Postanalytic Philosophy: Science and Metaphysics
PHIL 269
Spring 2010 not offered
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The analytic movement in early 20th-century philosophy distinguished the domain of philosophy from that of empirical science: The sciences were empirical disciplines seeking facts, whereas philosophy primarily involved the analysis of linguistic meaning, often using the resources provided by formal logic. Criticisms of this conception of philosophy and its relation to the sciences have shaped much of the subsequent development of Anglophone philosophy. This course will examine closely some of the most influential criticisms of the early analytic movement and the resulting reconception of philosophy as a discipline. The central themes of the course cut across the fields of epistemology, metaphysics, and the philosophy of language and mind. Special attention will be given to philosophy's relation to the empirical sciences, since this has been a prominent question raised by the criticisms of the early analytic movement. Among the philosophers most prominently considered are Quine, Sellars, Davidson, Putnam, Dennett, and Brandom. |
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Essential Capabilities:
None |
| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA PHIL |
| Course Format: Lecture / Discussion | Grading Mode: Student Option |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: ANY PHILOSOPHY COURSE |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: None |
Major Readings:
Carnap, "The Elimination of Metaphysics through the Logical Analysis of Language"
Quine, "Two Dogmas of Empiricism" and selections from WORD AND OBJECT
Sellars, "Philosophy and the Scientific Image" and "Empiricism and the Philosophy of Mind"
Davidson, "Thought and Talk" and "On the Very Idea of a Conceptual Scheme"
Dennett, "True Believers"
Putnam, "The Meaning of Meaning"
Brandom, "Freedom and Constraint by Norms" and "A Social Route from Reasoning to Representing"
Haugeland, "Social Cartesianism"
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Examinations and Assignments:
One comparative/expository essay, and two intermediate-length or one longer paper. |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
This course has no specific prerequisite, but does require at least one prior course in philosophy. The course WILL satisfy the "Mind and Reality" requirement for the Philosophy major, even though it has a course number in the "History of Philosophy" category. |
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