Admission requirements
Admission to (one of) the programme(s) listed under Part of in the information bar on the right.
Description
There is a familiar distinction between the ways things are in themselves, independently from us, and the ways things are for us, or due to us. That there is a mountain is the case independently of us; that this mountain is beautiful might be how it is for us only. This distinction is of central importance to metaphysics and epistemology. When things are a certain way ‘only’ due to us, they may also seem to be ‘merely relative’, or lacking in reality altogether. But is that the right way to think about it? And how to think of those things that are obviously socially constructed, which includes much of the social world we live in?
There are related questions about our knowledge. Is there something like ‘objective knowledge’, knowledge that any rational inquirer will arrive at if they just follow the objectively correct methods, or is all knowledge ultimately based on the basic epistemic system that we happen to deploy? Is our knowledge relative to basic epistemic systems that merely reflect our ways of doing things?
No philosopher can avoid taking a stance on this family of interconnecting epistemological and metaphysical questions, nor the philosophical arguments and paradoxes that bear on them. In this course, we explore influential views about the notion of a mind-indepent reality with objective structure as well as the idea of objective correctness, and the various philosophical discussions that problematize the notions.
Topics include: the new riddle of induction, the rule-following paradox, ontological relativity and the model-theoretic argument, mind-independence, naturalness and grounding, social construction, realism, pragmatism, and various sorts of epistemic relativism.
We will read works by Nelson Goodman, Saul Kripke, W.V.O. Quine, Louise Antony, Thomas Nagel, Richard Rorty, Iris Einheuser, Paul Boghossian, Sally Haslanger, and David Lewis, amongst others.
Course objectives
This course aims to introduce students to some of the central debates in current metaphysics, epistemology and philosophical methodology. Our focus throughout will be on philosophical discussion and argumentation, not only between the philosophers that we read but also amongst ourselves.
Students who successfully complete the course will have a good understanding of:
various philosophical problems surrounding the idea of an objective structure, such as the new riddle of induction, the rule-following paradox and the indiscriminabilitty of reference;
various philosophical approaches to objectivity, such as realism, expressivism, social constructivism, epistemic relativism, and pragmatism;
various key concepts of contemporary theoretical philosophy, such as mind-independence, social construction, naturalness and grounding.
some of the current methodological developments in theoretical philosophy.
Students who successfully complete the course will have practicised and developed their skills in:
reading and interpreting difficult theoretical texts;
writing an argumentative philosophy article, following the standard academic procedure of the field;
offering an engaging and clear presentation of one’s own ideas, and handling criticism in the Q&A period;
formulate own views on abstract topics and defend them against criticisms, as well as listening to others and responding to their views in class;
do the independent research required for the presentation and final paper (collecting literature, reading independently, evaluating views, and planning the draft, presentation and final version).
Timetable
The timetables are available through MyTimetable.
Mode of instruction
Seminar.
Class attendance is required.
Assessment method
Assessment
Students will write a short abstract and offer a (graded) presentation of a draft of their final paper, a final version of which is then submitted for assessment. In this way, students practice both the oral and written presentation of their own ideas.
Weighing
| Partial Assessment | Weighing |
|---|---|
| Presentation + abstract | 30% |
| Final paper | 70% |
The final mark for the course is established by (i) determination of the weighted average combined with (ii) additional requirements, namely of adequate participation during the seminar, which includes having attended at least 10 of the seminars, having done the readings and active participation.
Resit
The resit consists in writing a new final paper, on a new topic, replacing the previous grades of all subtests (and so determining 100% of the final grade). Attendance and active participation in class is required for admission to the resit.
Inspection and feedback
Feedback on the abstract+presentation as well as of the paper will be made available through Brightspace.
Reading list
Readings will be provided in the form of recent articles and book chapters. They will be made accessible through Brightspace.
Registration
Enrolment through MyStudyMap is mandatory.
General information about course and exam enrolment is available on the website.
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the information bar on the right.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office: Huizinga.