Syllabus
Overview, Philosophical methodology, historical, analytic, and pragmatic. What is Philosophy? Competing views - Sinnott-Armstrong, W. and Gert, B.
Historical method in philosophy - Frost, S.E. How do we know stuff? The view of radical empiricism - James, W.
How do we know stuff? Competing views - Sellars, W versus Chisolm, R. versus Gettier, E. Or do we just make it up? The problem of abductive inference - Peirce, C. and Wirth, U.
Do we know stuff, or just think we do? The Chinese room - Searle, J. The problem of Zombies, competing views - Crick, F. and Koch, C.
The problem of Zombies, What do zombies know? - Chalmers, D. Philosophy as a blood sport, and what that gets us - Pearce, K.
The value of philosophy - Russell, B.
Annotation
This course explores the basic ‘tool-box’ of philosophy: it functions both as an introductory course for students of philosophy, and a practical guide for anyone interested in improving their ability to think clearly and distinctly.
Readings will be drawn from texts that focus on these practical skills. The focus is on contemporary argumentation grounded in English speaking communities