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201403_syllabus [Knowledge and Reality]

Knowledge and Reality

201403_syllabus
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Home Syllabus Schedule Essentialism Natural Kinds Innate Knowledge Induction

Syllabus
PHI 315 Knowledge and Reality Spring 2014 | TR 12:151:40 | LA 209 http://www.rudygarns.com/class/315/ [http://www.rudygarns.com/class/315/] Your personal page for grades and comments is My Page. I will give you login instructions the first day of class. When you login for the first time your page will be created. When I see your page is created (you can send me an email letting me know) I will give you permission to view it. Only you and I can read your personal page.

Description
A course on knowledge and reality might be expected to cover the broad philosophical areas of metaphysics and epistemology. To do so comprehensively is overly ambitious. So to narrow our focus I'll divide the course into these main questions. 1. How do empiricist and rationalist perspectives differ? 2. Are there properties that are essential to their bearers? 3. Is reality divided into natural kinds? 4. Do we have knowledge that exists prior to our experiences? 5. Can induction justify any knowledge about the world? The course will conducted as a seminar. We'll read primary sources and discuss them in class. We will use some historical texts to set the background and also look closely at recent work to see how contemporary philosophers address the issues. Theories from the empirical sciences (particularly biology and cognitive science) will also inform our discussion. The nature and scope of science itself will require our attention. The course will conducted as a seminar with periodic lectures. Students are expected to prepare for class and participate in the discussion, contributing questions, ideas and insights form their own study of the material. We'll read primary sources and discuss them in class. We will use some historical texts to set the background and also look closely at recent work to see how contemporary philosophers address the issues. Theories from the empirical sciences (particularly biology and cognitive science) will also inform our
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201403_syllabus [Knowledge and Reality]

discussion.

Office Hours and Information

Office Hours: TR 3:003:50, WF 1:001:50 or by appointment. You can schedule an appointment online on my Doodle calendar [http://www.doodle.com/rudygarns]. Select two or more available times at least 24 hours in advance and I'll confirm what works best. Office: LA 232 Phone: (859) 5725528 email: garns@nku.edu

Texts
Readings will be available online.

Course Objectives
Successful students will be able to articulate and critically discuss the general kinds of questions philosophers address in the areas of metaphysics and epistemology. the kinds of questions philosophers address and the prominent theories they propose regarding the specific topics of natural kinds, essentialism, innate knowledge and the problem of induction. Hume's problem of induction; Goodman's New Riddle of Induction; naturalized epistemology; Aristotle's views of substances, kinds and properties; Plato's theory of innate knowledge; Locke critique of innate ideas; Chomsky's appeal to nativism; Evolutionary Psychology's appeal to nativism; Locke's account of natural kinds; natural kinds as homogeneous property clusters; the de re/de dicto distinction; analytic and synthetic propositions; a priori and a posteriori judgments; the status of synthetic a priori knowledge; Quine's critique of the traditional analytic/synthetic and a priori/a posteriori distinctions; Rationalism and Empiricism; Kripki/Putnam views on reference and natural kinds. Successful students will be able to read primary texts and articles from philosophical journal and books and summarize succinctly the main lines of thought; explain the reasoning in appropriately challenging philosophical texts.

Course Requirements
Preparation and Participation (10%) Response Papers (20%) Research Paper (30%) Two Exams: 40% Attendance: Chronic absenteeism will not be tolerated. To receive an A in the course you are expected to attend at least 90% of the classes. To receive a B in the course you are expected to attend at least 80% of the classes; a C requires you attend at least 70% of the classes, and to pass the course you must attend at
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201403_syllabus [Knowledge and Reality]

least 60% of the time. Attendance is a necessary condition not a sufficient condition for earning a particular grade. Everyone should arrive at class on time. I will take attendance periodically but I will not be responsible for including those who arrive after attendance is taken. I do not grant make up exams. Extra credit will be available on the final exam, which can be used to compensate for credit missed on a previous exam. Participation and Preparation: You are required to attend class, participate responsibly, and prepare adequately for each class. You should read all the assignments before class, bringing the article or book to class for reference. My evidence for adequate participation in class is your behavior. Those who regularly ask questions and take part in class discussions are clearly actively involved in the class; and those who regularly attend class, listen attentively to lectures and discussions, and complete assignments on time are also involved in the class (though to a lesser degree). Failure to attend class or to complete assignments, sleeping in class, talking to neighbors and other disruptive behavior will count against you. Overall participation and preparation contribute 10% to the final grade. Response Papers: Approximately once each week a question will be posed on which you can write a brief (one page) response based on the reading assignment and class discussion. The best ten of these will contribute 20% to the final grade. Research Paper: You are required to write an 68 page research paper on a topic falling within the questions driving the course (exceptions can be negotiated). The paper should reflect an appropriate amount of scholarly research, background information, and a critical discussion of the main issues. Include a bibliography and citations according to an appropriate publishing style (MLA, APA, Chicago). The paper should be typed and doublespaced, with an appropriate font type and size. The project will be broken into several parts. A microessay (summary) of one article, an annotated bibliography, an abstract, and a final paper. Each assignment has its own due date. Two Exams: The exams will include multiple choice questions along with short essays. Material from class discussion and the assigned readings will be covered; each exam is comprehensive. Exams will be held in class in the absence of texts and notes and will be designed to be completed in one hour. Circumstances might require that an exam be offered in a takehome format. There are no make up exams. Each exam is contributes 20% to the final grade

Grading
The final grade for the course should be understood as my assessment of your overall level of achievement in the class based on all the evidence available to me. The three exams, research paper, and class participation and preparation will constitute the bulk of that evidence. All assigned work is required work, unless I indicate otherwise. This is not to say that all assigned work is graded work or work that will contribute toward the final grade. I understand the particular letter grades in terms of the descriptions given in the recent university catalog. A grade of C represents average achievement, the minimum expected of a college student. Better or worse work is possible and will be reflected in the grade. Please ask me if you have questions about your standing in the class at any point in the semester.

Instructor's prerogative
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201403_syllabus [Knowledge and Reality]

I reserve the right to alter the conditions stated in this syllabus at any time during the semester should such alterations better facilitate meeting the goals. I will, in such a case, provide notice in class. I may on occasion add or delete reading assignments. It is the student's responsibility to be in class and get this information.
201403_syllabus.txt Last modified: 2013/12/31 08:29 by garns

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201403_schedule [Knowledge and Reality]

Knowledge and Reality

201403_schedule
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Home Syllabus Schedule Essentialism Natural Kinds Innate Knowledge Induction

Schedule
This schedule is tentative. Adjustments will be announced in class and on the class web site.
Rationalism and Empiricism T.01.14 Introduce the course: topics, questions, syllabus R.01.16 Rationalism and Empiricism. Discuss Rationalism vs. Empiricism [http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/rationalism empiricism/], Markie SEP article

T.01.21 Discuss Hume selections [http://www.earlymoderntexts.com/pdfs/hume1748_1.pdf]. Classic Empiricism R.01.23 No Class T.01.28 More on Empiricism R.01.30 Discuss Leibniz, First Truths [http://www.earlymoderntexts.com/pdfs/leibniz1686c.pdf]. Classic Rationalism T.02.04 More on Rationalism Essentialism R.02.06 Substance and Predicate T.02.11 R.02.13 Discuss Aristotle's Categories, Section 1, Parts IV [http://www.classicallibrary.org/aristotle/categories/1.htm] T.02.18 R.02.25 Discuss Putnam's Meaning and Reference [http://www.jstor.org.proxy1.nku.edu/stable/2025079] T.03.04 R.03.06 Midterm Exam Natural Kinds T.03.18 R.03.20 T.03.25 Discuss Boyd article. Realism, AntiFoundationalism and the Enthusiasm for Natural Kinds [http://www.jstor.org.proxy1.nku.edu/stable/4320174]. Innate Knowledge R.03.27 Discuss Plato's Meno [http://www.classicallibrary.org/plato/dialogues/10_meno.htm] T.04.01 Discuss Locke selection. Essay, Book I Innate Notions, Chapter i: Introduction and Chapter ii: No innate speculative principles in the mind [http://www.earlymoderntexts.com/pdf/lockess1.pdf]
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Discuss Locke selection. Essay, Book III Words, Chapter iii: General terms and Chapter vi: The names of substances [http://www.earlymoderntexts.com/pdfbits/lo31.pdf].

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201403_schedule [Knowledge and Reality]

R.04.03 Discuss Evolutionary Psychology. Microessay Due. T.04.08 Induction R.04.10 Discuss Quine's Two Dogmas T.04.15 Discuss Hume selection R.04.17 Bibliography Due. T.04.22 Discuss Goodman selection R.04.24 Abstract due. T.04.29 Discuss Stich's Is Man An Irrational Animal? Conclusions R.05.01 Review and summary T.05.06 Final Exam 1:003:00 Research Paper due.
201403_schedule.txt Last modified: 2014/01/06 08:30 by garns

2014 Rudygarns.com. All rights reserved. Except where otherwise noted, content on this wiki is licensed under the following license: CC Attribution Share Alike 3.0 Unported [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/bysa/3.0/]

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