Contemporary analytic philosophy began with certain discoveries in formal logic, and much of the work we shall be reading is informed in one way or another by logic: Arguments, premises, and conclusions are often stated using the concepts of formal logic. A working understanding of basic logic, such as one would acquire in Phil 0540, is therefore almost but not quite essential.
Significant prior exposure to philosophy is essential: Much of the material we will be reading is very difficult. As usual with 1000-level courses, then, students should have taken at least one prior course in philosophy, and two are really preferred.
Students who are unsure of their preparation in either respect should speak with the instructor before enrolling.
As just said, the papers we will be reading are generally hard. You should expect to read each paper at least twice in order to understand it. The first time you read a paper, I'd suggest you just read through it quickly; don't worry too much if you're not getting everything. At this point, you're just trying to get a general sense for what the author is trying to do. The second time you read the paper, you should slow down. This is when you really do want to pause and think carefully through the various arguments that the author is giving. You will find extended reading notes to help you on the course website and on Canvas. (See this page by Jim Pryor for more on how to read philosophy.)
There are no textbooks for the course. All readings are accessible from the course website. For most of these, you will have digital access though the Brown library. For others, you will need a username and password that will be distributed in class. That said, we will be reading quite a few of the papers that are collected in Donald Davidson's Inquiries Into Truth and Interpretation, so it would be worth getting a copy, really. I did not, however, order it.
The course will meet Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 11am, in Smith-Buonanno G12. So far as possible, the course will be conducted as a discussion, not a lecture. Students should arrive appropriately prepared with questions, comments, and criticisms. We will generally discuss one paper each meeting. Reading notes will be posted to the course website to help guide students through the reading, together with some questions worth considering as you read. Each student is required to post a 'response' to the reading to the course's Canvas site by no later than 8am the day we will be discussing it. This is to give everyone, especially me, time to read and digest the responses. Students are (not specifically required but are) encouraged to read each other's postings, to comment upon them, and generally to use Canvas a platform for discussing the readings and asking questions.
The 'responses' do not need to answer any (let alone all) of the questions raised in the reading notes. What I am really interested to know is which parts of the papers students felt they understood, which they felt they did not, and what questions they have about the paper, so I can structure our discussion appropriately.
Class periods marked as `Discussion' are an opportunity for us to try to synthesize some of what we've been studying. You should plan to review the papers we've read since the previous Discussion session and write some thoughts, as usual, to Canvas.
Grades for the course will be determined as follows.
Grades will be recorded on the course's Canvas site. Pay no attention to Canvas's report of your cumulative grade. It is useless.
Warning: I do not accept late work, under any circumstances. On the other hand, I am extremely flexible about due dates. That is to say: If someone should need an extra day or two, they need only ask; no reason even need be given. If someone should need more time than that, then some reason does need to be given, but the request will usually be granted. Since I am so flexible, there can be no excuse for one's not asking for an extension. It's really just a matter of respect.
Students may use laptops and the like to take notes in class or to access material we are discussing in class, but all other use of computers, tablets, and mobile devices is strictly prohibited during class. This includes but is not limited to checking email, texting, and searching the web, even if the search is related to the course (unless special permission has been given). I establish this rule not for my benefit, not even for yours, but rather for that of your peers.
In a study entitled "Laptop multitasking hinders classroom learning for both users and nearby peers" (PDF here), Faria Sana, Tina Weston, and Nichola Cepeda showed eactly that. It is not just that students who "multi-task" during class—check e-mail, text, or whatever—received significantly lower grades in the study than students who did not. This is not surprising, since the human brain simply cannot focus on very many things at one time. (If you're skeptical about this, then watch this video or perhaps some of these ones.) Rather, the surprising conclusion was that students who were sitting near other students who were multi-tasking also received significantly lower grades than students were who not. In fact, they were almost as distracted as the students who were actually doing the multi-tasking!
There is thus evidence that multi-tasking does not only hurt the person doing it. It also harms the people around them. And that is the basis of my request that students not engage in such activities during class. If someone near you is doing so, you should feel free to ask them to stop. If need be, please feel free to talk to me.
Brown University is committed to full inclusion of all students. Please inform the instructor early in the term if you have a disability or other condition that might require accommodations or modification of any of the course procedures. For more information, please contact the Office of Student and Employee Accessibility Services. Students in need of short-term academic advice or support can contact one of the deans in the Dean of the College's office.