20th Century Anglo-American Philosophy

Phil. 176

Schedule of readings for
Philosophy 176
Fall Semester 2010

Prof. Dowden

week 1

Aug. 31, INTRODUCTION

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

Hegel

Sept. 2, 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 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. 7 & 9, 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.

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

week 3

Sept. 14 & 16, EARLY ANALYTIC

"Frege, Russell, and the Linguistic Turn" in "Philosophy of Language".

Frege

week 4

Sept. 21 & 23, 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)

Optional reading: Wittgenstein's Tractatus is available at http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/gutbook/lookup?num=5740

week 5

Sept. 28, LOGICAL POSITIVISM

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

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

Ayer

Sept. 30, LOGICAL POSITIVISM

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

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

week 6

Oct. 5, LOGICAL POSITIVISM

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

Oct. 7, LOGICAL POSITIVISM

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

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

Carnap

week 7

Oct. 12, ORDINARY LANGUAGE PHILOSOPHY

"Logical Construction" in The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy.

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

Ryle

Oct. 14, ORDINARY LANGUAGE PHILOSOPHY

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

Wisdom

week 8

Oct. 19, ORDINARY LANGUAGE PHILOSOPHY

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

Oct. 21, ORDINARY LANGUAGE PHILOSOPHY

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

Wittgenstein

week 9

Oct. 26, ORDINARY LANGUAGE PHILOSOPHY

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

Oct. 28

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

Austin

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

week 10

Nov. 2

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

Quine

Nov. 4

Quine on the Analytic/Synthetic Distinction.

Quine on Physicalism, Instrumentalism, and Realism.

"Quine's Problematic Empiricist Heritage" by Scott Soames. (optional reading)

week 11

Nov. 9

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

Grice

Strawson

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

Hempel

Nov. 11

campus closed for Veterans Day

week 12

Nov. 16

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

Turing

Nov. 18

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

Searle

week 13

Thanksgiving vacation

week 14

Nov. 30

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

Popper

Dec. 2

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

Gettier

week 15

Dec. 7

"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.

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/f10/176-f10-list.htm
updated: Dec. 6, 2010

Phil. 176
Schedule of readings for Philosophy 176 Fall Semester 2010 Prof. Dowden

	week 1 Aug. 31, INTRODUCTION Read "Continental vs. Anglo-American Philosophy" in the folder "Absolute Idealism" in SacCT. Hegel Sept. 2, 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 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. 7 & 9, 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.* Russell "Proof of an External World" (1938) by G. E. Moore. (Klemke) week 3 Sept. 14 & 16, EARLY ANALYTIC "Frege, Russell, and the Linguistic Turn" in "Philosophy of Language". Frege week 4 Sept. 21 & 23, 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) *Optional reading: Wittgenstein's Tractatus* is available at http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/gutbook/lookup?num=5740 week 5 Sept. 28, LOGICAL POSITIVISM "The Elimination of Metaphysics" (1936) by A. J. Ayer. (Klemke) "The Function of Philosophy" (1936) by A. J. Ayer. (Klemke) Ayer Sept. 30, LOGICAL POSITIVISM "The A Priori" (1936) by A. J. Ayer. (Klemke) "Truth and Probability" (1936) by A. J. Ayer. (Klemke) week 6 Oct. 5, LOGICAL POSITIVISM "Critique of Ethics and Theology" (1936) by A. J. Ayer. (Klemke) Oct. 7, LOGICAL POSITIVISM Read the files in the "Carnap" folder in SacCT. "Empiricism, Semantics, and Ontology" (1950) by Rudolf Carnap. Carnap week 7 Oct. 12, ORDINARY LANGUAGE PHILOSOPHY "Logical Construction" in The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy. "Systematically Misleading Expressions" (1932) by Gilbert Ryle. (Klemke) Ryle Oct. 14, ORDINARY LANGUAGE PHILOSOPHY "Philosophical Perplexity" (1936) by John Wisdom. (Klemke) Wisdom week 8 Oct. 19, ORDINARY LANGUAGE PHILOSOPHY "Descartes' Myth" (1949) by Gilbert Ryle. (Klemke) Oct. 21, ORDINARY LANGUAGE PHILOSOPHY "From the Earlier to the Later Wittgenstein" by David Pears. "The Private Language Argument" (1949) by Ludwig Wittgenstein. Wittgenstein week 9 Oct. 26, ORDINARY LANGUAGE PHILOSOPHY "Wittgenstein" in the Biographical Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Philosophers. Oct. 28 "Performative-Constative" (1963) by John Austin. (Klemke) Austin "The Refutation of Realism" (1934) by W. T. Stace. (use JSTOR) week 10 Nov. 2 "On What There Is" (1948) by W. V. O. Quine. (Klemke) Quine Nov. 4 Quine on the Analytic/Synthetic Distinction. Quine on Physicalism, Instrumentalism, and Realism. "Quine's Problematic Empiricist Heritage" by Scott Soames. (optional reading) week 11 Nov. 9 "In Defense of a Dogma" (1956) by H. Paul Grice and P. F. Strawson. (use JSTOR) Grice Strawson "Studies in the Logic of Explanation" (1948) by Carl Hempel and Paul Oppenheim. (browse in JSTOR) Hempel Nov. 11 campus closed for Veterans Day week 12 Nov. 16 "Computing Machinery and Intelligence" (1950) by Alan Turing. (JSTOR) Turing Nov. 18 "Can Computers Think?" (1984) by John Searle. Searle week 13 Thanksgiving vacation week 14 Nov. 30 "Conjectures and Refutations" (1957) by Karl Popper. (Read Achinstein's review in JSTOR). Also, Popper on Darwinism. Popper Dec. 2 "Is Justified True Belief Knowledge?" (1963) by Edmund Gettier. Gettier week 15 Dec. 7 "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. 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/f10/176-f10-list.htm updated: Dec. 6, 2010