Postanalytic Philosophy: Science and Metaphysics
PHIL 265
Spring 2021 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 later criticisms of the early analytic movement and the resulting reconceptions 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 issue raised by the criticisms of the early analytic movement. Among the philosophers most prominently considered are Quine, Sellars, Davidson, Putnam, Dennett, Kripke, Brandom, and Haugeland. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA PHIL |
| Course Format: Lecture / Discussion | Grading Mode: Student Option |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (PHIL)(PHIL-Philosophy)(PHIL-Social Jus)(STS) |
Major Readings:
Carnap, "Empiricism, Semantics and Ontology" and "The Vienna Circle Manifesto
Quine, "Two Dogmas of Empiricism" and selections from WORD AND OBJECT
Sellers, "Philosophy and the Scientific Image" and "Empiricism and the Philosophy of Mind"
Davidson, "Mental Events," "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, "Authentic Intentionality"
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Examinations and Assignments:
One comparative/expository essay on Quine and Sellars, and two intermediate-length or one longer paper on a topic of students' choice. |
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. SiSP students with appropriate background can count it as an SiSP elective, with the permission of their major adviser. |
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