PHIL 440.  Fall 2007

T/TH 4:00-5:15

MSS 216

Office Hours: Mon 10-12 and by appt.  

Dr. G. Axtell

guya@unr.edu

Office EJCH 231;  Phone: 784-4847

Homepage: www.scs.unr.edu/~axtell

(see for links to course & text-related sites) 

 

 

Theory of Knowledge

 

Course Description: 

“Epistemology,” from the combination of episteme (knowledge) and logos (study), is the  philosophical investigation of our capacity for knowledge, understanding, justified belief, rationality, and other “epistemic” ends or goods. In this course will investigate the nature of our beliefs and belief-forming capacities, asking a variety of questions, such as: What relations do our beliefs stand in to the world, and to each other? What relations do they stand in to other items, such as our perceptual states or other “sources” of knowledge. What is the relationship between doubt and certainty, and what is required for knowledge? 

            This course emphasizes contemporary debates. It is intended as an upper division survey of contemporary work in epistemology for students with some philosophical background. I will assume that you have prior experience writing philosophical papers, reading philosophical texts critically, analyzing and criticizing philosophical arguments.

 

Assignments and Grading:

 

*Midterm and Final Exams=20% each; Short writing assignments and objective quizzes=30%; Term paper=15%; Attendance/Participation/in-class assignments=15%.

 

* Yes, late work will be accepted; you are expected to complete all writing assignments, and a late paper is much better than a zero in the grade book, Any late work will, of course, be ‘docked’ appropriately.

 

* The exams aim to comprehensively cover the reading and discussion materials for each half of the term. Don’t expect the Lecturer or discussion leader to supply you with a ‘short list’ of authors or topics covered. We will, however, provide you the format of the exam, so that you can anticipate the kinds of questions that may be asked in the objective sections.

 

 

 

Course Texts (All texts required):

 

  1. What is this Thing Called Knowledge? Duncan Pritchard. Routledge. 2006. #0415387981

 

  1. Contemporary Debates in Epistemology. Sosa, E. & Steup, S. (eds.) Blackwell Publishers, 2005. #1405107391

 

  1. Three Conversations about Knowing. Jay F. Rosenberg. Hackett Pub. Co., 2000. #0872205363 (pbk=$4.95)

 

  1. Knowledge, Belief and Character: Readings in Virtue Epistemology, Axtell, Guy (ed.) Rowman & Littlefield, 2000. These haven’t been ordered at the Bookstore, because I have them available for $5, or available at Amazon.com and elsewhere. #0847696537.

 

  1. In it expected that students print out for themselves all materials that are assigned on course E-Reserve, so please expect approx. $10 in additional printing costs for the semester.  http://www.library.unr.edu/reserves.html  then type PHIL 440/640 (or Instructor’s name: Axtell, then choose course #) to access course E-Reserves.

Important Notes:

* For the sake of greater accuracy in grading, I will use the option of giving “+” and “–” marks when assigning students’ final course grade.

* If an assignment is given from an online site or from something that I have placed on Getchell library Reserve/E-Reserve text, please print it out and bring it to class with you.

* Students who think they may have a serious schedule conflict on an upcoming exam-date should raise their concern with the instructor before the scheduled exam, rather than afterwards.

* The University of Nevada, Reno supports providing equal access for students with disabilities. Any student with a disability needing academic adjustments or accommodations is requested to speak with me and the Disability Resource Center (Thompson Building 107) as soon as possible to arrange for appropriate accommodations. "

*My standard note concerning “plagiarism.” Plagiarism—using words or ideas of someone else as your own—is academically dishonest. Some cases of plagiarism are obvious, such as getting a paper off the internet or passing off another student’s paper from a previous semester as your own. If you do find it necessary to paraphrase another author’s comment or idea, it should be merely in the context of supporting your own argument or thesis. And whenever we do paraphrase or otherwise borrow ideas, we are obliged to properly cite the author and page number of their text, directly following the paraphrase, as well as in a full citation in a bibliography.

PHIL 440/640 Course Syllabus

 

WK         Date                                          Readings to complete by

1

T Aug. 28

----Introduction

 

TH 8/30

E-Reserve: Rorty, Richard (1931-2007): “Analytic and Conversational Philosophy”

 

2

T Sept. 4

Rosenberg, 1st Conversation. Also play the “Strange New World” game online, and bring in the final page that describes your position, for homework credit. Its at  http://www.philosophersnet.com/games/

 

 

TH 9/6

Rosenberg, 2nd Conversation; online read Keith DeRose’s “What is Epistemology at his fine epistemology site, http://pantheon.yale.edu/%7Ekd47/e-page.htm

 

3

T 9/11

Rosenberg, 3rd Conversation; Pritchard Part I intro. & CH 1& 2 (Some Preliminaries; The Value of Knowledge)

 

 

TH 9/13

Pritchard CH 3-5 (Defining knowledge; the structure of knowledge; rationality

 

4

T 9/18

Pritchard CH 6 (Virtues and faculties) & Contemporary Debates (CD), Ch. 9.1 (J. Greco)

 

 

TH 9/20

CD ch. 9.1 (R. Feldman) & ethics of belief/disagreement reading TBA.

 

5

T 9/25

CD ch. 10 (J. Kvanvig; also skim M. David)

 

 

TH 9/27

CD ch. 11 (R. Foley; also skim N. Wolterstorff)

 

6

T Oct. 2

Pritchard Part II intro. and Ch. 7 (Perception) & CD ch. 7.2 (M. Williams)

 

 

TH 10/4

Pritchard Ch 8 (Testimony and memory). E-Reserve: Richard Moran’s “Getting Told and Being Believed”

 

7

T 10/9

E-Reserve: M. Fricker, “Rational Authority and Social Power: Towards a Truly Social Epistemology”

 

 

TH 10/11

Pritchard Ch. 9-10 (A priority and inference; the problem of induction)

 

8

T 10/16

CD Ch. 6 (C. Elgin; J. van Cleve)

 

 

TH 10/18

Midterm Exam

 

9

T 10/23

Pritchard Part III Intro & Ch 11 & 12 (Scepticism about other minds; radical scepticism)

 

 

TH 10/25

CD 1.1 (F. Dretske)

 

10

T 10/30

CD 1.2 & 1.3 (Hawthorne; Dretske) & “Lotteries” handout

 

 

TH Nov. 1

E-Reserve: Pritchard’s “How to be a Neo-Moorean,” currently available here: http://www.philosophy.stir.ac.uk/staff/duncan-pritchard/documents/HowToBeAMoorean.pdf

 

11

T 11/ 6

CD 2.1 & 2.2 (Conee; Cohen)

 

 

TH 11/8

Pritchard Ch. 13 (Truth and objectivity); & contextualism reading TBA

 

12

T 11/13

E-Reserve: Heather Battaly “Thin Concepts to the Rescue”

 

 

TH 11/15

E-Reserve Wayne Riggs “What are the Chances of Being Justified?”; Pritchard “Kinds of Epistemic Luck” handout)

 

13

T 11/ 20

E-Reserve: G. Axtell “Felix Culpa” (& “Swamping Problem II” handout)

 

 

TH 11/22

Thanksgiving Holiday

 

14

T 11/27

Knowledge, Belief, & Character Ch. 1 & 2 (A. Goldman; E. Sosa)

 

 

TH 11/29

KBC, Ch. Axtell, ed. Ch. 13 & 16 (R. Paul; L. Zagzebski)

 

15

T Dec. 4

E-Reserve: M. Williams “Reliability and Responsibility” (if available)

 

 

TH 12/6

G. Axtell, “Expanding Epistemology: A Responsibilist Approach”

 

16

T 12/11

E-Reserve: R Lockie, “Problems for Virtue Epistemologies”

 

 

TH 12/13

Scheduled Final Exam  4:30-6:30