20 TH CENTURY PHILOSOPHY [PHIL ], SPRING 2017

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1 20 TH CENTURY PHILOSOPHY [PHIL ], SPRING 2017 INSTRUCTOR: David Pereplyotchik OFFICE HOURS: Tuesdays, 12-5pm REQUIRED TEXTS 1. Bertrand Russell, Problems of Philosophy 2. A. J. Ayer, Language Truth, and Logic 3. Paul Churchland, Scientific Realism and the Plasticity of Mind Some topics will require supplementary literature, which I will distribute over the web. WRITING INTENSIVE COURSE (WIC) This course may be used to satisfy the Writing Intensive Course (WIC) requirement. The purpose of a writing-intensive course is to assist students in becoming effective writers within their major discipline. A WIC requires a substantial amount of writing, provides opportunities for guided revision, and focuses on writing forms and standards used in the professional life of the discipline. COURSE DESCRIPTION Philosophy in the 20th century, particularly the analytic tradition, began with a revolt against idealism the view that all of reality is, in one sense or another, ultimately composed of mental units: sensations, perceptions, ideas, and the like. Moreover, a number of philosophers and logicians revived an interest in language and its structure, particularly its hidden, underlying structure, which was taken to be revealed via the method of logical analysis a method greatly facilitated by the monumental innovations in formal logic at the turn of the century. We devote the first majority of our course to the work of Bertrand Russell and A. J. Ayer, in large part because these authors so clearly exemplify the tendencies that characterize the birth of the analytic tradition. Russell s short book, The Problems of Philosophy, and Ayer s instant classic, Language, Truth, and Logic, both serve to introduce the key concepts that dominated discussion throughout the 20 th century: sense data, knowledge by acquaintance, definite descriptions, logical form, conceptual analysis, foundationalism, the problem of induction, and the argument from analogy, to name just a few. Idealism came into favor in the early modern period largely on the basis of problematic empiricist assumptions about the nature of perception. (You may find it useful to review Bishop George Berkeley s work, to get a sense of the kinds of errors that were involved here.) While they both reject Berkeley s form of idealism, Russell and Ayer each retain many of Berkeley s empiricist assumptions. And Ayer s forceful statement of the Logical Positivist program provides a vivid example of just how corrosive those assumptions can be, when taken to their logical extreme. Those who find such old-school empiricist views comfortable, familiar, and even obvious may be surprised to learn that almost every aspect of Logical Positivism has been questioned, rejected, and replaced in the second half of the 20 th century. An overarching goal of this course consists in seeing how the currently popular neo-pragmatist philosophy is derived from reflections on and decisive rejections of views like those championed by Russell and Ayer. In analyzing works of the towering figures from the second half of the century, such as Quine and Churchland, we will be surveying the hard-won lessons of the 20 th century. 1

2 COURSE REQUIREMENTS Reading Readings will be assigned for every class session. Please bear in mind that the readings are often challenging, and require both time investment and serious effort. You will be expected to complete all readings for a class session before that session, so please prepare accordingly. Philosophical texts often require several readings before you fully grasp their meaning and feel confident to evaluate them critically. If you ve done the reading, and you don t feel like you ve understood the main points, please take the time to re-read the material. Consider making an outline or a summary of the reading, on your second or third pass through the text. If after multiple readings you still feel like you don t understand the main points, it s your responsibility to contact me with detailed questions that reference specific aspects of the text. Please provide evidence of having made an effort to understand the material independently. Two Macro Papers, 20% each, for a total of 40% of the final grade You will be asked to write two macro papers. The minimum length of each macro paper is 2500 words. These papers will require a great deal of care and effort on your part. Each macro paper has to contain (i) a clear and viable thesis statement, (ii) at least one argument in defense of that statement, (iii) a potential response from the opposing side, and (iv) a cogent reply to that response. These are the bare-minimum requirements. I will occasionally point to suitable paper topics during the lectures, but the topics will not be predetermined. Each student will construct his or her own topic, based directly on the readings. You are required to consult with me about each macro paper prior to writing it. I will not accept papers from students who have not fulfilled this requirement. The consultations will take half an hour. It will be your responsibility to come to my office hours, or to be in touch with me about what other days/times you are available to meet with me. Please do this, either in person or by , two weeks before the deadline for each paper. For each pre-paper meeting, I will ask you to bring a couple of ideas for a thesis statement, as well as some elaboration of your ideas. We will discuss these and I will suggest various extensions and modifications of your proposal, as well as some supplementary resources for your research. You are encouraged to use a broad range of research sources in preparing your paper readings that go beyond the syllabus. By this, I do not mean Wikipedia articles; I mean professional journal articles and book chapters that you can find using the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy and other such resources. I will provide general instructions for the formatting and structure of the macro papers. In our pre-paper meetings, we will take some time to go over the requirements for philosophical essays, with a focus on constructing an effective thesis statement and organizing your ideas into a cogent argument. In general, philosophical writing should be clear, focused, persuasive, and attentive to every detail. Please avoid using jargon and -isms wherever possible and express your ideas in commonsense terms, though always with an eye for academic standards of diction. 2

3 The biggest factor in determining the grade on a philosophical paper is the strength of the overall argument, and the author s ability to anticipate and forestall challenges to his or her claims and inferences. Also important is the author s care with factual claims, as well as his or her comprehension of the course material. The grade is never based on the thesis that the author has chosen to put forward. The goal of this course is to teach students to reason well about difficult abstract issues. Success in the course consists in learning to argue well for your conclusions, whatever they happen to be. Students who receive a B or below on their first paper will be given a chance to submit a revised draft for a higher grade. You will have at most 2 weeks from the day the paper was returned to you to complete the revision. When revising your paper, make sure to take into account all of the comments and suggestions that I put on it, as well as any comments that you receive from your peer reviewers. Important: When turning in a revised version of your paper, please make it clear which words, sentences, or paragraphs were revised, by casting them in a different color. Note that I will not accept the revision if this requirement is not met. First Paper Peer Review, 5% of the final grade For your first paper, you will be asked to engage in a process of peer review, which will count toward your final grade in the course. This will work as follows: When you submit your paper to me on the due date, I will give it to one of your fellow classmates for evaluation. If you wish to preserve your anonymity, make sure to submit a version of the paper that doesn t have any identifying information. Otherwise, by submitting the paper to me, you automatically waive your right to anonymity, which would have been guaranteed by FERPA. You will have one week to submit your peer review of your classmate s paper. Your review should focus on all of the following: the quality of the thesis statement, the author s diction, organization, paragraph/topic transitions, grammar, style, and, of course, most importantly, content. You will be given a grading rubric, on which you will score all of these aspects of your classmate s work. In addition to providing your comments and suggestions, you will be asked to assign a grade (A-F). The grade you assign will not affect your classmate s grade on that paper. Five Micro Papers, 10% each, for a total of 50% of the final grade You will be asked to submit five micro papers, each 1000 words minimum. Micro papers should address the readings from the prior 2-3 weeks of the course. The responses should include summaries of the readings, and should also serve as a venue for your critical reactions to the texts. The papers offer an opportunity to carefully evaluate the claims, arguments, and theories that you encounter in the readings. The micro papers will be graded on a 10-point scale, each point being worth 1% of the final grade for the course. The only way to receive 0 points is to not submit a paper, or to submit one that is below the word-count requirement. In addition to a grade, you will receive comments on some of your critical responses, though not all. Please feel absolutely free to use your ideas from the critical responses in your long papers. That s actually part of their purpose. You should, however, make revisions to those ideas in light of the feedback that you receive from me. 3

4 Class Participation, 5% of the final grade Class participation consists in contributing to class discussion by making comments or asking questions that demonstrate both a grasp of the course material and an interest in the topics. Although attendance is required, it does not count as class participation. I think of participation as a kind of intellectual investment, which goes beyond simply completing the reading and writing assignments. Some students will initially find it difficult to speak up in front of others. Nevertheless, public speaking is an essential aspect of the course, and also a requirement; no student can receive an A in the course without engaging actively in class discussion. Limited class participation credit can also be earned by engaging with me by or at office hours. The elements of class participation are listed below. As I observe the class discussion, I will use these criteria in evaluating your contributions. 1. present in class, awake, and attentive 2. shows evidence of having done the reading carefully, and thought about it in a sustained way 3. makes explicit reference to the text, and is good at choosing particularly relevant passages 4. helps classmates understand the passages/ideas/texts under discussion 5. engages in spirited but respectful debate 6. connects present readings/topics to ones discussed earlier in the semester 7. sheds new light on a particular reading or topic To make the class participation grade as objective as possible, you will be asked to write down some keywords from your contribution to the class discussion at the end of each class session. ATTENDANCE Attendance is mandatory; having more than 2 absences or lateness will negatively impact your final grade in the course. Students who exceed five absences will automatically fail the course. A sign-in sheet will be passed around at the beginning of each class session. All students are expected to come to class on time and to be engaged for the length of the class session. Students who are absent from class for religious reasons or due to documented medical treatment will not incur any penalty on their final grade, but are nevertheless responsible for all required reading and writing assignments. GRADING Here is a summary of how your final grade will be calculated: 40% of the final grade for two macro papers (20% each) 50% of the final grade for five micro papers (10% each) 5% for the peer review of a classmate s first paper 5% of the final grade for class participation (as defined above) A B C D A B C F below 51 B C There is no curve for the course. This means that you are not in competition with your classmates for high grades. It is conceivable though exceedingly unlikely that everyone in the course will receive an A. When you receive your final grade for the course, please note that it is non-negotiable. I will not change grades, unless I have made a demonstrable clerical error in my calculations. 4

5 GENERAL ETIQUETTE Laptops and phones are not permitted in class for any reason. Please treat your correspondences with me as professionally as possible. Please avoid coming to class late. OFFICE HOURS AND AVAILABILITY As noted above, my primary office hours are on Tuesdays, between 12pm and 5pm. (This may change as the semester continues; I will announce any changes.) If you want to meet with me at some other time, let me know and we can try to arrange it. If you prefer to meet somewhere on campus other than my office or the student center, let me know and we ll see what we can work out. (It won t always be possible, of course.) There are many other means of contacting me, including Skype, GoogleChat, ichat, and the like. I am open to all of these options, if you prefer to use them. My only strict rule is that I cannot meet with you on the weekends. Needless to say, I can be reached by at any time. I will do my best to respond to your s as quickly as possible. Sometimes I will reply to your message immediately, even at odd hours, like 4am. However, please do not assume that this is always possible; there is great variability. Indeed, occasionally, I will not have access to or will not be able to answer your query for up to several days. In such cases, please be patient. PLAGIARISM, CHEATING, AND OTHER FORMS OF ACADEMIC DISHONESTY Please note that I do not tolerate academic dishonesty in any form. I take a strict stance on this. Be aware that I will dole out maximum penalties for violations, including assigning failing grades and pushing for suspension and/or expulsion from Kent State. If you are unclear on what constitutes plagiarism or academic dishonesty, make it your business to learn about this immediately. Ignorance of university policy will not be accepted as an excuse. University policy deals with the problem of academic dishonesty. The sanctions provided in this policy will be used to deal with any violations. If you have any questions, please read the policy at INFORMATION FOR STUDENTS WITH DOCUMENTED DISABILITIES University policy requires that students with documented disabilities be provided reasonable accommodations to ensure their equal access to course content. If you have a documented disability and require accommodations, please contact me at the beginning of the semester to make arrangements for necessary adjustments. Please note, you must first verify your eligibility for these through Student Accessibility Services. Contact or visit for more information on the relevant procedures. REGISTRATION AND WITHDRAWAL DEADLINES The official registration deadline for this course is January 26 th, University policy requires all students to be officially registered in each class they are attending. Students who are not officially registered for a course by published deadlines should not be attending classes and will not receive credit or a grade for the course. Each student must confirm enrollment by checking his/her class schedule, using Student Tools in FlashLine, prior to the deadline indicated. Registration errors must be corrected prior to that deadline. The course withdrawal deadline is March 23 rd,

6 COURSE SCHEDULE Session 1. Wednesday, Jan. 18 th Introduction: No required readings Session 2. Monday, Jan. 23 rd Bertrand Russell, Problems of Philosophy, ch. 1 Session 3. Wed., Jan. 25 th Bertrand Russell, Problems of Philosophy, ch. 2 Session 4. Monday, Jan. 30 th Bertrand Russell, Problems of Philosophy, ch. 3 Session 5. Wed., February 1 st Bertrand Russell, Problems of Philosophy, ch. 4 Session 6. Monday, February 6 th Bertrand Russell, Problems of Philosophy, ch. 5 Session 7. Wed., February 8 th Bertrand Russell, Problems of Philosophy, ch. 6 Session 8. Monday February 13 th Bertrand Russell, Problems of Philosophy, ch. 7 Session 9. Wed., February 15 th Bertrand Russell, Problems of Philosophy, ch. 8 Session 10. Monday, February 20 th Bertrand Russell, Problems of Philosophy, ch. 9 Session 11. Wed., February 22 nd Bertrand Russell, Problems of Philosophy, ch. 10 Session 12. Monday, February 27 th Bertrand Russell, Problems of Philosophy, chs Session 13. Wed., March 1 st Bertrand Russell, Problems of Philosophy, chs Sunday, March 5 th First macro paper due Session 14. Monday, March 6 th A. J. Ayer, Language, Truth, and Logic, ch. 1 Session 15. Wed., March 8 th A. J. Ayer, Language, Truth, and Logic, ch. 2 Session 16. Monday, March 13 th A. J. Ayer, Language, Truth, and Logic, ch. 3 Session 17. Wed., March 15 th A. J. Ayer, Language, Truth, and Logic, ch. 4 Session 18. Monday, March 20 th A. J. Ayer, Language, Truth, and Logic, ch. 5 Session 19. Wed., March 22 nd A. J. Ayer, Language, Truth, and Logic, ch. 6 March 27 th -April 2 nd SPRING BREAK NO CLASSES Session 20. Monday, April 3 rd A. J. Ayer, Language, Truth, and Logic, ch. 7 Wednesday, April 5 th A. J. Ayer, Language, Truth, and Logic, ch. 8 Session 21. Monday, April 10 th W. V. Quine, Two Dogmas of Empiricism Session 22. Wednesday, April 12 th NO CLASS ON THIS DAY Session 23. Monday, April 17 th W. V. Quine, Two Dogmas of Empiricism Session 24. Wednesday, April 19 th W. V. Quine, Two Dogmas of Empiricism Session 25. Monday, April 24 th Churchland, Scientific Realism & Plasticity of Mind, ch. 2 Session 26. Wednesday, April 26 th Churchland, Scientific Realism & Plasticity of Mind, ch. 2 Session 27. Monday, May 1 st Churchland, Scientific Realism & Plasticity of Mind, ch. 3 Session 28. Wednesday, May 6 th Churchland, Scientific Realism & Plasticity of Mind, ch. 3 Wednesday, May 10 th Second macro paper due 6