Difference between revisions of "Proseminar Reading Schedule"
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− | <td width=" | + | <td width="15%" valign="top">SEP 2</td> |
<td align="left"><b>Topic:</b> Course Introduction | <td align="left"><b>Topic:</b> Course Introduction | ||
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− | <td width=" | + | <td width="15%" valign="top">SEP 9</td> |
<td align="left"><b>Topics:</b><blockquote> | <td align="left"><b>Topics:</b><blockquote> | ||
A. Historiography in Philosophy<br> | A. Historiography in Philosophy<br> | ||
− | B. Philosophical Methods and Research (1/4) | + | B. Philosophical Methods and Research (1/4)</blockquote> |
<b>Readings:</b> Hadot, "Spiritual Exercises," and "Philosophy as a Way of Life;" Deleuze, "What is Philosophy?" <br><br> | <b>Readings:</b> Hadot, "Spiritual Exercises," and "Philosophy as a Way of Life;" Deleuze, "What is Philosophy?" <br><br> | ||
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− | <td width=" | + | <td width="15%" valign="top">SEP 16</td> |
− | <td align="left"><b> | + | <td align="left"><b>Topics:</b> <blockquote> |
A. Science and Philosophy<br> | A. Science and Philosophy<br> | ||
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<b>Focus:</b> The goal of this set of reading is to give you a sophisticated mainstream model of science and it's difference from non-science. Schick and Vaughn and Giere provide this. In Schick and Vaughn, focus on what a scientific hypothesis is and how it is evaluated. Consider the "criteria of adequacy" at the end of that article. In Giere, follow the story about Watson and Crick, but pay particular attention to the model of science in figure 2.9. The Barnes reading is more of a cultural history of science. Note the role of scientific socieities, the relation between science and university, and of course, follow the substantive discoveries that make up the scientific revolution. Barnes does a good job of showing you the incredible range of discovery, but don't feel like you need to be able to answer questions about all of these developments. With Bryson, you get some contemporary popular science writing that may turn out to have a philosophical use. Enjoy it. Read Chapter 2 if you have time. | <b>Focus:</b> The goal of this set of reading is to give you a sophisticated mainstream model of science and it's difference from non-science. Schick and Vaughn and Giere provide this. In Schick and Vaughn, focus on what a scientific hypothesis is and how it is evaluated. Consider the "criteria of adequacy" at the end of that article. In Giere, follow the story about Watson and Crick, but pay particular attention to the model of science in figure 2.9. The Barnes reading is more of a cultural history of science. Note the role of scientific socieities, the relation between science and university, and of course, follow the substantive discoveries that make up the scientific revolution. Barnes does a good job of showing you the incredible range of discovery, but don't feel like you need to be able to answer questions about all of these developments. With Bryson, you get some contemporary popular science writing that may turn out to have a philosophical use. Enjoy it. Read Chapter 2 if you have time. | ||
− | + | <b>Method:</b> Argument terms; Distinction between induction and deduction; reconstruction; explanation vs. argument. | |
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− | <td width=" | + | <td width="15%" valign="top">SEP 23</td> |
<td align="left"><b>Topics:</b> <blockquote> | <td align="left"><b>Topics:</b> <blockquote> | ||
A. Philosophy vs. Non-Philosophy<br> | A. Philosophy vs. Non-Philosophy<br> | ||
</blockquote> | </blockquote> | ||
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<b>Readings</b>: Alfino, "Casual Sampler of Philosophical Openings"; Alfino, "Short Anthology of Non-academic Philosophy"; <br> | <b>Readings</b>: Alfino, "Casual Sampler of Philosophical Openings"; Alfino, "Short Anthology of Non-academic Philosophy"; <br> | ||
− | <b>Focus:</b>With the "Casual Sampler" just try to get a sense of the presuppositions about philosophy that come through the rhetoric. The anthology is a bit long, so you might need to sample it. Try to look at a variety of forms (story, essay, poem...) and think about whether and how philosophy can be done in literary forms. | + | |
+ | <b>Focus:</b>With the "Casual Sampler" just try to get a sense of the presuppositions about philosophy that come through the rhetoric. The anthology is a bit long, so you might need to sample it. Try to look at a variety of forms (story, essay, poem...) and think about whether and how philosophy can be done in literary forms. | ||
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<B>Method:</b> review deductive, inductive and explanatory forms, validity, and assessing rationales. <br> | <B>Method:</b> review deductive, inductive and explanatory forms, validity, and assessing rationales. <br> | ||
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− | <td width=" | + | <td width="15%" valign="top">SEP 30</td> |
<td align="left"><b>Topic:</b> <blockquote> | <td align="left"><b>Topic:</b> <blockquote> | ||
A. Obligations to Aid and Globalization of Ethics<br> | A. Obligations to Aid and Globalization of Ethics<br> | ||
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− | <td width=" | + | <td width="15%" valign="top">OCT 7</td> |
<td align="left"><b>Topic:</b> <blockquote> A. Thought Experiments<br> | <td align="left"><b>Topic:</b> <blockquote> A. Thought Experiments<br> | ||
B. Genetic Engineering and Transhumanism<br> | B. Genetic Engineering and Transhumanism<br> | ||
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− | <td width=" | + | <td width="15%" valign="top">OCT 14</td> |
<td align="left"><b>Topic:</b><blockquote> A. Kant as Turning Point | <td align="left"><b>Topic:</b><blockquote> A. Kant as Turning Point | ||
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− | <td width=" | + | <td width="15%" valign="top">OCT 21</td> |
<td align="left"><b>Topic:</b> <Blockquote>A. Faith and Reason <BR>B. Contemporary treatment of Religion | <td align="left"><b>Topic:</b> <Blockquote>A. Faith and Reason <BR>B. Contemporary treatment of Religion | ||
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− | <td width=" | + | <td width="15%" valign="top">OCT 28</td> |
<td align="left"><b>Topic:</b> <blockquote> A. Introduction to the Continental / Analytic Division<br> | <td align="left"><b>Topic:</b> <blockquote> A. Introduction to the Continental / Analytic Division<br> | ||
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− | <td width=" | + | <td width="15%" valign="top">NOV 4</td> |
<td align="left"><b>Topic:</b> Philosophy of Law<br> | <td align="left"><b>Topic:</b> Philosophy of Law<br> | ||
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− | <td width=" | + | <td width="15%" valign="top">NOV 11</td> |
<td align="left"><b>Topic:</b>A. Naturalism: Evolution, and Epistemology<br> | <td align="left"><b>Topic:</b>A. Naturalism: Evolution, and Epistemology<br> | ||
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− | <td width=" | + | <td width="15%" valign="top">NOV 18</td> |
<td align="left"><b></b>Buddhism and Personal Identity <br><br> | <td align="left"><b></b>Buddhism and Personal Identity <br><br> | ||
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− | <td width=" | + | <td width="15%" valign="top">NOV 25</td> |
<td align="left">Pre-Thanksgiving Class - Some student conferences</td> | <td align="left">Pre-Thanksgiving Class - Some student conferences</td> | ||
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− | <td width=" | + | <td width="15%" valign="top">DEC 2</td> |
<td align="left"><b>Topic:</b> Food and Philosophy<br> | <td align="left"><b>Topic:</b> Food and Philosophy<br> | ||
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− | <td width=" | + | <td width="15%" valign="top">DEC 9</td> |
<td align="left">Final Symposium<blockquote>Free Will</blockquote> | <td align="left">Final Symposium<blockquote>Free Will</blockquote> | ||
<B>Readings: </b> Rahut, Chapter 4, "Free Will"<BR> | <B>Readings: </b> Rahut, Chapter 4, "Free Will"<BR> |
Revision as of 22:12, 1 September 2015
SEP 2 | Topic: Course Introduction
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SEP 9 | Topics:
Readings: Hadot, "Spiritual Exercises," and "Philosophy as a Way of Life;" Deleuze, "What is Philosophy?" Focus: With Hadot we're getting both a conception of philosophy and a thesis about the period of Hellenistic philosophy, so please track those topics. Track Hadot's notion of "spiritual exercises," with examples. "Philosophy as a Way of Life" should help us address Hadot's view about philosophy. Deleuze is a contemporary postmodern philosopher. Read about him a bit before trying to read the assigned reading. He's telling us something subtle, I think, about the nature of philosophy by identifying it with concepts. The contrast between them is so dramatic that we will have ample opportunity to develop our own definitions. Our work on Philosophical Methods and Research will focus on a review of argument theory. |
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SEP 16 | Topics:
Readings: Schick and Vaughn, "Science and Its Pretenders;" Giere, "Understanding and Evaluating Theoretical Hypotheses"; Barnes, Chs. 16 and 17, "Natural Science in the 16th and 17th Centuries" and "The Impact of the New Intellectual Order on Philosophy and Education"; Bryson, Chapter 1 from A Short History of Nearly Everything, "How to Build a Universe" p. 9-28. Focus: The goal of this set of reading is to give you a sophisticated mainstream model of science and it's difference from non-science. Schick and Vaughn and Giere provide this. In Schick and Vaughn, focus on what a scientific hypothesis is and how it is evaluated. Consider the "criteria of adequacy" at the end of that article. In Giere, follow the story about Watson and Crick, but pay particular attention to the model of science in figure 2.9. The Barnes reading is more of a cultural history of science. Note the role of scientific socieities, the relation between science and university, and of course, follow the substantive discoveries that make up the scientific revolution. Barnes does a good job of showing you the incredible range of discovery, but don't feel like you need to be able to answer questions about all of these developments. With Bryson, you get some contemporary popular science writing that may turn out to have a philosophical use. Enjoy it. Read Chapter 2 if you have time. Method: Argument terms; Distinction between induction and deduction; reconstruction; explanation vs. argument. |
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SEP 23 | Topics:
Readings: Alfino, "Casual Sampler of Philosophical Openings"; Alfino, "Short Anthology of Non-academic Philosophy"; Focus:With the "Casual Sampler" just try to get a sense of the presuppositions about philosophy that come through the rhetoric. The anthology is a bit long, so you might need to sample it. Try to look at a variety of forms (story, essay, poem...) and think about whether and how philosophy can be done in literary forms. Method: review deductive, inductive and explanatory forms, validity, and assessing rationales. |
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SEP 30 | Topic:
Readings: Singer; "Rich and Poor;" Singer, from One World, Chapter 1 and 5, "A Changing World" and "One Community"; Jeffrey Sachs, "Can the Rich Afford to Help the Poor?" Focus:Singer's "Rich and Poor" is a pretty famous essay. It comes to us at a good time for our work on method. Try to reconstruct the argument the way we discussed in class last week. The more recent work from Singer mixes ethics and politics with a view of globalization. Focus Singer's account of the "new world order" and try to notice the role it plays in his argument. What is his view of the nation state? Reconstruct his basic argument that we should not based our ethics on the nation state. Jeffrey Sach's chapter helps update the data in Singer's viewpoint. Sachs will update you about the millennium development goals, tell you something about the structure of international aid, and the capacity of the US to contribute. |
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OCT 7 | Topic:
Readings: Schick and Vaughn, "The Laboratory of the Mind;" Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, "Thought Experiments"; Thompson, Judith Jarvis, "A Defense of Abortion"; Glover, "What Sort of People Should There Be?"; Nick Bostrom and Transhumanism (browse online, especially The Transhumanist FAQ and report links) |
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OCT 14 | Topic:
Readings: Kenny, "Descartes to Kant"; Scruton, Ch 10: Kant I; |
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OCT 21 | Topic:
Readings: Pope John Paul II, "Fides et Ratio" (Pope John Paul II, "Fides et Ratio" [1]); Michael Tkacz, "Faith, Reason, and Science: The View from the Catholic Tradition;" Barrett, "Cognitive Science of Religion"; Sosis, "The Adaptive Value of Religion" Focus:You might want to start your preparation by browsing the problem of faith and reason in some reference sources. Also, read about Steven Jay Gould's NOMA hypothesis since Dr. Tkacz refers to it. Also, look up "fideism." Fides et Ratio is 60 pages long, but the style of writing should help you focus on the evidence for the Pope's argument. Our task will be to reconcile the views of faith and reason in the readings. The second group of readings introduces you to some contemporary work on religion from the social and natural sciences. This work is challenging to people with faith commmitments in various ways. |
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OCT 28 | Topic:
Readings: Scruton, "Continental Philosophy from Fichte to Sartre"; Jones, "Phenomenological Method"; Nagel, "What is It Like to Be a Bat?"; Dennett "What it is Like to Be a Bat"; |
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NOV 4 | Topic: Philosophy of Law Readings: Fuller, "The Case of the Speluncean Explorers"; Fletcher, "Reflections on Felony Murder"; "The Controversial Felony Murder Case of The Elkhart 4: Should Teens Be Sentenced to 50 Years in Prison?" [2] Advocacy site: Free the Elkhart 4 [3]; "'Hiccup Girl' convicted in felony murder case, gets life term" [4] Focus: text |
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NOV 11 | Topic:A. Naturalism: Evolution, and Epistemology B. Methods Test Tonight! |
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NOV 18 | Buddhism and Personal Identity Readings: Siderits, Chapter Two "Early Buddhism: Basic Teachings"; Chapter Three, "Non-Self: Empty Persons"; Rauhut, Chapter 5, "The Problem of Personal Identity" |
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NOV 25 | Pre-Thanksgiving Class - Some student conferences | |
DEC 2 | Topic: Food and Philosophy Readings: |
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DEC 9 | Final Symposium
Readings: Rahut, Chapter 4, "Free Will" |