Dr. James Baillie Office BC 147 Phone (943) 7298

PHL 475 CONTEMPORARY PHILOSOPHICAL TRADITIONS: ANALYTIC PHILOSOPHY Fall 2011 Dr. James Baillie Office BC 147 Phone (943) 7298 [email protected] Office hours MW 0900-1015; 1300-1500; TR 1300-1400, and by appointment

Analytic Philosophy is philosophy done in the tradition of Frege, Russell, and Wittgenstein. These thinkers, and their successors, constitute the shared background to a powerful strain of philosophical culture. Study of their work is necessary in order to understand what is going on in mainstream philosophy today.

The course will develop in a roughly chronological manner, starting with Gottlob Frege and Bertrand Russell’s application of their breakthroughs in formal logic to natural languages. One big idea in early analytic philosophy was that the study of language, including the analysis of propositions and concepts, was the key to make progress in solving (or dissolving) long-standing philosophical debates. We will also consider the use of logical analysis to determine ontological commitment, i.e. what we take to exist. We approach these issues by means of a deceptively simple question: What is the meaning of a name?

We then trace the development of empiricism from the Logical Positivists to W.V.O. Quine. Unlike classical empiricism, the question is not epistemic justification, but the more basic issue of how to map the limits of the meaningful, how to distinguish sense from nonsense. We will see how the Positivists’ Verification Principle threatened to rule out entire areas of philosophy, such as metaphysics. We will examine Quine’s arguments that Positivism rested on unsupportable ‘dogmas’, and that a scientific study of language gives no support to notions of analyticity, synonymy, or ‘meanings’. We will consider Quine’s epistemology, where philosophy is regarded as continuous with science.

Next, we turn to Ludwig Wittgenstein’s Philosophical Investigations. We will unpack his slogan ‘meaning is use’, and his rejection of philosophical system-building. In response to these views, we will look at J.L. Austin’s theory of Speech Acts, and Paul Grice’s distinction between semantics and pragmatics.

We will finish the course with some recent and influential work by Saul Kripke and Hilary Putnam. We will see how their ideas, such as the causal theory of reference and scientific essentialism, rehabilitate traditional metaphysics, and open up new directions for it. If time allows, we may look at Kripke’s controversial interpretation of Wittgenstein’s ‘rule following’ arguments. Course Objectives The primary aim of this course is to give students a fairly detailed understanding of some central figures in 20th century analytic philosophy, covering a set of inter-related areas including philosophy of language, philosophical logic, metaphysics, and epistemology.

For each philosopher studied, students should be able to write technically competent essays that  give an accurate description of their main theories;  understand the factors (both within and outside philosophy) that led to their theories;  explain and assess the main criticisms of the theories.

A second aim of the course applies to philosophy majors. If the primary aim is fulfilled, majors would be sufficiently prepared in this area of philosophy to succeed in a strong graduate program.

Course Requirements Your grade for this course will be determined by the following:  Two exams  Two papers  An interactive ‘E-journal’ Each will be worth 20% of your grade. The Exams will be short-answer, not essays. The papers will be a minimum 1200 words, not counting quotations. The purpose of the E-journal is to help you actively engage with the course material. Basically, I want your reflections on what we are studying. I will then respond by email (after which you can reply, etc, so that a dialogue gets going). There is no upper limit to these reflections, but I want at least one per week, starting on Week 2. Your grade for the journal will be based on the quality of your contributions to this dialogue.

Methods and Expectations I do not assume any prior knowledge of the philosophers we will investigate. I do assume a fairly high level of interest in philosophy. As regards participation: I expect you to attend. Failure to do so will affect your grade. I also expect you to actively contribute to the class. Before each class, I will tell you the assigned reading, and will expect you to have done it so that you can contribute in a meaningful manner. After each class, I will put the notes on Moodle.

Classroom etiquette is similar to "movie rules": do not do anything that distracts anyone else from the task at hand. In general, treat everyone - including yourself - with respect. For example, when someone is speaking (including me), give them your attention. This means no chatting, texting, or doing work for other classes.

Extra credit will only be given in very special circumstances. Indiscriminate use of extra credit is a disincentive for people to commit themselves to regular coursework. It also enables them to achieve an inflated grade that does not reflect their understanding of the course. Structure of the course, with basic readings In addition to primary sources, we will use selections from a draft of Gary Kemp’s forthcoming text, Philosophy of Language. This, and the primary sources (except where otherwise stated), will sent as a Word files. I will recommend further readings throughout the course.

Introduction to Semantics Kemp Ch 1

Frege Frege - “Sense and Reference”, “Letter to Jourdain” Kemp Ch 2

Russell Russell – excerpts from “On Denoting”, “Descriptions”, “Knowledge by Acquaintance and Knowledge by Description”, and The Philosophy of Logical Atomism. Kemp Ch 3

Logical Positivism A J Ayer – selections from Language, Truth, and Logic

Quine Quine - “Two Dogmas of Empiricism” (on electronic reserve) Quine – excerpts from “Naturalized Epistemology”

Wittgenstein Wittgenstein - excerpts from Philosophical Investigations

Speech Acts and Pragmatics (Austin, Grice) Kemp Ch 6

Kripke Kripke – excerpts from Naming and Necessity Kemp Ch 5.1-5 Kripke - excerpts from Wittgenstein on Rules and Private Language

Putnam Putnam – excerpts from “Meaning and Reference” Kemp Ch 5.6-9 University of Portland’s Code of Academic Integrity Academic integrity is openness and honesty in all scholarly endeavors. The University of Portland is a scholarly community dedicated to the discovery, investigation, and dissemination of the truth, and to the development of the whole person. Membership in this community is a privilege, requiring each person to practice academic integrity at its highest level, while expecting and promoting the same in others. Breaches of academic integrity will not be tolerated and will be addressed by the community with all due gravity.

Disabilities Statement If you have a disability and require an accommodation to fully participate in this class, contact the Office for Students with Disabilities (OSWD), located in the University Health Center (503-943-7134), as soon as possible. If you have an OSWD Accommodation Plan, you should make an appointment to meet with me to discuss your accommodations. Also, you should meet with me if you wish to discuss emergency medical information or special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated.

Assessment Disclosure Statement Student work products for this course may be used by the University for educational quality assurance purposes.

The Learning Resource Center The Learning Resource Center, located in Franz 119 and 120, houses the Writing Center (together with the Math Resource Lab, Speech Resource Center, and the International Language Lab.) The Writing Center is open by appointment and works to support professors and students as they write across disciplines. To schedule an appointment, call (503) 943-8157 or email [email protected]