20th Century Anglo-American Philosophy

Phil. 176

Schedule of readings for
Philosophy 176
Fall Semester 2009

Prof. Dowden

week 1

Sept 1, INTRODUCTION

Read "Continental vs. Anglo-American Philosophy" in the folder "Absolute Idealism" in SacCT.

Hegel

Sept. 3, ABSOLUTE IDEALISM:

Browse the brief introductory articles "The Rise of Analytic Philosophy," "The Pre-Analytic Enemy: Idealism," and "Analytic and Linguistic Philosophies" in the introduction of the Klemke textbook. Because these provide an abbreviated summary of the whole book, you are not expected to understand some of the specific points in the intro until the end of the semester. Read "Royce" and "The Absolute" in the folder "Absolute Idealism" in SacCT. Then read "Reality and Idealism" by Josiah Royce from his The Spirit of Modern Philosophy (1892), also in Klemke. On the first page, Royce [the greatest philosopher ever to emerge from Grass Valley, California] says "There is nothing in the universe absolutely sure except the Infinite." Find this remark; figure out what it means, why he believes it, and whether you believe it.

Royce

week 2

Sept. 8 & 10, COMMON SENSE PHILOSOPHY

"The Refutation of Idealism" (1903) by G. E. Moore. (Klemke)

Moore
"Idealism" (1912) by Bertrand Russell, chapter 4 of The Problems of Philosophy.

week 3

Sept. 15, COMMON SENSE PHILOSOPHY

"Proof of an External World" (1938) by G. E. Moore. (Klemke)

Sept. 17, EARLY ANALYTIC

"On Denoting" (1905) by Bertrand Russell.

Russell

week 4

Sept. 22 & 24, LOGICAL ATOMISM

"Particulars, Predicates, and Relations" (1918) by Bertrand Russell. (Klemke)

"Excursus into Metaphysics: What There Is" (1918) by Bertrand Russell. (Klemke)

"Wittgenstein's Logical Atomism." (SacCT)

week 5

Sept. 29, LOGICAL POSITIVISM

"The Elimination of Metaphysics" (1936) by A. J. Ayer. (Klemke)

"The Function of Philosophy" (1936) by A. J. Ayer. (Klemke)

Ayer

Oct. 1, LOGICAL POSITIVISM

"The A Priori" (1936) by A. J. Ayer. (Klemke)

"Truth and Probability" (1936) by A. J. Ayer. (Klemke)

week 6

Oct. 6, LOGICAL POSITIVISM

"Critique of Ethics and Theology" (1936) by A. J. Ayer. (Klemke)

Oct. 8, LOGICAL POSITIVISM

Read the files in the "Carnap" folder in SacCT.

"Empiricism, Semantics, and Ontology" (1950) by Rudolf Carnap.

Carnap

week 7

Oct. 13, ORDINARY LANGUAGE PHILOSOPHY

"Logical Construction" in The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy.

"Systematically Misleading Expressions" (1932) by Gilbert Ryle. (Klemke)

Ryle

Oct. 15, ORDINARY LANGUAGE PHILOSOPHY

"Philosophical Perplexity" (1936) by John Wisdom. (Klemke)

Wisdom

week 8

Oct. 20, ORDINARY LANGUAGE PHILOSOPHY

"Descartes' Myth" (1949) by Gilbert Ryle. (Klemke)

Oct. 22, ORDINARY LANGUAGE PHILOSOPHY

"From the Earlier to the Later Wittgenstein"
by David Pears.
"The Private Language Argument" (1949) by Ludwig Wittgenstein.

"Wittgenstein" in the Biographical Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Philosophers.

Wittgenstein

week 9

Oct. 27, ORDINARY LANGUAGE PHILOSOPHY

"Performative-Constative" (1963) by John Austin. (Klemke)

Austin

Oct. 29

"The Refutation of Realism" (1934) by W. T. Stace. (use JSTOR)

week 10

Nov. 3

"On What There Is" (1948) by W. V. O. Quine. (Klemke)

"Speaking of Objects" (1957) by W. V. O. Quine. (use JSTOR)

Quine

Nov. 5

"Necessary Truth" (1963) by W. V. O. Quine.

week 11

Nov. 10

"In Defense of a Dogma" (1956) by H. Paul Grice and P. F. Strawson. (use JSTOR)

Grice

Strawson

Nov. 12

"Studies in the Logic of Explanation" (1948) by Carl Hempel and Paul Oppenheim. (browse in JSTOR)

Hempel

week 12

Nov. 17

"Computing Machinery and Intelligence" (1950) by Alan Turing. (JSTOR)

Turing

Nov. 19

"Can Computers Think?" (1984) by John Searle.

Searle

week 13

Thanksgiving vacation

week 14

Dec. 1

"Conjectures and Refutations" (1957) by Karl Popper. (Read Achinstein's review in JSTOR). Also, Popper on Darwinism.

Popper

Dec. 3

"Is Justified True Belief Knowledge?" (1963) by Edmund Gettier.

Gettier

week 15

Dec. 8

"Identity and Necessity" (1971) by Saul Kripke. (Instead of reading the Kripke article in Klemke, we will read Steven Pinker's "Semantics of Names," from pp. 9-13 of The Stuff of Thought.)

Kripke

Review for the final exam.

week 16

Dec. 16

Final Exam, 8:00

return to the syllabus

.

PROF. DOWDEN / PHILOSOPHY DEPT.
COLLEGE OF ARTS AND LETTERS / CSUS

The web address of this file is
http://www.csus.edu/indiv/d/dowdenb/176/f08/176-f09-list.htm
updated: November 12, 2009

Phil. 176
Schedule of readings for Philosophy 176 Fall Semester 2009 Prof. Dowden

	week 1 Sept 1, INTRODUCTION Read "Continental vs. Anglo-American Philosophy" in the folder "Absolute Idealism" in SacCT. Hegel Sept. 3, ABSOLUTE IDEALISM: Browse the brief introductory articles "The Rise of Analytic Philosophy," "The Pre-Analytic Enemy: Idealism," and "Analytic and Linguistic Philosophies" in the introduction of the Klemke textbook. Because these provide an abbreviated summary of the whole book, you are not expected to understand some of the specific points in the intro until the end of the semester. Read "Royce" and "The Absolute" in the folder "Absolute Idealism" in SacCT. Then read "Reality and Idealism" by Josiah Royce from his The Spirit of Modern Philosophy (1892), also in Klemke. On the first page, Royce [the greatest philosopher ever to emerge from Grass Valley, California] says "There is nothing in the universe absolutely sure except the Infinite." Find this remark; figure out what it means, why he believes it, and whether you believe it. Royce week 2 Sept. 8 & 10, COMMON SENSE PHILOSOPHY "The Refutation of Idealism" (1903) by G. E. Moore. (Klemke) Moore *"Idealism" (1912) by Bertrand Russell, chapter 4 of The Problems of Philosophy.* week 3 Sept. 15, COMMON SENSE PHILOSOPHY "Proof of an External World" (1938) by G. E. Moore. (Klemke) Sept. 17, EARLY ANALYTIC "On Denoting" (1905) by Bertrand Russell. Russell week 4 Sept. 22 & 24, LOGICAL ATOMISM "Particulars, Predicates, and Relations" (1918) by Bertrand Russell. (Klemke) "Excursus into Metaphysics: What There Is" (1918) by Bertrand Russell. (Klemke) "Wittgenstein's Logical Atomism." (SacCT) week 5 Sept. 29, LOGICAL POSITIVISM "The Elimination of Metaphysics" (1936) by A. J. Ayer. (Klemke) "The Function of Philosophy" (1936) by A. J. Ayer. (Klemke) Ayer Oct. 1, LOGICAL POSITIVISM "The A Priori" (1936) by A. J. Ayer. (Klemke) "Truth and Probability" (1936) by A. J. Ayer. (Klemke) week 6 Oct. 6, LOGICAL POSITIVISM "Critique of Ethics and Theology" (1936) by A. J. Ayer. (Klemke) Oct. 8, LOGICAL POSITIVISM Read the files in the "Carnap" folder in SacCT. "Empiricism, Semantics, and Ontology" (1950) by Rudolf Carnap. Carnap week 7 Oct. 13, ORDINARY LANGUAGE PHILOSOPHY *"Logical Construction" in The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy.* "Systematically Misleading Expressions" (1932) by Gilbert Ryle. (Klemke) Ryle Oct. 15, ORDINARY LANGUAGE PHILOSOPHY "Philosophical Perplexity" (1936) by John Wisdom. (Klemke) Wisdom week 8 Oct. 20, ORDINARY LANGUAGE PHILOSOPHY "Descartes' Myth" (1949) by Gilbert Ryle. (Klemke) Oct. 22, ORDINARY LANGUAGE PHILOSOPHY "From the Earlier to the Later Wittgenstein" by David Pears. "The Private Language Argument" (1949) by Ludwig Wittgenstein. *"Wittgenstein" in the Biographical Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Philosophers.* Wittgenstein week 9 Oct. 27, ORDINARY LANGUAGE PHILOSOPHY "Performative-Constative" (1963) by John Austin. (Klemke) Austin Oct. 29 "The Refutation of Realism" (1934) by W. T. Stace. (use JSTOR) week 10 Nov. 3 "On What There Is" (1948) by W. V. O. Quine. (Klemke) "Speaking of Objects" (1957) by W. V. O. Quine. (use JSTOR) Quine Nov. 5 "Necessary Truth" (1963) by W. V. O. Quine. week 11 Nov. 10 "In Defense of a Dogma" (1956) by H. Paul Grice and P. F. Strawson. (use JSTOR) Grice Strawson Nov. 12 "Studies in the Logic of Explanation" (1948) by Carl Hempel and Paul Oppenheim. (browse in JSTOR) Hempel week 12 Nov. 17 "Computing Machinery and Intelligence" (1950) by Alan Turing. (JSTOR) Turing Nov. 19 "Can Computers Think?" (1984) by John Searle. Searle week 13 Thanksgiving vacation week 14 Dec. 1 "Conjectures and Refutations" (1957) by Karl Popper. (Read Achinstein's review in JSTOR). Also, Popper on Darwinism. Popper Dec. 3 "Is Justified True Belief Knowledge?" (1963) by Edmund Gettier. Gettier week 15 Dec. 8 "Identity and Necessity" (1971) by Saul Kripke. (Instead of reading the Kripke article in Klemke, we will read Steven Pinker's "Semantics of Names," from pp. 9-13 of The Stuff of Thought.) Kripke Review for the final exam. week 16 Dec. 16 Final Exam, 8:00 return to the syllabus
	. PROF. DOWDEN / PHILOSOPHY DEPT. COLLEGE OF ARTS AND LETTERS / CSUS The web address of this file is http://www.csus.edu/indiv/d/dowdenb/176/f08/176-f09-list.htm updated: November 12, 2009