Phil 2120 Topics in Analytic Philosophy

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Course description

This course investigates the views of three of the founders of analytic philosophy, G. E. Moore, Bertrand Russell and Ludwig Wittgenstein. It also takes a look at one of the most important movements in twentieth century philosophy, logical positivism. Topics covered include our knowledge of the external world, the nature of perception, Russell’s theory of descriptions, the foundations of mathematics, the metaphysical structure of reality, and the verificationist criterion of meaning.

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Instructor

Dan Marshall

Office: 10.08 Run Run Shaw Building

Email: danm@hku.hk

Office hour(s): After class, or 3pm-4pm Thursdays, or by appointment

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Course website

To find the course website, go to the philosophy department website and click on courses.

The course website will contain:

i) Seminar handouts,

ii) Readings,

iii) Essay questions,

iv) Important dates

v) Other important information.

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Mode of delivery

Seminars:

Fridays 2.30pm-2.20pm, CPD 2.45

There will be 12 two hour seminars during this course.

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Required Text

All students must have a copy of Scott Soames’ book Philosophical Analysis in the twentieth Century: Volume 1. This book can be bought in the HKU bookshop.

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Provisional Course Schedule

Date of Seminar	Topics	Required Reading
21 September	Moore’s Proof of an External World	Soames, Ch 1, Ch 2 pp. 12-23
28 September	Moore on Perception	Soames, Ch 2 pp. 24-33
5 October	Logical Form, Grammatical Form, and the Theory of Descriptions 1	Soames, Ch 5
12 September	Logical Form, Grammatical Form, and the Theory of Descriptions 1	Soames, Ch 5
19 October	Logic and Mathematics	Soames, Ch 6
26 October	No seminar (Reading week)
2 November	Logical Constructions and the External World	Soames, Ch 7
9 November	Logical Atomism	Soames, Ch 8
16 November	The Metaphysics of the Tractatus	Soames, Ch 9
23 November	Meaning, Truth and Logic in the Tractatus	Soames, Ch 10
30 November	The Tractarian Test of Intelligibility	Soames, Ch 11
7 December	Logical Positivism on Necessity and Aprioricity	Soames, Ch 12
14 December	The Rise and Fall of the Empiricist Criterion of Meaning	Soames, Ch 13

The details of the above course schedule may change. Any changes will be announced in seminars and on seminar handouts available on the course website.

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Course objectives

This course aims to introduce the views of some of the leading philosophers and philosophical movements of the twentieth century

It also seeks to provide training in:

i) Critical thinking and problem solving,

ii) Interpretation and evaluation of other people's views, and

iii) Spoken and written expression and argumentation.

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Student Outcomes

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

i) Understand and describe some of the important philosophical issues raised by Moore, Russell, Wittgenstein and logical positivism,

ii) Critically examine a range of views and arguments, and formulate responses to them, and

iii) Demonstrate critical argumentative and problem-solving skills in both verbal discussions and in a written essay.

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Assessment

Essays

There will be two 2000 word essays. Each essay will contribute 42.5% towards your final mark. The first essay will be on a topic on Moore or Russell. The second essay will be on a topic on Wittgenstein or Logical Positivism. The dates the essays are due will be announced in seminars and on the course webpage.

Class participation

Participation in seminars will contribute 15% towards your final mark.