PHIL

In this course we will read the first volume of Karl Marx’s Capital. (I) (V)

In this course, we will examine the most well-known attempts to develop a theory of inductive logic, i.e., a logic which defines the (probabilistic) relations of inductive support that obtain between sentences in a formal language. In the first half of the course, we will examine, in detail, Carnap’s program in inductive logic. We will consider both the early “a prioristic” stage of Carnap’s work, in which it was held that the principles of inductive logic suffice to determine a unique methodology for inductive reasoning, as well as the subsequent weakening of these principles to allow for a continuum of inductive methods. In the second half of the course, we will examine the various philosophical objections leveled at Carnap’s program, as well as examine more recent attempts to assign probabilities to sentences in a first-order language. Readings for the course will include works by Carnap, Goodman, Putnam, Gaifman and Paris among others. (II)

Autonomy is the centre of Kant’s conception of morality. Hence we must try to understand the idea of self-legislation if we want to understand his moral theory, and examine its consistency and implications if we want to know whether an account of morality can be based on it. The course is to include discussion of the Categorical Imperative and of wider ethical questions regarding topics such as moral motivation, law and virtue. Students will participate by reading relevant texts, presenting brief comments on them, and joining in the discussion.

This workshop is open only to PhD Philosophy graduate students planning to go on the job market in the fall of 2012. Course begins in late Spring quarter and continues in the Autumn quarter. Pass/Fail.

Bernard Williams (1993: 63) famously rejected the Kantian claim that, as moral agents, we should think of ourselves as legislators.  But why did Kant make this claim in the first place? The answer is first and foremost historical. In this course, we shall start by looking at the early Enlightenment context of moral thought (David Hume, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Christian August Crusius) to which Kant responds and try to locate the Kantian approach to moral theory within this context. After that, we shall read selected passages from Kant’s main writings on moral theory, the Groundwork, the Second Critique, and the Metaphysics of Morals. Finally, we shall look at some contemporary interpretations of Kant’s moral theory and – if time allows – on some contemporary moral theories that claim a Kantian heritage.

This course centers on a close reading of the first volume of Michel Foucault’s The History of Sexuality, with some attention to his writings on the history of ancient conceptualizations of sex. How should a history of sexuality take into account scientific theories, social relations of power, and different experiences of the self? We discuss the contrasting descriptions and conceptions of sexual behavior before and after the emergence of a science of sexuality. Other writers influenced by and critical of Foucault are also discussed.

An examination of ancient Greek philosophical texts that are foundational for Western philosophy, especially the work of Plato and Aristotle. Topics will include: the nature and possibility of knowledge and its role in human life; the nature of the soul; virtue; happiness and the human good.

In this class, we will read a number of Platonic dialogues and use them to investigate the questions with which Socrates and Plato opened the door to the practice of philosophy. Here are some examples: What does a definition consist in? What is knowledge and how can it be acquired? Why do people sometimes do and want what is bad? Is the world we sense with our five senses the real world? What is courage and how is it connected to fear? Is the soul immortal? We will devote much of our time to clearly laying out the premises of Socrates' various arguments in order to evaluate the arguments for validity. Note: This course, together with introduction to Aristotle (26200) in the Winter quarter, substitutes for and fulfills the Ancient Philosophy History requirement for the fall quarter: students can take these courses instead of taking PHIL 25000. Students must take them as a 2 quarter sequence in order to fulfill the requirement, but students who already have fulfilled or do not need to fulfill the Ancient Philosophy History requirement may take the one quarter of the course without the other.

“That’s all well and good in practice...but how does it work in theory?” runs a joke made popular on the U of C campus by student t-shirts. The joke presupposes a distinction between theoretical and practical knowledge - a distinction enshrined in philosophical orthodoxy since the publication of Gilbert Ryle’s “Knowing How and Knowing That” (1945). In the 21st century, however, some philosophers have questioned this orthodoxy, beginning with T. Williamson and J. Stanley’s “Knowing How” (2001). This course will introduce intensive majors to a lively debate in contemporary philosophy, beginning with a careful reading of Ryle’s classic texts, then turning to Stanley and Williamson’s arguments that knowing how can be reduced to a form of propositional knowledge, the responses that these arguments have engendered, and ending with selections from Stanley’s extended response in his recent book Know How (2011).