Guide to Web Resources

Remember, in addition to these web based resources there is another wonderful resource called the Freel Library. Use it. The new ten volume Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, edited by Edward Craig, is a helpful place to start and is available in the reference section of the library. Another helpful reference tool is the Philosopher's Index, also available in the reference section of the Williams College Library (all MCLA students have borrowing privileges at the Williams Library). Williams also has JSTOR which lets you search, browse, and print full-text articles from a number of major Philosophy journals.

Evaluating and Citing Web Sources: You are expected to use web resources intelligently and to carefully cite any material you get from the web. You should be familiar with standards for evaluating and citing web sources. So, before you start surfing, go to one or more of the following sites.

• The ICYouSee Guide to Critical Thinking About What You See on the Web has a short, clear, entertaining introduction to the basic whats and whys of evaluating web resources.
• Internet Detective is an extended on-line tutorial on web resources and how to evaluate them. It includes quizzes and exercises you can use to test your comprehension.
• Evaluating World Wide Web Information has a checklist that you can use to evaluate the information that you find on web sites.
• Citing Web Resources, discusses the ins and outs of citing web sources. It includes examples of citations using both MLA and APA style (ask your instructor which one s/he prefers).

• Search Noesis, a search engine for Philosophy, for more information about any of the philosophers or topics we discuss in class.
  

Noesis: Limited Area Search of Philosophy on the Internet

• Guide to Philosophy on the Internet, a comprehensive guide to philosophy resources on the internet by Peter Suber of Earlham College. Highly recommended.
• A Glossary of Philosophical Terms from The Blackwell Companion to Philosophy by Bunnin and Tsui-James.
• The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy has numerous typos, but has a broad coverage and is generally reliable.
• Philosophy E-texts, from John Mark Ockerbloom's On-Line Books Page,  has links to a number of online texts.

Guide for Email Correspondence

Please show the utmost civility in your messages to the list. It is easy to send off messages quickly and "flame" others over e-mail. This will not be tolerated. If you fail to be civil you will be removed from the list and lose participation points.

Avoid ad hominems. Philosophy is about rational argumentation. Go ahead and disagree with what someone else has said, but don't impugn the other person's intelligence, motivations, or character.

It is a good idea to write a message and then leave it awhile before sending it.

Be sure to proofread your message carefully before you send it. Read your message over at least a couple of times to check that it makes sense and that you have not said anything in the least discourteous.

Double check that you are sending the message to the correct address.

You may want to include the original message in the reply so that it is clear exactly what point you are referring to (that way people don't have to go back and try to find the original message to understand what you're talking about).

The failure of others to follow these guidelines does not excuse you from following them; in other words, don't flame a flamer.