PHL 310: Knowledge and Reality Fall 2009 Professor: Sinan Dogramaci Email: sinan.dogramaci@gmail.com Office Hours: Wednesday, 3:30pm, 408B Waggener Hall. Or by appt. Course Information: Are there any absolute truths and is it possible for us to know them? The purpose of this course is to make sense of that question, and maybe take a step or two towards some answers. Weʼll begin by comparing notions of absolute truth and relative truth. What does the distinction amount to, and what kind of truth is really out there? Next weʼll turn to the topic of god. Does the elegant design of the world we see around us constitute a compelling argument in favor of godʼs existence? If the argument is less than compelling, is it still permissible to believe in god? Weʼll go on to discuss the significance of the fact that smart people often disagree with one another about religious matters. Our final two topics will concern radical skepticism about our knowledge of the world. First we will examine the classic philosophical argument that we cannot really know whether there is an external material world containing rocks, trees, tables and chairs. And second weʼll examine the argument that we cannot, on the basis of past experience, draw any conclusions about the future. Weʼll evaluate the power of both kinds of skeptical argument, and weʼll study some standard replies to each. Books and Readings: There is only one book youʼll need to buy for this class: Paul Boghossianʼs Fear of Knowledge. The rest of the readings will be made available as PDFs. Assignments and Grading: Students will write three short papers, each one 5-6 double-spaced pages. This will be the only graded material for this class. Pluses and minuses will be used. I will be grading your papers blindly. In other words, you will not write your name anywhere on your paper, youʼll only write an identification number, and I will read and grade each paper without knowing who wrote it.
Class participation is extremely welcome. Ask questions and share your thoughts. Never worry that your question sounds dumb, because (a) it wonʼt affect your grade, and more importantly (b) itʼs almost certainly not a dumb question. If your final grade from the papers is right on a borderline then it can be adjusted up or down. Multiple unexcused absences from lecture will put it below the borderline. A dramatically upward progress of grades on the three papers can put it above the borderline. Late Papers: Any paper handed in after the start of the class when it is due will be docked onethird of a letter grade. An additional one-third of a letter will be docked every 24 hours after that. Medical excuses for late papers require written notice from your doctor to avoid docking. Plagiarism is Totally Insane 1 : Donʼt plagiarize! This course will have a zero tolerance policy for plagiarism. Plagiarism happens whenever your paper includes words or ideas that come from someone else, and you do not explicitly say what is coming from someone else (e.g. like I do with my footnote to the heading above). Students are caught plagiarizing all the time. If you plagiarize in this course, it will be caught, you will automatically fail the course, and you will be reported to the dean. Disabilities: Students with disabilities may request appropriate academic accommodations from the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, Services for Students with Disabilities, 471-6259. (quoted from a memo from Vice Provost Ritter.) 1 I am taking this heading title from my friend Seth Yalcinʼs syllabus for a similar course he taught at NYU.
Course Schedule: Relativism and Constructivism Aug 1 Boghossian, Fear of Knowledge, ch. 1 Sept 1 Sept 3 Whorf, Science and Linguistics ; Goodman, The Way the World Is ; Feyerabend, Rationalism, Relativism, and the Scientific Method continue above readings Sept 8 Boghossian, Fear of Knowledge, ch. 2 Sept 10 ch. 3 First Paper Topics Are Distributed Today Sept 15 ch. 4 Sept 17 ch. 5 Sept 22 ch. 6 First Paper Is Due at Start of Class Today Sept 24 ch. 7 Sept 29 ch. 8 & 9 Oct 1 class discussion of papers Arguing for and against Godʼs existence Oct 6 Oct 8 Oct 13 Oct 15 Oct 20 Oct 22 William Paley, The Watch and the Watchmaker Hume, Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion Swinburne, The Argument from Design Second Paper Topics Are Distributed Today
Oct 27 Dawkins, The God Delusion, ch. 4 Disagreeing about God Oct 29 Nov 3 Nov 5 Nov 10 Nov 12 G.A. Cohen, Paradoxes of Conviction Van Inwagen, It is always wrong, for anyone, anywhere, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence Second Paper Is Due at Start of Class Today Feldman, Reasonable Religious Disagreements Kelly, The Epistemic Significance of Disagreement (Read the statement of the "No independent weight view" (9-10), the discussion of "The Appeal to Symmetry" (14-20), and Kelly's "positive argument for the No Independent Weight View" (20-26).) Elga, On Overratting Oneself...and Knowing It Skepticism about Knowledge of the External World Nov 17 Nov 19 Nov 24 Stroud, The Problem of the External World Moore, Proof of an External World Vogel, Cartesian Skepticism and Inference to the Best Explanation Skepticism about Knowledge of the Future Dec 1 Dec 3 time allowing Hume, Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Section IV Hume, Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Section V Third Paper Topics Are Distributed Today Hans Reichenbach, The Pragmatic Justification of Induction
time allowing Van Cleve, Reliability, Justification, and the Problem of Induction Third Papers Are Due by 3:30pm, December 15th