DOCSLIB.ORG

Philosophy for Everyone

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Philosophy for Everyone Philosophy for Everyone ‘Philosophy for Everyone is an accessible introduction to some of the most fundamental topics in philosophy with a contemporary twist. It exemplifies the virtues of treating philosophy as an activity that anyone can engage in.’ Michael P. Lynch, University of Connecticut, USA Philosophy for Everyone begins by explaining what philosophy is before exploring the questions and issues at the foundation of this important subject. Key topics and their areas of focus include: Epistemology – what our knowledge of the world and ourselves consists in, and how we come to have it; Philosophy of science – foundational conceptual issues in scientific research and practice; Philosophy of mind – what it means for something to have a mind, and how minds should be understood and explained; Moral philosophy – the nature of our moral judgments and reactions, whether they aim at some objective moral truth, or are mere personal or cultural preferences; and Metaphysics – fundamental conceptual questions about the nature of reality. Designed to be used on the corresponding Introduction to Philosophy online course offered by the University of Edinburgh, this book is also highly recommended for anyone looking for a short overview of this fascinating discipline. Matthew Chrisman, Duncan Pritchard, Jane Suilin Lavelle, Michela Massimi, Alasdair Richmond and Dave Ward are all members of the School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences at the University of Edinburgh, UK. This page intentionally left blank Philosophy for Everyone Edited by Matthew Chrisman and Duncan Pritchard Jane Suilin Lavelle Michela Massimi Alasdair Richmond Dave Ward This page intentionally left blank Introduction to Philosophy: Online Course Taught by Dr. Dave Ward, Professor Duncan Pritchard, Dr. Michela Massimi, Dr. Suilin Lavelle, Dr. Matthew Chrisman, Dr. Allan Hazlett and Dr. Alasdair Richmond This completely free and open online course will introduce you to some of the main areas of contemporary philosophy. Each week a different philosopher will talk you through some of the most important questions and issues in their area of expertise. We’ll begin by trying to understand what philosophy is – what are its characteristic aims and methods, and how does it differ from other subjects? Then we’ll spend the rest of the course gaining an introductory overview of several different areas of philosophy. Topics you’ll learn about will include: • Epistemology, where we’ll consider what our knowledge of the world and ourselves consists in, and how we come to have it; • Philosophy of science, where we’ll investigate foundational conceptual issues in scientific research and practice; • Philosophy of Mind, where we’ll ask questions about what it means for something to have a mind, and how minds should be understood and explained; • Moral Philosophy, where we’ll attempt to understand the nature of our moral judgements and reactions – whether they aim at some objective moral truth, orare mere personal or cultural preferences, and; • Metaphysics, where we’ll think through some fundamental conceptual questions about the nature of reality. Watch an intro video and signup for the courseat www.coursera.org/course/introphil. This edition published 2014 By Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 711 Third Ave., New York City, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2013 Matthew Chrisman, Duncan Pritchard, with Dave Ward, Jane Suilin Lavelle, Michela Massimi, and Alasdair Richmond The right of the editors to be identified as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Philosophy for everyone / edited by Matthew Chrisman and Duncan Pritchard, with Dave Ward, Jane Suilin Lavelle, Michela Massimi, and Alasdair Richmond. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Philosophy–Textbooks. I. Chrisman, Matthew. II. Pritchard, Duncan. BD31.P565 2013 100–dc23 2013022181 ISBN: 978-0-415-71945-2 (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-415-71947-6 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-85788-6 (ebk) Typeset in Times by Taylor & Francis Books Contents Preface viii 1 What is philosophy?1 DAVE WARD 2 What is knowledge? Do we have any? 21 DUNCAN PRITCHARD 3 What is it to have a mind? 37 JANE SUILIN LAVELLE 4 Morality: objective, relative or emotive? 59 MATTHEW CHRISMAN 5 Should you believe what you hear? 74 MATTHEW CHRISMAN, DUNCAN PRITCHARD AND ALASDAIR RICHMOND 6 Are scientific theories true? 89 MICHELA MASSIMI 7 Time travel and metaphysics 107 ALASDAIR RICHMOND Glossary of key terms 127 Bibliography 137 Index 142 Preface Have you ever wondered what knowledge is, or whether we have any? What about whether morality is objective or subjective? Or have you thought about what makes the difference between beings with minds like ourselves and things that don’t (seem to) have minds, like bicycles or computers? Should we trust what other people say, especially if they report spectacular occurrences; and if so, why? What about the ques- tion of whether scientific theories aim to be true or merely to capture the observable data in an attractive way? Do you think time travel is possible; and if you do, what does that mean for the nature of time? These are philosophical questions. As the American philosopher Wilfrid Sellars once wrote, ‘to achieve success in philosophy would be … to “know one’s way around” with respect to all these things, not in that unreflective way in which the centipede of the story knew its way around before it faced the question, “how do I walk?”, but in that reflective way which means that no intellectual holds are barred.’ The aim of this book is to introduce you to the way philosophers think about such questions. That is, we hope to unbar the intellectual holds and help you to begin to think reflectively about issues that we all already, in some implicit and unreflective sense, know our way around. We start in Chapter 1 with a general introduction to the practice of philosophy. Here you’ll find out a bit more about philosophical questions, and what makes them philosophical. You’ll also learn about the way philosophers typically go about trying to address such questions in a careful and systematic way. In Chapter 2 we turn to an area of philoso- phy known as epistemology. Here we ponder questions about the nature of knowledge and whether we even have any knowledge. Next, in Chapter 3 we explore some central issues in the philosophy of mind, most importantly what a mind is. In Chapter 4 we consider another branch of philosophy: ethical theory. We’ll consider several important views about the status of morality, whether it is objective, personally or culturally relative, or Preface ix emotive. After that, we turn in Chapter 5 to an issue in the history of philosophy: the debate between David Hume and Thomas Reid about whether and when we should trust the testimony of others. The philo- sophy of science is next in Chapter 6. Here we explore the question of the nature and aims of science: is its ambition to get the true theory of how reality is or just to construct an empirically adequate model of observable phenomena? Finally, we turn in Chapter 7 to an important issue in the branch of philosophy called metaphysics: the possibility of time travel. This is not only interesting to fans of science fiction but also to philosophers concerned with the nature of time and other aspects of reality. Each chapter is followed by a brief summary, some study questions, and a list of further readings and internet resources. In each chapter, key terms are emphasized in bold when they’re first used. If a word is emphasized in this way, you can review its definition in the glossary that you’ll find at the end of the book. This scramble through various parts of philosophy is not intended to be a comprehensive introduction to the subject (for that we’d need a much longer book). Rather it’s intended to introduce just some of the interesting topics philosophers think about and to illustrate their way of thinking about these topics so that it is accessible to an intelligent reader who has not previously studied philosophy but who is willing to read carefully and think deeply. If you, the reader, have made it this far, we’re fully confident you fit the bill. Welcome to the team! Although we mean for the book to be useable as a general intro- duction for everyone to philosophy (hence the name), this book was born out of a ‘MOOC’ offered through the University of Edinburgh. A MOOC is a free and open-source ‘massive open online course’. Our MOOC initially ran in the spring of 2013 with seven video lectures, a lively discussion board, and self- and peer-assessments online. We’d like to thank our colleague Dave Ward for spearheading the effort in our Philosophy Department to put together the course and for writing Chapter 1. We’d like to thank our other MOOChers who contributed to this volume: Jane Suilin Lavelle, Michela Massimi and Alasdair Richmond.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Socrates and the Theaetetus
    THE ORIGIN OF THE ‘GETTIER’ PROBLEM: SOCRATES AND THE THEAETETUS Michael JENKINS ABSTRACT: This article discusses the origin of what has become known as the Gettier Problem. It examines the claim put forward, though not expounded or defended, by J. Angelo Corlett in Analyzing Social Knowledge that the basis for Edmund Gettier’s article “Is Justified True Belief Knowledge?” was originally argued for in Plato’s Theaetetus. In his article, Gettier argues that the Justified True Belief condition is not sufficient for knowledge. However, Corlett questions the originality of this argument. This article examines Gettier’s article followed by the Theatetus. After which, the two articles are compared, and the claim is shown to be correct in accusing Gettier of failing consider the full work of the Theaetetus. Socrates also argued that the Justified True Belief condition was not sufficient for knowledge. However, this article concludes by arguing that Socrates went further with his examination than Gettier did. Socrates not only put forward the claim that this condition was insufficient for knowledge, he also tried to supply answers to the problem. KEYWORDS: Gettier, Theaetetus, epistemology, Socrates, coherentism, justification 1. Introduction In Analyzing Social Knowledge, J. Angelo Corlett states that Edmund L. Gettier, in his infamous article “Is Justified True Belief Knowledge?”1 seems to merely reiterate what Socrates (in Plato’s Theaetetus) already articulates: that “simple justified true belief is insufficient for knowledge.”2 In this article, I will argue that Corlett’s statement is correct. I will argue that it originated not with Gettier, but at least as far back into the writing of western philosophy as Socrates.
    [Show full text]
  • HRP Vol 18 Text Vf
    EPISTEMOLOGY Identity,” International Journal of Philosophical Studies 41 Le temps retrouvéA la recherche du temps perdu, Le temps retrouvé 43 Untimely Meditations, By Duncan Pritchard 44 45 Essays and Lectures as best I can the actual methodology employed by analytical 46 view there has been a tendency in the recent debate about the 47 He does not, of course, give reason the same place in our nature as Kant does (he replaces M The Gay Science is that analytical philosophers do when they do philosophy, and this is especially Le temps retrouvé, Le Côté de Guermantes particular, I claim that once we understand the methodology actually employed 51 To the Lighthouse by analytical epistemologists properly then we will see that it is not as exposed 1 A Sketch of the Past, 53 A Sketch of the Past 54 Proust holds that one is for the most part completely closed down by habit: “habit hides almost the whole universe from us throughout our lives,” Le temps retrouvé, 55 56 Collected Tales, Sketches, Speeches – As we will see below, I think this way of describing the methodology of 57 Late Night Thoughts on Listening to Mahler’s Ninth Sympthony (London: Routledge, the philosophical data provided by intuition, I still think we need to recognise The Myth Makers, Much of the focus when it comes to the role of intuition in epistemology is on our intuitive responses to cases, where we are asked to form an intuitive extensional intuitions Duncan Pritchard joined the University of Edinburgh’s philosophy department in 2007 as the new Chair in Epistemology.
    [Show full text]
  • Some Reflections on Gettier's Problem
    Some Reflections on Gettier’s Problem Golam Azam * It is one of the basic problems of epistemology to define knowledge. Epistemology is one of the branches of philosophy that discusses about the definition, sources, validity and limitations of knowledge. From Socrates to till date this problem is being discussed by most of the eminent philosophers; ancient, medieval, modern or contemporary- eastern or western- Indian, Muslim, Chinese or Buddhist philosophers. Why knowledge is important, what the criterion of truth is, are also the basic issues of discussion of the philosophers of the ages. E. Gettier, an American epistemologist, published a paper of only three pages entitled “Is Justified True Belief Knowledge?” in 1963 where he challenged the age-old definition of knowledge. Traditionally knowledge is defined as ‘justified true belief’. Gettier showed that these three conditions are not enough for the definition of knowledge. In this paper, Gettier’s conception regarding the definition of knowledge will be analyzed and in this connection the reaction of the contemporary epistemologists will also be interpreted and analyzed. It will be showed that now a day the fundamental problem of knowledge is not to define ‘knowledge’ rather the problem is mainly regarding the justification of the statement of knowledge. I Before the publication of Gettier's paper knowledge was widely defined as justified true belief. It is the pre-Gettier definition of knowledge. After the publication of Gettier’s paper the term ‘Gettier problem’ has become well known to the contemporary philosophers. Gettier problems or cases are named in honor of the American philosopher Edmund Gettier.
    [Show full text]
  • Conversation with Duncan Pritchard
    APhEx 15, 2017 (ed. Vera Tripodi) Redattore: Federica Berdini N° 15 GENNAIO 2017 I NTERVISTE Conversation with Duncan Pritchard by Michel Croce Duncan Pritchard is Chair in Epistemology at the University of Edinburgh and Director of Edinburgh’s Eidyn research centre. He is certainly one of the most influential contemporary epistemologists. His main research inter- ests include topics such as the problem of skepticism, the problem of the na- ture and value of knowledge, extended knowledge, and social epistemology. He is author and co-author of several books, editor of the International Journal for the Study of Skepticism and Oxford Bibliographies: Philosophy, and principal investigator of several international research projects hosted at Eidyn. His latest book, Epistemic Angst: Radical Skepticism and the Groundlessness of Our Believing, published by Princeton University Press in 2015, provides a novel strategy to address the skeptical challenge. In this Periodico On-line / ISSN 2036-9972 Michel Croce – Conversation with Duncan Pritchard broad interview, Pritchard reveals the theoretical origin of his latest work and illustrates the connections between the main topics he explored in his massive research activity. He also offers interesting anecdotes concerning his personal experience as an academic and insightful advices to those who are willing to pursue a philosophy curriculum. 1. Dear Duncan, thank you very much for accepting my invitation to tell the readers of APhEx something about your work. We’ll have time to discuss in detail various aspects of your philosophy, but let me start with a brief bio- graphical question about your interest in philosophy and in becoming an academic.
    [Show full text]
  • A Critical Survey of Some Recent Philosophical Research in China
    Philosophia DOI 10.1007/s11406-016-9768-x A Critical Survey of Some Recent Philosophical Research in China Xingming Hu1 Received: 12 January 2016 /Revised: 23 March 2016 /Accepted: 16 September 2016 # Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2016 Abstract In this paper, I survey some recent literature produced by the established Chinese philosophers who regularly publish in Chinese philosophy journals and work in Mainland China. Specifically, I review the recent research of these philosophers in two areas: Chinese Philosophy and epistemology. In each area, I focus on two topics that have caught the attention of a lot of Chinese philosophers. I argue that the Chinese philosophers’ research on these topics has two prevalent problems: (i) a lot of argu- ments they make are weak; (ii) they tend not to critically engage with others. I discuss a metaphilosophical objection that weak argumentation and disengagement are not vices of philosophical research. I also try to make sense of (i) and (ii) in terms of some cultural factors. Keywords The goal of philosophy. Chinese philosophy. The legitimacy problem . Confucian ethics . Epistemology . The Gettier Problem . External World Skepticism 1 Introduction How has the philosophical research been done in Mainland China? In this paper, I survey some recent literature produced by the established Chinese philosophers who regularly publish in Chinese philosophy journals and work in Mainland China. Specifically, I review the recent research of these philoso- phers in two areas: Chinese Philosophy and epistemology. In each area, I focus on two topics that have caught the attention of a lot of Chinese philosophers. I argue that the Chinese philosophers’ research on these topics has some preva- lent problems, which might be explained in terms of some metaphilosophical commitments and cultural factors.
    [Show full text]
  • Curriculum Vitae/List of Projects for Fall/Early Spring 2006-7
    1 Dr. Peter Olen Lake-Sumter State College 9501 U.S. Highway 441 Leesburg, FL 34788 [email protected] https://lssc.academia.edu/PeterOlen 407.920.5132 Area of Specialization, Area of Competence AOS: History of Philosophy, Epistemology AOC: Philosophy of Science, Logic, American Philosophy, Ethics, Philosophy of Mind Employment Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Lake-Sumter State College (Fall 2019 – current) Instructor, Lake-Sumter State College (Fall 2014 – Spring 2019) Visiting Lecturer, University of Central Florida (Fall 2013 – Summer 2014) Education Ph.D. (Philosophy), University of South Florida (2012) M.A. (Philosophy), University of South Florida (Spring 2009) B.A. (Major: Philosophy, Minor: Cognitive Science), University of Central Florida (Spring 2006) Books Wilfrid Sellars and the Foundations of Normativity (Palgrave Macmillan, 2016). Pragmatism in Transition: Contemporary Perspectives on C. I. Lewis (Palgrave Macmillan, 2017 – co-edited with Carl Sachs). Articles “Emotion and Affect in the Space of Reasons” in a special issue of Philosophical Inquiries (in progress) “Perspectivalism and Behaviorism: A Response to Katzav” in the Australasian Philosophical Review (forthcoming) “Author’s Response to Critics” in a special issue of the Journal for the History of Analytical Philosophy (Summer 2019) “Consequences of Behaviorism: Sellars and de Laguna on Explanation” in Philosophy of the Social Sciences (2017). “Was Sellars an Error Theorist?” (co-authored with Stephen Turner) in Synthese, Vol. 163 (2016), pp.2053-2075. “From Formalism to Psychology: Meta-philosophical Shifts in Wilfrid Sellars' Early Works” in HOPOS: The Journal of the International Society for the History of the Philosophy of Science, Vol. 6, No.1 (2016), pp.24-63.
    [Show full text]
  • Phil-Eem-Epistemology.Pdf
    Image courtesy of Surgeons' Hall Museums © The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh 2016 Course aims and objectives The course aims to offer online postgraduate students engagement with a selection of core topics in epistemology. No previous philosophical or logical expertise is required. Any technical and/or unfamiliar terms will be defined as we go. Intended learning outcomes On completion of this course, the student will be able to: • Articulate central issues, views and concepts in epistemology. • Critically analyse and engage with the contemporary epistemological literature. • Present arguments clearly and concisely both in the classroom and in writing. • Gain transferable skills in research, analysis and argumentation. • Critically discuss philosophical arguments with peers. Writing the coursework essay and participating in class discussion will develop these skills. People Course organiser: Dr Wolfgang Schwarz; [email protected] ​ ​ Recorded lectures from other Edinburgh faculty: Dr Nick Treanor; [email protected] ​ ​ Dr Matthew Chrisman; [email protected] ​ ​ Dr Martin Smith; [email protected] ​ ​ Course secretary: Ms Becky Verdon; [email protected] ​ ​ Office hours Please email Wolfgang Schwarz ([email protected]) to make an appointment if ​ ​ you need to discuss material covered in the course or essay topics. Syllabus Schedule of lectures, seminars, and forum discussions Week Topic Lecturer Activity W/c date Induction 14 ​ ​ Induction week September Week 1 21 Theory of knowledge and ​ ​ Duncan Pritchard
    [Show full text]
  • European Journal for Philosophy of Religion
    EUROPEAN JOURNAL FOR PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION VOLUME 6 NUMBER 4 WINTER 2014 ARTICLES C.A.J. COADY Communal and Institutional Trust: Authority in Religion and Politics 1 John COTTINGHAM Authority and Trust: Reflections on Linda Zagzebski’s Epistemic Authority 25 Duncan PRITCHARD & Shane RYAN Zagzebski on Rationality 39 Trent DOUGHERTY Zagzebski, Authority, and Faith 47 Arnon KEREN Zagzebski on Authority and Preemption in the Domain of Belief 61 Jacek WOJTYSIAK Zagzebski on Models of Revelation 77 Charity ANDERSON Epistemic Authority and Conscientious Belief 91 Benjamin MCMYLER Epistemic Authority, Preemption, and Normative Power 101 John SCHWENKLER Tradition as Transmission: A Partial Defense 121 Matthew A. BENTON Believing on Authority 133 Damian LESZCZYŃSKI Inconsistency, Uncertainty and Epistemic Authority 145 Joshue OROZCO & Nathan L. KING Conscientious Self-reflection to the Rescue? 155 Linda ZAGZEBSKI Epistemic Authority and Its Critics 169 BOOK REVIEWS AND NOTICES Paolo Diego Bubbio & Philip Andrew Quadrio (eds). The Relationship of Philosophy to Religion Today Reviewed by Mark Manolopoulos 189 Justin Barrett. Born Believers: The Science of Children’s Religious Belief Reviewed by Aku Visala 193 Charles Taliaferro, Dialogues about God Reviewed by Ulrich Schmidt 199 Fraser Watts (ed.). Creation: Law and Probability Reviewed by Graham Wood 205 COMMUNAL AND INSTITUTIONAL TRUST: AUTHORITY IN RELIGION AND POLITICS C.A.J. COADY University of Melbourne Linda Zagzebski’s book on epistemic authority is an impressive and stimulating treatment of an important topic.1 I admire the way she manages to combine imagination, originality and argumentative control. Her work has the further considerable merit of bringing analytic thinking and abstract theory to bear upon areas of concrete human concern, such as the attitudes one should have towards moral and religious authority.
    [Show full text]
  • What Is This Thing Called Knowledge?
    what is this thing called knowledge? What is knowledge? Where does it come from? What kinds of knowledge are there? Can we know anything at all? This lucid and engaging introduction grapples with these central questions in the theory of knowledge, offering a clear, non-partisan view of the main themes of epistemology. Both traditional issues and contemporary ideas are discussed in sixteen easily digestible chapters, each of which conclude with a useful summary of the main ideas discussed, study questions, annotated further reading, and a guide to internet resources. Each chapter also features text boxes providing bite-sized summaries of key concepts and major philosophers, and clear and interesting examples are used throughout. The book concludes with an annotated guide to general introductions to epistemology, a glossary of key terms, and a summary of the main examples used in epistemology.This is an ideal first textbook on the theory of knowledge for undergraduates coming to philosophy for the first time. The third edition has been revised and updated throughout and features two new chapters, on religious knowledge and scientific knowledge, as part of a whole new section on what kinds of knowledge there are. In addition, the text as a whole has been refreshed to keep it up to date with current developments. Duncan Pritchard FRSE is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh, UK. His main research area is epistemology, and he has published widely in this field, including the books Epistemic Luck (2005), Knowledge (2009), The Nature and Value of Knowledge (with A.Millar and A.Haddock, 2010), and Epistemological Disjunctivism (2012).
    [Show full text]
  • Truth Analysis of the Gettier Argument
    TRUTH ANALYSIS OF THE GETTIER ARGUMENT YUSSIF YAKUBU Published in: METAPHILOSOPHY Vol. 47, No. 3, July 2016, 449-466 Abstract: Gettier (1963) presented the now famous Gettier problem as a challenge to epistemology. The methods Gettier used to construct his challenge, however, utilized certain principles of formal logic that are actually inappropriate for the natural language discourse of the Gettier cases. In that challenge to epistemology, Gettier also makes truth claims that would be considered controversial in analytic philosophy of language. The Gettier challenge has escaped scrutiny in these other relevant academic disciplines, however, because of its fac¸adeas an epistemological analysis. This article examines Gettiers methods with the analytical tools of logic and analytic philosophy of language. Keywords: definite description, Russellian quantification, Edmund Gettier, referents and truth, classical logic. Introduction Gettier cases are hypothetical scenarios that purport to demonstrate, contrary to the standard epistemological view, that justified true belief (JTB) is not a sufficient condition for knowledge. In a typical Gettier- type case, a premise that “justifiably” leads an agent to a belief turns out to be false, but the belief the agent derives turns out “by coinci- dence to be true.” The believing agent in question is thus deemed to have a true belief that is justifiably reached, and he therefore, while satisfying the conditions for knowledge, nevertheless does not have knowledge, because the premise upon which he formed his belief is false. Epistemologists have generally taken Gettiers arguments against JTB to be successful, and have been trying, for the five decades since Gettiers paper, to come up with a definition or conception of knowl- edge that would not be undermined by the Gettier-challenge (Zagzeb- ski 1994; Shope 2002, 33; Sosa 2007; see also Kvanvig 2011, 29).
    [Show full text]
  • THE UNIVERSITY of WESTERN ONTARIO DEPARTMENT of PHILOSOPHY Graduate Course Outline 2016-17
    THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN ONTARIO DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY Graduate Course Outline 2016-17 Philosophy 9653A: Proseminar Fall Term 2016 Instructor: Robert J. Stainton Class Days and Hours: W 2:30-5:30 Office: StH 3126 Office Hours: Tu 2:00-3:00 Classroom: TBA Phone: 519-661-2111 ext. 82757 Web Site: Email: [email protected] http://publish.uwo.ca/~rstainto/ Blog: https://robstainton.wordpress.com/ DESCRIPTION A survey of foundational and highly influential texts in Analytic Philosophy. Emphasis will be on four sub-topics, namely Language and Philosophical Logic, Methodology, Ethics and Epistemology. Thematically, the focal point across all sub-topics will be the tools and techniques highlighted in these texts, which reappear across Analytic philosophy. REQUIRED TEXT A.P. Martinich and David Sosa (eds.)(2011) Analytic Philosophy: An Anthology. 2nd Edition. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. [All papers except the Stine and Thomson are reprinted here.] OBJECTIVES The twin objectives are honing of philosophical skills and enriching students’ familiarity with some “touchstone” material in 20th Century Analytic philosophy. In terms of skills, the emphasis will be on: professional-level philosophical writing; close reading of notoriously challenging texts; metaphilosophical reflection; and respectful philosophical dialogue. COURSE REQUIREMENTS Twelve weekly “Briefing Notes” on Selected Readings: 60% Three “Revised Brief Notes”: 25% Class Participation: 15% COURSE READINGS Language and Philosophical Logic Gottlob Frege (1892), “On Sense and Reference” Gottlob Frege (1918), “The Thought” Bertrand Russell (1905), “On Denoting” Ludwig Wittgenstein (1933-35 [1958]), Excerpts from The Blue and Brown Books Peter F. Strawson (1950), “On Referring” H. Paul Grice (1957), “Meaning” H. Paul Grice (1975), “Logic and Conversation” Saul Kripke (1971), “Identity and Necessity” Hilary Putnam (1973), “Meaning and Reference” Methodology A.J.
    [Show full text]
  • Cavell and Hume on Skepticism, Natural Doubt, and the Recovery of the Ordinary
    CONVERSATIONS 3 Cavell and Hume on Skepticism, Natural Doubt, and the Recovery of the Ordinary PETER S. FOSL One curious aspect of Stanley Cavell’s investigations into skepticism is his relative neglect of one of philosophy’s most important skeptics, David Hume. Cavell’s think- ing about skepticism is located in relation to Wittgenstein, Kant, Emerson, Austin, and others. But while Hume is occasionally mentioned, those encounters are brief and generally dismissive. In “Aesthetic Problems of Modern Philosophy,” for exam- ple, Cavell remarks that while “Hume is always a respectable place to begin,”1 Kant is “deeper and obscurer” (MWM, 88). The important Cavell scholar Timothy Gould fol- lows Cavell in this, writing that: “Hume’s tactic of playing billiards as a relief from the melancholy of reflection and skepticism is a relatively unsophisticated strategy, com- pared to some that I know of.”2 Except, perhaps, for the idea that Kant is more obscure, I think this assess- ment of Hume to be a mistake on Cavell et al.’s part, as I think there are important and helpful resources to be culled from le bon David for those of us working through the constellation of topics Cavell has done so much to clarify and to confront. Cavell’s, like Gould’s, discounting Hume so quickly, and in my view thoughtlessly, is, I sus- pect, a casualty of the twentieth century’s dominant readings of Hume either as a kind of proto-positivist, as a psychologizing naturalist, more recently as a realist, or, as we will see later, a “paltry” empiricist.
    [Show full text]