Phil 441 Syllabus
PHIL 441 - DR. KEITH KORCZ - SPRING 2007
How To Reach Professor Korcz:
My office is in H. L. Griffin Hall, rm. 563. My office hours are MW 1:20-3:00 and 4:20-5:00, and T 12:00-3:00, Th 12:00 - 12:30 and 1:30 - 3:00, and F 11:30 - 12:30. We can also meet at other times by arrangement - just ask. My office phone no. is 482-6806. You can also contact me (or ask questions) by e-mail at keithk@louisiana.edu. keithk@louisiana.edu.
Required Texts:
1. Keith Lehrer, Theory of Knowledge, Second Edition, (Westview Press, 2000).
2. Hilary Kornblith, ed., Epistemology: Internalism and Externalism, (Blackwell Publishers, 2001).
3. Course Pack (on reserve at the Dupre Library Reserve Desk).
Course Content:
The primary aim of this course is to provide a fairly detailed overview of the most central issues in contemporary theory of knowledge over the last couple of decades. However, we'll find that many of the issues we discuss (and many of the papers we read) are concerned with the very same problems that puzzled (or should have puzzled) philosophers such as Descartes and Hume. Note that this course has a prerequisite of 6 hours in philosophy.
We will focus mostly on foundationalist, coherentist and reliabilist theories of justification, and related issues such as the Gettier problem, the debate over internalism and externalism and recent responses to skeptical paradoxes. This leaves out a variety of issues less central to contemporary theory of knowledge, including discussions of naturalized epistemology, social epistemology, perception, empiricism, a priori knowledge, etc. However, if you wish to pursue one or some of these issues, meet with me during the first few weeks of the semester and we can work out a reading list for you, and we can incorporate that research into your course work (e.g., the term paper).
Assignments & Grading:
There will be two in-class, short-answer exams, each worth 20% of the course grade. There will also be a cumulative short-answer final exam worth 25% of the course grade. In addition, there will be a term paper (approx. 15-20 pages in length). The term paper will be completed in two successive drafts. The first draft will be worth 5% of the course grade and the final draft worth 30% of the course grade. Each draft of the term paper will consist of two parts. The first part of the paper should be a critical discussion of a published article(s) or a view(s) we have discussed in class. The second part of the paper should consist of an original, positive contribution regarding one of the issues raised in the first part of the paper. Topics must be approved by the instructor. Suggested topics and further instructions will be provided later.
The letter grades will be assigned according to the standard scale, i.e. 90-100% = A, 80-89% = B, 70-79% = C, 60-69% = D, 59% and below = F. Such factors as improvement over the length of the course, attendance, etc. may be taken into consideration, especially where doing so may improve a borderline grade. You must complete all course assignments to receive a passing grade for the course (i.e., a grade other than F, NC or U).
Class Policies:
If you miss class, for whatever reason, it is your responsibility to get class notes from another student. If you miss an assignment due date, you must notify me within one week of either the due date of the assignment or the cessation of a medically documented persistent vegetative state in order to make up the assignment. Missed exams or other assignments can be made up for full credit only if an appropriate excuse, e.g., illness requiring medical attention, participation in certain official university events, etc., is provided. An unexcused late assignment will be dropped 2/3 of a letter grade per day it is late. If you have a disability and require assistance with fulfilling class assignments, don't hesitate to notify the instructor and the Office For Services For Students With Disabilities at 482-5252. Finally, be sure you are familiar with all university policies described in the UL Undergraduate Bulletin. All assignments for this class must be completed individually, and any instance of academic dishonesty on any assignment will be sufficient to fail the course.
Internet Resources:
The best Internet resource for theory of knowledge is my Epistemology Research Guide at http://www.ucs.louisiana.edu/~kak7409/EpistemologicalResearch.html. It contains links to the home pages of numerous contemporary epistemologists as well as over 550 papers in epistemology available on-line. In my How To Survive Your First Philosophy Class pages, there is a page on doing research in philosophy which contains a link to a complete list of philosophy journals available at Dupre and links to those available on-line. The URL address for the research page is: http://www.ucs.louisiana.edu/~kak7409/DoingResearch.html.
Emergency Evacuation Procedures:
A map of this floor is posted near the elevator marking the evacuation route and the Designated Rescue Area. This is an area where emergency service personnel will go first to look for individuals who need assistance in exiting the building. Students who may need assistance should identify themselves to the teaching faculty.
Course Calendar & Planned Reading Assignments*
*NOTE: Assignments, readings and due dates are tentative and may be changed.
(TOK) = Theory of Knowledge, Second Edition
(EIE) = Epistemology: Internalism and Externalism
(CP) = Course PackNOTE: Links followed by '[JSTOR]' can only be accessed through a computer with JSTOR access, e.g., any UL Lafayette campus computer.
I. Knowledge and Skeptical Paradoxes {Jan. 17 & 22}
(TOK): Chapter 1, "The Analysis of Knowledge"; (EIE): Chapter 5, "Understanding Human Knowledge In General" by Barry Stroud.
Monday, Jan. 15 - Martin Luther King Day - No Classes.
II. The Concept Of Epistemic Justification {Jan. 24 and 29}
(CP): "Concepts of Epistemic Justification" by William Alston.
III. The Structure Of Justification
A. Foundationalism
1. Infallibilism {Jan. 31 and Week of Feb. 5}
(TOK): Chapter 3, "The Foundation Theory: Infallible Foundationalism"; (CP): "The Bases Of Empirical Knowledge" by C. I. Lewis, "Does Empirical Knowledge Have A Foundation?" by Wilfrid Sellars and "Epistemic Supervenience and the Circle of Belief" by James Van Cleve.
2. Fallibilism {Week of Feb. 12}
(TOK): Chapter 4, "Fallible Foundations"; (CP): [JSTOR:] "How to be a Fallibilist" by Stewart Cohen.
Monday, Feb. 16 - Wednesday, Feb. 21 - Mardi Gras Holiday - No Classes.
EXAM #1 - WEDNESDAY, FEB. 14.
B. Coherentism {Week of Feb. 26}
(TOK): Chapters 5, "The Explanatory Coherence Theory" and Chapter 6, "Internal Coherence and Personal Justification".
IV. The Analysis Of Knowledge
A. The Gettier Problem {Week of March 5}
(CP): "Is Justified True Belief Knowledge?" by Edmund Gettier, "An Alleged Defect In Gettier Counterexamples" by Richard Feldman.
B. Defeasibility Theories of Justification {Week of March 12}
(TOK): Chapter 7, "Coherence, Truth and Undefeated Justification."
C. Reliabilist Theories {Week of March 19}
(CP): "What Is Justified Belief?" by Alvin Goldman; (TOK) Chapter 8, "Externalism and the Truth Condition"; (CP): "Reliability & Justification" by Richard Feldman; (EIE): "Externalist Theories of Empirical Knowledge" by Laurence BonJour; (CP): "The Causal-Doxastic Theory of the Basing Relation" by Keith Allen Korcz. (Another article by Korcz on the basing relation, entitled "Recent Work on the Basing Relation", is available on-line.)
EXAM #2 - WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21.
V. Internalist and Externalist Theories of Justification {Weeks of March 26, April 2 & 16}
(CP): "Highlights of Recent Epistemology" (p. 103-124 only) by James Pryor; (EIE): "Internalism and Externalism: A Brief Historical Introduction" by Hilary Kornblith, "Internalism and Externalism in Epistemology" by William Alston, "Internalism Exposed" by Alvin Goldman, "Internalism Defended" by Earl Conee and Richard Feldman; (CP): "Evidentialism" by Earl Conee and Richard Feldman, "Ought We To Follow Our Evidence?" by Keith DeRose.
FIRST DRAFT OF PAPER DUE WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4 AT THE BEGINNING OF CLASS.
Friday, April 6 Through Sunday, April 15 - Spring Break - No Classes.
VI. Skepticism {Week of April 23}
(TOK): Chapter 9, "Skepticism, Virtue and Context"; (CP): "Skeptical Possibilities" by Robert Nozick, "Solving the Skeptical Problem" by Keith DeRose, "Brains In A Vat" by Hilary Putnam.
VII. Some Recent Developments {Week of April 30}
A. Proper Function Theories
(CP): "Warrant: The Sober Truth" by Alvin Plantinga.
B. Foundherentism
(CP): "A Foundherentist Theory of Empirical Justification" by Susan Haack.
C. Virtue Theory
(EIE): "Reliabilism and Intellectual Virtue" by Ernest Sosa.
FINAL DRAFT OF PAPER DUE: WEDNESDAY, MAY 2 AT THE BEGINNING OF CLASS.
FINAL EXAM - FRIDAY, MAY 11 FROM 4:15PM TO 6:45 PM IN REGULAR CLASSROOM.
