I don't know how exactly how many grains of sand are in this heap, but let's say 100,000. The real question, then, seems to be whether, and how, free choice is possible amidst all of these influences. In fact, it seems like you can't change a heap of sand into something that isn't a heap of sand by removing one grain of sand. Each questioned the emancipatory effect of reason and freedom as well as idealist accounts of moral progress in human history. For example, many people would agree that 'Keith's favorite unicorn' is a meaningful expression. Does it advance our thinking and increase our knowledge of the world? central to debates about the significance and value of his work such as: psychology academically respectable. Beyond this common ground, however, epistemologists are much divided. the Enlightenment . Rather than seeing philosophy as an esoteric discipline, the pragmatic philosophers (with the possible exception of Peirce) see philosophy as integral to our culture and see themselves as public intellectuals. The thoughts that Aristotle expresses in these books were instrumental in setting an intellectual agenda that dominated western thought through the Middle Ages and provided the backdrop against which the modern philosophical tradition arose. Black Marxism: Political Theory and Anti-Colonialism, What Philosophy Is: It's Methods, Aims and Values. In this course, we will study the most important and influential chapters of the, Topics in Philosophy of Race: Hegel and Africana Philosophy, double? But is the best conclusion we can come to with respect to our intellectual endeavors that skepticism always carries the day and that nothing at all is true? What do you expect to learn? Our aim will be to identify and evaluate the strongest version of each argument. However, the status of loyalty as a virtue has always been suspect: it has been argued that it is incompatible with impartiality, fairness and equality, and claimed that it is always exclusionary. Some critics find predictive failures of economists unsurprising, given the frequent reliance of the latter on assumptions known to be false (e.g., that economic agents are always selfish, have perfect information, and never make mistakes) and on models that unavoidably ignore potentially relevant factors. Police believe Cy argued with his father around 2am on Friday at their beachside suburban Adelaide home. How do we create legal and policy frameworks that cover a new kind of thinking being? We will begin with John Stuart Mill's powerful defense of free speech in On Liberty, but will then investigate challenges to Mill's traditional liberalism from thinkers, such as Catharine MacKinnon, who believe that such rights are never neutral. What makes an individual's life go well? In contrast with this interpretive tendency, this tutorial will focus on Hume's" science of human nature"--his overall philosophical project in Treatise--and cultivate the discussion of different philosophical issues and arguments in light of this general aim of the work as a whole. And please refer to Class Notes for further information . Or can meaning be allocated only to entire sets of beliefs? Type in your search terms and press enter or navigate down for suggested search results. philosophers deeply influenced by pragmatism do not recognize the fact, while, on the other hand, some self-proclaimed pragmatists of our days can hardly be seen as continuing the tradition to which they pledge allegiance. [more], This course will emphasize interdisciplinary approaches to the study of intelligent systems, both natural and artificial. Furthermore, many of the issues that Aristotle takes up in these books remain of central importance in contemporary philosophy. Along the way we will discuss principles of syntax, the sub-field that studies sentence structures, and pragmatics, the sub-field that studies inferences of non-literal content. Who are the people, anyway? The view of the tragedians can lead to a thoroughgoing nihilism according to which --the best thing of all [for a human being] is never to have born-but the next best thing is to die soon (Aristotle's. Cy Jacob Walsh, 26, entered no plea after being charged with murdering his father in a killing that has stunned Australia's sporting community. "I can't tell you anything about the argument or the circumstances but as a result of that both Mr Walsh and his wife received the wounds," Superintendent Des Bray told reporters in Adelaide. Some of the questions we will consider are: Are moral standards relative to cultural frameworks? Is that principle of organization justifiable or not? Topics to be considered include the nature of freedom (both individual and social), the master/slave dialectic and subject constitution, self-consciousness and double consciousness, the stages of history, and racial capitalism [more], Any critical theory presupposes an account how both individual and social subjects come into being. This is part of a full-year thesis (493-494). The first, shorter part will focus on the writings of the three classics of American pragmatism--Charles S. Peirce, William James and John Dewey--and analyze their reaction against traditional epistemology, as well as the positive philosophical ideas that they had to offer. 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[more], Kant's Critique of Pure Reason is perhaps the most significant text in the history of philosophy. We will look at relativism with respect to reason and truth in general as well as with respect to science, religion, and morality. One possible answer which we will examine is that, while many philosophers recognize that there are intimate connections between what we believe, feel and do, philosophical argumentation by its very nature appeals to belief alone; narrative art, by contrast, can simultaneously engage our reason, emotions, imagination and will, thus resulting not only in deepening our understanding, but also in transformation of the self. Perhaps even more so than on Friday night, the effect of Phil Walsh's death was felt at the MCG on Saturday afternoon. In addition we'll also look at feminist analyses of topics that traditionally have not been regarded as "gendered," such as resource allocation and end of life issues. See the college's. If so, freedom may seem impossible since we're all deeply influenced by factors ranging from the general laws of nature to specific features of our genetic endowment and social environment (including religion, political ideology, and advertising). Must the freedom or fulfillment of some people require the subordination of others? Although we will attempt to engage the readings on their own terms, we will also ask how the vast differences between the ancient world and our own undercut or enhance the texts' ability to illuminate the dilemmas of political life for us. The remainder of the course is devoted to political writings by other figures in the Western philosophical tradition (egs. According to one, there is a single group of students that had their hands extremely full this semester. But perform those exact same steps in a different order--check the stove, say "I didn't leave the stove on", then say "I might've left the stove on"--and something's gone quite wrong. Our aim is to enrich our understanding of the discipline in order to evaluate its value and limitations. We will discuss the importance of specific genre conventions and broader contextual matters to the interpretation of literary texts (along the lines suggested by Quentin Skinner); the possibility of using intention to rule out mistaken and arrive at acceptable interpretations, if not a single correct interpretation (a possibility denied by such relativists as Stanley Fish); the use and meaning of metaphors; and the host of questions surrounding the intentional fallacy (the alleged result of invoking authorial intention to determine textual meaning). In addition to key concepts of death, dying, and terminal illness, we will develop and refine notions of medical futility, paternalism and autonomy, particularly within the context of advance directives and surrogate decision making. [more], Hume's A Treatise of Human Nature, one of the greatest books in the history of philosophy, still exerts a considerable influence on contemporary epistemology, metaphysics, philosophy of science, philosophy of action, ethics and moral psychology. If so, what are the constraints on good revisions? [more], What gives an individual life meaning? Further, even where there is agreement as to the proper way of answering epistemological questions, there is a stunning variety of possible answers to each question. Throughout the course, our focus will be on three broad issues: Hume's conception of theoretical rationality, his conception of practical rationality, and his views about the role and relevance of non-rational (on some readings, irrational) elements in a good life of a wise person. While he never wrote any philosophical works of his own, Socrates is one of the most influential thinkers in the western tradition. [more], Animals are and always have been part of human life. Is it possible to have systematic knowledge of subjective experience? While social justice and distributive justice are deeply intertwined in the health care context and we will discuss both, we will focus primarily on the concept of distributive justice. Conversation is dynamic--the back and forth exchange of information is a process that grows and adapts to the surrounding context. In this course, relying on works by economists and philosophers, we examine the status of economics as an academic discipline, focusing on its assumptions, methods, and results. However, this approach is too narrow, since people use language to do a myriad of things: to ask, demand, promise, praise, blame, threaten, command, insinuate, evoke, express feelings, and sometimes just to play. [more], This course is an introduction to philosophy through three major themes: The nature of the universe, the existence of gods, and the mind/body problem. We will then turn to a variety of more recent attempts to give a clear characterization of causation. But how often do we ask: What is freedom? Topics will include: What can we know through our senses? We will then discuss philosophies of science which emerged out of various criticisms of this view - especially those of Popper, Lakatos, Kuhn and Feyerabend - and the challenges to the assumptions of scientific objectivity and rationality their works provoked. It is at the same time the most intimately known fact of our humanity and science's most elusive puzzle. Furthermore, they share the conviction that the most important components of a successful life are within the control of the individual human being. We will then discuss philosophies of science which emerged out of various criticisms of this view - especially those of Popper, Lakatos, Kuhn and Feyerabend - and the challenges to the assumptions of scientific objectivity and rationality their works provoked. The Wittgenstein of the Tractatus is known as the "earlier Wittgenstein," the Wittgenstein of the Investigations is known as the "later Wittgenstein." What distinguishes that kind of life from others? and keto reduced-sugar products has been linked to blood clotting, stroke, heart attack and death, according to a new study. Finally, we will consider how the concept of freedom is applied in contemporary social contexts, such as speech, religion, voting, and sexuality and gender. [more], This will be a course in the philosophy of language at it has developed over the past century and a half in the analytic tradition. Diamond investigated the methodology of moral philosophy, paying special attention to the role of literature. We will focus particularly on how subjects are positioned in relation to his writings on power and knowledge with particular attention to the later so-called ethical writings in the years before his untimely death in 1984. Is film today really distinct from a number of new, emerging visual media? More than this, Existentialists emphasize the subjective relation we bear to our belief systems, moral codes, and personal identities. [more], In this course we will examine traditional philosophical approaches to understanding death and related concepts, with a special focus on the ethical concerns surrounding death and care for the dying. Fanon ushered in the decolonial turn in critical theory, a move calling on those both within and outside of Europe to challenge the coloniality of the age and to forge a new vision of politics in the postcolonial period. Throughout the course, our focus will be on the best theoretical and practical knowledge we now have to diagnose, explain, and alleviate mental illness. Ms. Sydney Walsh-Wilcox '83 P'23 (Sibling) Ms. Jenny Walsh Singer '99 (Sibling) . We will examine these (and other questions) in the context of the great philosophical revolution at the beginning of the last century: the linguistic turn and the birth of analytic philosophy. has taken on an exciting urgency. Is it possible to have systematic knowledge of subjective experience? Here are a few: We'll examine these and related questions through historical and contemporary readings. In this tutorial, will read works in critical theory from the 18th century to the present, some from the Frankfurt tradition, and some not. Why should one obey the law (if one should)? [more], Intellectually, we are ready skeptics and relativists. In this course we aim to engage that abstract question through two more focused projects. Frege, Russell, and the Early Wittgenstein. We will, undoubtedly, have to adjust the syllabus to respond to breaking international, national and local news. Throughout the course, our focus will be on the best theoretical and practical knowledge we now have to diagnose, explain, and alleviate mental illness. If time permits, we may also look at how the figure of Socrates has been thought about in the works of more modern thinkers. If loyalty is a virtue, what are the proper limits of its cultivation and expression? Of particular interest will be how language can be used to establish, reinforce, and resist power relationships involving race and gender. WILLIAMS NEWS Covid-19 InformationCovid-19 is an ongoing concern in our region, including on campus . We will see how a focus on language affects our understanding of many traditional philosophical questions, ranging from epistemology and metaphysics to aesthetics and ethics. In this course, we will spend the first third of the semester attempting to understand the metaphysics and epistemology in Plato's middle dialogues. [more], Logic is the study of reasoning and argument. In this way the goal of the course is significantly different from that of Logic and Language (PHIL 203). The philosophical study of what we do in language, and how we understand one another, is called pragmatics; within the analytic tradition, the main philosophical contributions to the study of pragmatics in language came from Peirce, Wittgenstein, Austen, Grice and Searle. Does free inquiry clash with concern for others, or do they (or can they) work together? What is the relationship between the mind and the body? Conceptions of person are equally important in science (especially in psychology), law, and the arts. [more], The status of economics as a predictive science has been most prominently brought into question, historically, by three unpredicted yet extremely important economic events: the Great Depression of the 1930s, stagflation of the 1970s, and bursting of the mortgage bubble in 2008. Other philosophers and literary theorists have used some of their ideas recently to throw light on the nature of textual meaning and the interpretation of literary texts. Our discussions will range over historical and contemporary works in the Western tradition. Is relativism a form of skepticism? In our attempts to make headway in answering such daunting questions, we investigate recent debates in critical theory concerning subjection and resistance, intersubjective recognition and redistribution, social pathologies and the idea of a political unconscious. We will also pay close attention to the way in which each of these thinkers takes the practice of philosophy to play a key role in our realization of the good human life. Save. But three grains isn't enough for a heap. The millennia old problem of whether human suffering is compatible with God's perfection is called "the problem of evil." How do logic and language relate? [more], Early philosophy of language focused on meaning of assertions, denials and descriptions. We will examine these (and other questions) in the context of the great philosophical revolution at the beginning of the last century: the linguistic turn and the birth of analytic philosophy. [more], Plato is one of the most important and influential thinkers in the history of the western tradition. We'll also work on writing lucid prose that displays precisely the logical structure of arguments, engages in focused critique of these arguments, and forcefully presents arguments of our own. The aim of this course is to explore and evaluate a number of rival conceptions of persons and personal identity over time. We will examine a variety of philosophical and scientific theories of emotion, as well as some issues concerning normative aspects of emotions: the role of emotions in a good life, and the concept of emotional maturity. Our tools in this course will be logic and reason, even when we are trying to determine what the limits of reason might be. Associate Dean of Students / Director of International Student Services. The view of the tragedians can lead to a thoroughgoing nihilism according to which --the best thing of all [for a human being] is never to have born-but the next best thing is to die soon (Aristotle's Eudemus as quoted in Nietzsche's Birth of Tragedy; see also Sophocles' Oedipus at Colonus)." Some of the questions we will consider are: Are moral standards relative to cultural frameworks? [more], Some of the discoveries made by physicists over the last century seem to show that our common sense views are deeply at odds with our most sophisticated and best confirmed scientific theories. questions by studying the history of controversies in American higher education, concentrating especially on debates about the curriculum. We will begin the course by looking at Hume's and Kant's discussion of causation. This tutorial will bring to life the debate between Locke and Leibniz, and enable students to reach their own conclusions about Empiricism vs. Rationalism, Realism vs. Idealism, and related issues. And on what grounds can we justify confidence in our provisional answers to such questions? What are other models for understanding moral objectivity? Is democratic rule always best? We doubt, we point out that no one can be certain in what she believes, and we are suspicious of declarations of transcendent reason or truth (unless they are our own). So, some relationships with other people--such as friendships, familial ties, love, patriotism--seem to be ethically desirable, central to the quality of our lives, and yet prima facie in tension with the widely held belief that morality requires impartiality and equal treatment of all human beings. 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