Revision as of 16:12, 12 September 2014

Welcome

The degree to which we live and die well because of what we do in this course is the measure of our success. Humans live and die well by discerning and realizing value: what we want and how to get it. Because we are changing organisms in a changing environment what we value - the ends and means of our lives - also changes. In our era of unprecedentedly rapid change to social, natural, artificial, and informational environments, becoming more proficient in bringing to awareness, questioning, and where adaptive, evolving ideas about value to be more accurate is key to living and dying well.

In this course we re-examine ideas about value we’ve taken for granted, consider alternatives, and assess the merits of each. More importantly we consider ways that we’ve come to current ideas about value, and evaluate which of these we consider reliable enough to warrant continued use. If you are engaged or want to engage in honing these skills, we welcome your partnership in valuescience.

Class Details

• Time: MW, 11:00-12:15
• Place: 160-321
• Units: 3 units, 4 units with optional lab
• Grading Options: Letter, C/NC
• Students with Documented Disabilities: Students who may need an academic accommodation based on the impact of a disability must initiate the request with the Office of Accessible Education (OAE). Professional staff will evaluate the request with required documentation, recommend reasonable accommodations, and prepare an Accommodation Letter for faculty dated in the current quarter in which the request is being made. Students should contact the OAE as soon as possible since timely notice is needed to coordinate accommodations. The OAE is located at 563 Salvatierra Walk. Phone: (650) 723-1066, URL: http://studentaffairs.stanford.edu/oae

Instructional Team

• Instructor: David Schrom (dschrom@ {stanford})
• Assistants: Robin Bayer (robin@ {ecomagic}), Nick Enge (nickenge@ {stanford}), Hilary Hug (hilary@ {ecomagic}), Andrew Nepomuceno (andrewn1@ {stanford})

Office Hours

During the quarter, members of the instructional team are usually able to accommodate requests for consultation within 24 hours of the time we receive them. We encourage you to bring us your thoughts and questions for individual attention.

People Page

Please create a People Page, where you can tell us about yourself and why you're taking the class, and post writings, lab reports, and anything else you want to share with the class. We've set it up so that only students from this quarter can see your people pages (as long as you put [[Category:Spring14]] on the bottom, as mentioned in the instructions on the People page). In addition, we give you the option of submitting your writings anonymously (with your name going only to the teaching team). To create a People Page, you'll need a log-in. Email Nick (nickenge@ {stanford}) with your desired username for this site. Once you have a login, please follow the instructions on the People page to create your People page. Please let Nick know if you have any questions or concerns about the site.

Questions and Readings

We've constructed this course around questions. Many are too broad to address in a single class meeting, and some merit attention for a lifetime. During the quarter, we will post primary and subordinate questions for upcoming class meetings (usually 1 to 4 classes at a time). We encourage you to bring forward your own questions. You can find a comprehensive (short of exhaustive) list of questions you may be asked on the final here: Final Exam Questions

To afford a common basis for responding to questions we offer core readings. Please complete those listed on the Next Class page (or alternatives to which the instructor has consented) so that you'll be prepared to learn and contribute to others' learning as we discuss their contents during our meetings. Readings will be available online or on reserve at the Stanford libraries. You can access the reading for this course without purchasing anything.

For most topics, we've assembled additional readings to facilitate your pursuit of ideas you've encountered in core readings and discussion and that you want to explore more fully. In past quarters, each course participant has found at least some of these worthwhile, and many have introduced us to materials new to us that we are now able to offer you. Please assist us in adding to these resources.

This course is very much a work in progress. We have in the past altered the syllabus, sometimes extensively, during each quarter as we became more familiar with current enrollees' backgrounds and interests.

Class Periods

Interacting with each other to create a valuescience learning community is a key aspect of the course. You can be a valued course participant by listening carefully. If you have prepared thoughts and questions about a day's topics and core readings, you are better able to learn and contribute to others' learning.

If you plan to miss class, please email robin@ {ecomagic}. To receive credit for up to three classes that you miss, we ask that you devote the equivalent of one class period to doing independent research on the topic of the day, and recording your sources and findings on your People page, in addition to completing all of the regular assignments for the day.

Learning Log

Members of the instructional team want to know what you are doing and what you are learning. Please post to your People page twice per week (before 11am Monday for Monday's readings and other Monday assignments; before 11am Wednesday for Wednesday's readings and other Wednesday assignments) what you have read and done for the course, and what new ideas you consider worthwhile that you have learned. Respond to questions posed in the syllabus, reference core and, if appropriate additional readings, discuss how you are applying what you’ve learned. Learning Logs can be submitted up to one week late for half credit.

From time to time we may ask you to write to a specific topic in your learning log. These writings will be brief (about 500 words), and will be in lieu of other Learning Log entries.

Your Learning Log will be a basis for the Writing portion of your grade (see below). In accordance with Stanford guidelines for academic credit, we suggest that you read for 4-5 hours and write for 1-2 hours each week. We are grateful to students who enter beginning and ending times on Learning Log entries to assist us in assessing the workload of the course.

Sample Learning Logs: These learning logs were written by students who took the course fall quarter and wish to remain anonymous.

• Fall 2013 Student
• Another Fall 2013 Student

Final Exam

Each student stands for an oral final exam. You can think of it as analogous to the qualifying exam that candidates for advanced degrees take at the end of their coursework. In it, we ask you to demonstrate competence in presenting the full range of topics we address in the course. You will score well if you can respond briefly and informatively to a wide range of questions based on core readings and respond in greater depth to questions about narrower portions of each broad topic that you found particularly relevant to your life. You can find a comprehensive (short of exhaustive) list of questions you may be asked on the final here (top 20 questions are here).

Grading

All Participants

Total: 100% (100 pts)

• 40% Writing (40 pts)
  • 10 learning logs (4 pts each)
    • Graded on your ability to assess sources' credibility, evidence accurate understanding of authors' ideas, describe how you can incorporate them in your own valuescience inquiry, connect them to other ideas pertinent to valuescience inquiry, and most importantly, apply them to live better.
• 40% Class Participation (40 pts)
  • ~20 class periods (2 pts each)
    • Graded on evidence of your own learning and contribution to others' understanding by listening and speaking.
• 20% Oral Final
  • 20 pts total
    • Graded on your ability to communicate course themes clearly and apply them to your and others' benefit.

Lab Enrollees

• 33% Lab (33 pts total)
  • Lab points are awarded both for a lab proposal and nine lab reports submitted weekly (3 pts each, 30 pts total, 3 pts for free as an incentive to enroll in the lab)
  • Points earned in lab and through participation, final, and writings are totaled and multiplied by .75 to normalize grades for lab enrollees

Alternatives

By arrangement with instructor, students may establish individual criteria consistent with Stanford University academic guidelines for demonstrating learning sufficient to warrant credit and grade.

Work Load

Members of the instructional team aim for every student to earn an A; however, you will be prudent to assume that you will require 6 hours of reading and writing each week outside of class, regular class attendance, thorough preparation, and thoughtful participation to achieve this objective. If you've enrolled for 4 units, plan to devote 3 hours per week to lab activity and write-ups.

If at any point during the quarter you have questions about whether you're earning the grade you want, please ask a member of the instructional team. We strongly encourage you to include in your Learning Log (see above) a record of date and time you begin to read or write, time you finish, and what you read or wrote. In conference, we will likely review your Learning Log with you, and dates and times on entries will be useful information about how much life you devoted to reading and writing for the course.

Lab

Lab

Class by Class Topics

1. Education for Wholeness

2. Valuescience: What, Why, How?

3. Worldview: Source, Impact, Choice

4. Language: Foundation and Constraint

5. Paradigm Shift to Science-Based Consilience

6. Scientific Worldview: Matter, Energy, Cosmos

7. Science of Mind

8. Cognitive Biases: Genetic and Cultural

9. Biophysical Economics

10. Science-Based Religion

11. World Modeling: Status and Trends - Physical

12. Status and Trends - Social/Cultural

13. Green History

14. Money, Debt, Banking

15. Scenarios: Best, Worst, Middling

16. What Global Social Contract?

17. Evolving Society

18. Evolving Self

19. Celebrating Learning

Reading Assignments

Class 1 Class 2 Class 3 Class 4 Class 5 Class 6 Class 7 Class 8 Class 9 Class 10 Class 11 Class 12 Class 13 Class 14 Class 15 Class 16 Class 17 Class 18 Class 19