death penalty system as a whole can be judged.

A moratorium is not only advisable, but is also overwhelmingly supported by 61 percent of Hoosiers as demonstrated in an ABA-commissioned poll. Once the ticking clock of impending executions is silenced, objective examination of this system will expose the inhumanity, inefficiency and injustice of capital punishment. I urge all who are concerned about ensuring the legitimacy of our justice system to petition their legislators and Gov. Mitch Daniels for a stay of Woods' execution and a moratorium on capital punishment.


Will McAuliffe
Co-director
Notre Dame Against State Killing
South Bend

That letters raises significant points. It is true that the family of the victim, Juan Placencia, has asked that clemency be denied and Woods be killed. The victim was the ex-husband of Woods' mother. He was the father of 11 and grandpa to 76 children. His daughter said this: "I have to pray that you deny clemency to David Leon Woods," said his daughter Catherine Placencia, 63, Garrett. "He is the one who did this to my father and our family."

It is clear that David Woods is a man who has not been hardened as a prisoner but has turned to the good, after a brutal childhood (he was abused and neglected) and, yes, his commission of a brutal murder. He admits to the murder and is remorseful.

Some will say he chose death by inflicting death when he was 19. But again, be wary of fuzzy philosophy. Primary moral responsibility for killing David Woods will rest with those who kill David Woods and those who issue the order to kill David Woods. We will look at this case on Monday, but as you all can see, the issues we discuss are not abstract. The state is planning to kill this man. That's real.

Preparing for Final, Part One

The 3 page final paper will ALSO be the basis for your persuasive speech that you give at the final. Again, the final 3 pager + speech can be on the topic of your choosing, but I will list some possibilities below just for extra ideas.

Note: if your final 3 pager and speech is on abortion, you can pick a different topic for your one pager due Monday.

So here are some topic possibilities:
HCC, ND and ROTC
Catholicism and the military oath
The Dilemma of the Public Square
Is there a natural law that is objectively knowable?
Being and American and Catholic
How can religious values be translate into secular values?
Is secularism a sort of religion?
What can philosophy say about the abortion debate?
Should abortion be legal
Are postmodern tools helpful or not in understanding issues?

Final: Phil 102

Apart from our recent discussions of various moral issues like war or abortion, here are some concepts from the first half of semester that you will need to know for short answer part of final:

-the meaning of Plato's allegory of the Cave
-Plato's view of the health of the soul (the 3 parts of the soul)
-the 4 pursuits of philosophy... the True, the Good, the Beautiful, the One
-the idea of the soul, the "I" which remains through all my physical changes
-the proofs for the existence of God
-subjectivism, conventionalism, objectivism
-Natural Law
-a priori vs. a posteriori
-Deontology
-Utilitarianism ("act" utilitarianism and "rule" utilitarianism)
-Virtue Ethics
-The Greek Virtues
-The Roman Virtues
-The Cardinal Virtues
-The Golden Mean
-Askesis
-Eudaimonia
-The Theological Virtues
-The 7 Deadly Vices (sins)
-The Sport Theory of Ethics
-The Garden Theory of Ethics
-The Tests of Virtue Ethics (Arete, Telos, Social and Fruits)

Ethics and the Environment

This post is mainly for my Theo 351 class, but it does raise larger issues about how truth and agreeement are reached even on a scientific issue. After watching this, do you agree that some industries could intentionally try to confuse and blur issues so that people continue to use a lot of gas and coal?


We know that global warming, or as folls now say, global climate change, is a big potical issue. But what about the ethics of it all? Do we have an obligation to cut down on our consumption? If so, do you see that happening? Are people, are YOU, more conscious about how much gas you use, about not littering, about how much energy you consume?

Run for Hope!

Now is the time to click and register for the Run for Hope this Saturday at 10am. You need to be sponsored (or just sponsor yourself)for at least $10. The proceeds will all go to the suffering people of the Darfur region of Sudan.

If any of my students can beat me, they will get the extra credit. But look out, I am fast! Okay, so sign up now for the Run for Hope by filling out the sheet at the link above and giving it to Mr. Nate Walker in V-157, next to financial aid office.