Syllabus Phil. 135 Theory of Knowledge Prof. Greenberg
Syllabus Phil. 135 Theory of Knowledge, Prof. Greenberg Spring 2015
Office hours of Prof. Greenberg: Tue-Thurs.4-5and by appt. Rabb 311
Text: Knowledge: readings in contemporary epistemology, ed. Sven Bernecker and Fred Dretske
General Topic
Knowledge
We shall discuss questions pertaining to our knowledge of the world, with regard to particular, existing things and also with regard to what must be true and is always true, if there are such things. Is knowledge always based on experience, and if so, can it also be knowledge of necessary truths, or are necessary truths known only a priori, that is, independently of all experience?
Requirements
1. Read assigned textbefore attending class.
2. Participate in class discussion.
3.Attend class. Absences excused only for documented reasons. Grade reduction for poor attendance.
4. Three (3)quizzes in class. Make-up quizzes allowed only for documented reasons.
5. Optional: One term paper; no longer than 1000 words (state word-count at top of paper); measured against quizzes.
6. Academic performance: Please see the instructor about academic difficulties before it is too late to do anything about them.
7. University Requirements: (a) Please inform instructor at the start of the semester of any documented disabilities that require accommodation. (b) Please do the same for religious practices that require accommodation. (c) The class will adhere to university regulations governing academic honesty. Cite as footnotes or endnotes all sources (e.g. title, author, date, etc.)either merely consulted or actually used for the paper. Plagiarism carries very stiff penalties.
Assignments
January
13thTu.Introduction
Justified True Belief
A discussion of understanding knowledge as justified true belief. Edmund Gettier first raised the question of whether we could rest with our understanding of knowledge as justified true belief. He cited some counter-examples to that understanding, which have been called “The Gettier Problem.” We will examine the problem.
15th Th. Edmund Gettier, Is justified true belief knowledge?
20th Tue.Richard Feldman, An alleged defect in Gettier counter-examples.
Sources of Knowledge
A discussion of the origins of knowledge of particular existing things through perception, and of the possibility of self-knowledge through introspection
Perception
22ndTh.H. P. Grice, The causal theory of perception
27th Tue.Grice, continued
29th Tue.P. F. Strawson, Perception and its objects
22nd Th.Strawson, continued
27th Tue.1st Quiz, on knowledge as justified true belief and perception
February
Introspection
3rd Tue.. Tyler Burge, Individualism and self-knowledge
5thTh.Burge, continued
Foundations and Norms
We’ll examine the question of whether certain things must be taken as given if knowledge is to be possible altogether. The question of the very possibility of knowledge involves that of its justification: what are the criteria that must be employed in our justification of our claims to knowledge? The question of justification is related to the earlier discussion of the Gettier Problem.
Foundations
10th Tue. H. H. Price, The given
12thTue. Roderick M. Chisholm, The directly evident
24thTue.Chisholm, continued
26thTh.
Normativity
March
3rdTue. W. V. Quine, Epistemology Naturalized
5th Th. Quine, continued
10th Tue.. Jaegwon Kim, What is ‘naturalized epistemology’?
12th Th.2ndQuiz, on foundations and normativity
Sources of Knowledge, again
In this concluding section of the course, we will examine two further, but related sources of knowledge. The first concerns the question of whether we can get knowledge from generalizing from our perceptions – knowledge by induction. And the second deals with the question of whether we can get a priori knowledge from introspection, that is, knowledge that is independent of perception, and hence is independent of experience.
Induction
17h Tue. Bertrand Russell, On Induction
19th Th. Russell, continued
24th Tue. Hans Reichenbach, The pragmatic justification of induction Nelson
26th Th. Reichenbach, continued
31stTue.Goodman, The new riddle of induction
April
2ndTh.Goodman, continued
A Priori Knowledge
14th Tue.Saul A. Kripke, A priori knowledge, necessity, and contingency
16th Th.Kripke, continued
21st Tue.Review
23rd Th. 3rd Quiz on induction anda priori knowledge and necessity; optional term paper
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