PHIL 300:
Epistemology
Spring 2011
- The main topic for this term is Skepticism, although there will be some discussion of the “Gettier Problem.”
Each student will be part of two group presentations. In addition, there will be a final exam and pop-quizzes. The presentations are worth 30 pts each, the final is worth 20 pts, the quizzes are worth a total of 20 pts.
Each group is responsible for a class presentation on their assignment. In preparation, each group will document its progress toward explaining: (a) the paper’s topic(s) , (b) the paper’s main thesis (theses), (c) the arguments in the paper, and (d) the meanings of any technical terms needed for understanding (a)-(c). During the presentation, each group will critically appraise the paper. Such appraisals must concentrate on the paper’s argument(s).
-
Week |
Day |
Article |
Presenters (not listed on web version) |
1 |
Tu |
What is Epistemology?, by Keith DeRose |
|
1 |
Th |
Is Justified, True Belief Knowledge, by Edmund L. Gettier, III |
|
2 |
Tu/Th |
Does the Gettier Problem Rest on a Mistake, by Richard L. Kirkham |
|
3 |
Tu/Th |
A Defense of Common Sense, by G.E. Moore |
|
4 |
Tu |
Proof of an External World, by G.E. Moore |
|
4 |
Th |
The Problem of the Criterion, by Roderick M. Chisholm |
|
5 |
Tu/Th |
A Defense of Skepticism, by Peter Unger |
|
5 |
Th |
A Reply to a Defense of Skepticism, by James Cargile |
|
6/7 |
Th/Tu |
Knowledge and Skepticism, by Robert Nozick |
|
7/8 |
Th/Tu |
Elusive Knowledge, by David Lewis |
|
8/9 |
Th/Tu |
How to Defeat Opposition to Moore, by Ernest Sosa |
|
9 |
Th |
In Defense of Moore’s “Proof of an External World,” by John O. Nelson
How Moore Beat the Skeptic, by Michael Fara |
|
9/10 |
Tu/Th |
Moorean Facts and Belief Revision, or Can the Skeptic Win, by Thomas Kelly |
|
10 |
Tu |
The Inescapability of Gettier Problems, by Linda Zagsebsky |
|
10 |
Th |
On the Gettier Problem, by William Lycan |
|
-
|
Rene Descartes
G.E. Moore
Roderick M. Chisholm
Edmund L. Gettier, III
|
