Professor Hans Zornoffice Hours: MW 2:20-3:30
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PHILOSOPHY 265
AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY
Spring 2015
Professor Hans ZornOffice hours: MW 2:20-3:30
Courthouse 315 TTh3:00-4:00
375-2024 (office) 989-1890 (home)
America’s distinctive contribution to philosophy is Pragmatism, an approach to philosophical questions that challenges traditional assumptions about objectivity, knowledge, and language. This course explores the pragmatist movement from its beginnings in the 19th century up to today. We begin with classical pragmatists: C. S. Peirce, William James, and John Dewey, then turn to more recent thinkers such as Quine, Rorty, Davidson, Putnam, and Rorty. We will try to perceive the connections among the diverse themes of American pragmatism, in particular the ways in which concerns about knowledge and metaphysics lead to outlooks on values and social movements.
Course outcomes:
Students will be able:
As a result of taking this course, students should be able:
To reflect critically on central issues and problems in American philosophy;
To use themes in American thought to understand and address key themes in philosophy;
To use skills in critical analysis.
Requirements:
Attendance (dropped after 3 skips)
Class participation 15% of total grade
3papers (4-5 pages ) 20%each
Midterm examination 10%
Final examination 15%
Late work is not accepted. If there is a compelling reason (serious illness or death in the family, for instance) that require you to miss an assignment or a test, you need to let me know about it.
All papers will be evaluated on their clarity of expression and cogency of argument. In general, an “A” paper is clearly organized, both at the paragraph level and overall, uses English properly at the sentence level, and has a clear thesis with a well-reasoned argument to support it. It goes beyond what is required by the assignment in the depth and thoroughness of its analysis. A “B” paper meets the assignment by critically engaging the material and arguing effectively. Its thesis may be less well-defined, and the argument not as rigorous or thorough as that of an “A” paper; often it has less effective organization and use of language. “C” papers also meet the assignment, but are not well-organized, often lack a clear thesis, and tend to have problems at the sentence level. “D” papers are seriously deficient in all areas, while an “F” indicates that the author has not understood the material or has made no effort to analyze it.
Students are expected to abide by the Roanoke College Academic Integrity Code at all times and for all work. As members of a community of scholars we draw on the work of others, but simple justice as well as intellectual integrity requires that we acknowledge the work of others by properly citing sources. If you have any questions about what to cite or how, you should talk to me.
The Writing Center @ Roanoke College, located on the Lower Level of Fintel Library, offers writing tutorials focused on written and oral communication for students working on writing assignments/projects in any field. Writers at all levels of competence may visit the Writing Center at any point in their process, from brainstorming to drafting to editing, to talk with trained peer tutors in informal, one-on-one sessions. The Writing Center is open Sunday through Thursday from 4 to 9 pm. Simply stop in, or schedule an appointment by going to where our schedule of writing workshops and creative writing playshops is also posted. Questions? Email or call 375-4949. Like our Facebook page for updates!
The Office of Disability Support Services, located in the Goode-Pasfield Center for Learning and Teaching in Fintel Library, provides reasonable accommodations to students with identified disabilities. Reasonable accommodations are provided based on the diagnosed disability and the recommendations of the professional evaluator. In order to be considered for disability services, students must identify themselves to the Office of Disability Support Services. Students requesting accommodations are required to provide specific current documentation of their disabilities. Please contact Rick Robers, M.A., Coordinator of Disability Support Services, at 540-375-2247 or e-mail .
Texts:
Talisse and Aikin, eds., The Pragmatism Reader
Electronic texts available on Inquire
Tentative schedule:
I: ROOTS OF AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY
Jan. 12Introduction: Sources of American Philosophy
14Emerson, “The American Scholar” (Inquire)
16Emerson, “Self-Reliance” (Inquire)
II: CLASSICAL PRAGMATISM
19Peirce, “Some Consequences of Four Incapacities”
21Peirce, continued
23Peirce, “The Fixation of Belief”
26Peirce, “How To Make Our Ideas Clear”
28Peirce, “Evolutionary Love” (Inquire)
30James, “Philosophical Conceptions and Practical Results”
Feb. 2James, “Pragmatism’s Conception of Truth”
4James, “The Dilemma of Determinism” (Inquire)
6James, “The Will To Believe”
9No class
Paper due
11James, "A Pluralistic Universe” (Inquire)
13Dewey, “The Need for a Recovery of Philosophy”
16Dewey, continued
18Dewey, “The Influence of Darwinism on Philosophy”
23Dewey, “Creative Democracy—The Task before Us”
25MidtermExamination
27Dewey, “A Common Faith” (Inquire)
SPRING BREAK
III: PRAGMATISM, IDEALISM, AND EMPIRICISM
Mar.9C. I. Lewis, “A Pragmatic Conception of the A Priori”
11Goodman, “Worlds, Works, Worlds”
13Quine, “On What There Is”
16Quine, “Two Dogmas of Empiricism”
18Davidson, “On the Very Idea of a Conceptual Scheme”
20Davidson, continued
23Sellars, “Language as Thought and Communication”
25Sellars, continued
27Putnam, “Meaning and Reference”
31Putnam, “Realism with a Human Face”
Paper due
IV: PRAGMATISM, ETHICS, AND SOCIETY
Apr.1Putnam, “A Reconsideration of Deweyan Democracy”
3Good Friday
6Rorty, “The World Well Lost”
8Rorty, “Solidarity or Objectivity?”
10Rorty, “The Priority of Democracy to Philosophy”
13Rorty, “Globalization, the Politics of Identity, and social Hope” (handout)
15Rorty, “Religious Faith, Intellectual Responsibility and Romance” (handout); West, Dispensing with Metaphysics in Religious Thought”
17Price, “Truth as a Convenient Fiction”
20Misak, “Making Disagreement Matter: Pragmatism and Deliberative Democracy”
Paper due
27FINALEXAMINATION 2:00-5:00