Thursday 10:30-12:25 in Main Building Room 305.

Here is the list of readings for the class. All the readings
on this list are required. Students are expected to read the
material before coming to class, and to participate fully in class.
The schedule may be adjusted, depending on the needs and
interests of the class. Almost all of the readings are online. Readings
that are not online are available in the Philosophy department office.

Please note that while many of the readings are not very long,
they are all original works of philosophy. That means that
concentration and effort will be needed to understand what
an author is saying. You are expected to try your best.
In class, I will often suggest a part of a reading to focus on.
Please do not worry if you cannot understand everything
the author says, but please do bring your questions and
comments to class for discussion.

If you are looking for further background readings on the topics
we will discuss, click "Other Readings" above.


Part I: Knowledge

Introduction
2 September


What is knowledge?
9 September
E. L. Gettier, "Is justified true belief knowledge?"


16 September
W. Lycan, "The Gettier problem problem"


First essay topics available here
Note: the deadline for the first essay has been
extended to 4 October.

No class 23 September (Mid-Autumn Festival)


The value of knowledge
30 September
Plato, Meno, focus on 96d-98d


Skepticism about knowledge
7 October
B. Stroud, The significance of philosophical skepticism, chapter 1

14 October
G. E. Moore, "Proof of an external world"

Second essay topics available here.
Note: the deadline is 25 October.

No class 21 October (Reading Week)

Part II: Belief and Justification

Foundationalism and Coherentism
28 October
L. Bonjour, "Can empirical knowledge have a foundation?"


Internalism and Externalism
4 November
A. Goldman, "What is justified belief?"
[focus on p 89-90 (introductory material),
95-99 (where he presents his theory),
101-103 (where he discusses some objections)]

11 November
L. Bonjour, "Externalist theories of empirical knowledge"


Part III: Alternatives

Experimental epistemology
18 November
M. Deutsch, "Intuitions, Counter-Examples and Experimental Philosophy"

Third essay topics available here.
Note: the deadline is 3 December.

Feminism and epistemology
25 November
S. Haslanger, "What Knowledge is and What It Ought to Be: Feminist Values and Normative Epistemology"


Formal methods
Optional class, 2 December