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Day |
Topic |
Reading |
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9/7 |
Introduction |
“A Brief Guide to Logic and Argumentation” (Norton Reader “NR”)
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Part I – Epistemology: What should I believe? What do I know? |
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9/12 |
Beginning With Doubt |
Rene Descartes, “Meditation I: What Can Be Called Into Doubt” Meditations on First Phil (NR)
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9/14 |
Analyzing Knowledge |
Edmund Gettier, “Is Justified True Belief Knowledge?” (NR) Dharmottara, examples from Ascertainment of Knowledge
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9/19 |
Knowledge and Experience |
Gregory Cajete, “Philosophy of Native Science” (from American Indian Thought, ed. Anne Waters)
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9/21 |
Skepticism and Evidence |
Ned Markosian, “Do You Know That You Are Not a Brain in a Vat?”
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9/26 |
Knowledge and Context |
Stewart Cohen, “Contextualism” (NR)
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9/28 |
Knowledge, Standpoint, and Power |
Charles Mills, "White Ignorance"
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Part II – Metaphysics: What is there? |
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10/3 |
Recap and discussion |
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10/5 |
Against Physicalism |
Gideon Rosen, “Numbers and Other Immaterial Objects” (NR)
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10/10 |
Things |
Stephen Yablo, “A Thing and Its Matter” (NR)
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10/12 |
Qualia |
Frank Jackson, “Epiphenomenal Qualia” (NR)
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Part III – Personal Metaphysics: What am I? Who am I? What can I do? |
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10/17 |
Personal Identity: What am I? |
Introduction to Personal Identity, pp. 538-544 of NR
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10/19 |
No Class |
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10/24 |
Personal Identity: Who am I? |
Derek Parfit, “Personal Identity” from Reasons and Persons(NR)
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10/26 |
Personal Identity: Where am I? |
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10/31 |
Free Will and Responsibility |
Galen Strawson, “Free Will” (NR)
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11/2 |
Responsibility and External Influence |
Susan Wolf, “Sanity and the Metaphysics of Responsibility”
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11/7 |
Responsibility and Conceptual Limitations |
Tamar Szabo Gendler, “On the Epistemic Costs of Implicit Bias”
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11/9 |
Personal Identities |
Sally Haslanger, “Gender and Race: (What) Are They? (What) Do We Want Them to Be?
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11/14 |
Personal Identities (2) |
Kwame Anthony Appiah, “The Illusions of Race”
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Part IV – Ethics: How should I live? What should I do? Does it matter? |
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11/16 |
The Demands of Morality |
Peter Singer, “Famine, Affluence, and Morality” (NR)
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11/21 |
The Demands of Morality (2) |
Onora O’Neill, “The Moral Perplexities of Famine and World Hunger” (NR)
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11/28 |
Moral Knowledge and Experience |
Sarah McGrath, "Moral Knowledge and Experience"
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11/30 |
Moral Knowledge and Experience (2) |
John (Fire) Lame Deer, “Talking to the Owls and Butterflies” from Lame Deer, Seeker of Visions
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12/5 |
Does Anything Really Matter? |
Sharon Street, “Does Anything Really Matter or Did We Just Evolve to Think So?” (NR)
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Part V – Social and Political Philosophy: How should we live (together)? |
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12/7 |
Preventing All Against All |
Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan (excerpts) (NR)
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12/12 |
Promoting All For All |
Julius Nyerere, “Ujamaa: The Basis of African Socialism”
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12/14 |
Who Are We? |
Michael Huemer, “Is there a Right to Immigrate?”
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