Lectures on Monday and Wednesday 11:40-12:30 in room M122.
Readings marked "optional" are not required.
All other readings are required.
Readings not available on the web can be borrowed from the
Philosophy department for photocopying.
Lecture notes and assignments are available here.
NEW: suggested paper
topics are available now.
Introduction
11 September
Skepticism
13, 18, 20, 25, 27 September
Stroud, The Significance of Philosophical
Skepticism, chapter 1 (13 Sep)
focus on pages 1, 10-31
if you are off-campus, click here for the Stroud reading
Moore, "Proof of an external world" (18 Sep)
focus on pages 147-149, 165-170
Moore, "Certainty", "A defense of common sense", "Four
forms of skepticism" (all
optional)
Wittgenstein, On Certainty (20, 25 Sep)
20 Sep read pages 1-10 (sections 1-65)
25 Sep read the rest
Wright, "(Anti-)Sceptics Simple and Subtle" (27
Sep)
only read pages 1-13
Truth
4, 9, 11, 16, 18 October
(Note holidays: 2, 23, 25, 30 October)
Lecture notes
Vagueness
1, 6, 8, 13,
15, November
Hyde, "Sorites Paradox"
Russell, "Vagueness" (optional)
Keefe and Smith, Introduction to Vagueness: A
Reader
Williamson, Vagueness
read chapter 7: sections 7.1 and 7.2
and chapter 8: section 8.1
Causation
20, 22, 27, 29 November; 4
December
Russell, "On the Notion of Cause"
focus on pages 171-2, 174-5, 177
Lewis, "Causation" and postscript to
"Causation"
click here, and then click on the link to
volume II
focus on pages 159-161 and 184-188
Menzies, "Counterfactual theories of causation"
(optional)
if you find Lewis difficult to understand, this may help
Lewis, "Causation as Influence" (optional)
Hall, "Philosophy of causation: blind alleys
exposed; promising directions highlighted"
Final thoughts
6 December