Advanced Epistemology Syllabus

AdvancedTheoryofKnowledgeBrianKim,Spring2014CourseDescription:Traditionally,philosophicaltheoriesofmind,action,andknowledgehavefocusedontheconceptofoutrightbelief.Arebeliefsindividuatedbytheirfunctionalrole?Dobeliefsanddesirescauseactions?Isknowledgejustifiedtruebelief?EachofthesequestionshavefocusedonanallornothingconceptofbeliefwhereoneeitherbelievesthatPordoesnotbelievethatP.Inthe20thcentury,degreesofbeliefbegantoplayamorecentralroleinmanyareasofphilosophy.Buttothisday,thereisvigorousdebateabouthowtoarticulatetherelationshipbetweenallornothingbeliefanddegreesofbelief.Forexample,wemightask,whatistherelationshipbetweenbeingveryconfidentthatRenoiswestofLosAngelesandoutrightbelievingthatRenoiswestofLosAngeles?Thecoursewillcoveravarietyofissuessurroundingthisquestion.WewillbeginwiththeSimpleLockeanthesiswhichstatesthatanoutrightbeliefissimplyadegreeofbeliefthatisoversomethresholdofconfidence.Unfortunately,thereseemtobesomeinsuperableproblemswiththeLockeanthesis.Inresponse,wewillsurveyavarietyofalternativeproposalsandtheseproposalswillraiseadditionalquestionsaboutthenormsgoverningthesetypesofbeliefsaswellasquestionsabouttheaimsandnatureofbelief.CourseGoals:Generalphilosophicalaim:Oneoftheaimsinthiscoursewillbetolearnhowtophilosophicallyengagewithatextandwithoneanother.PhilosophicaldiscussionhasanumberofimportantfeaturesthatIhopetostressduringthecourse.1.Priortoengaginginanycriticismofatextorview,youmustfirstunderstandtheclaimsandargumentsbeingmade.Inattemptingtodoso,youshoulddoyourbesttointerpretthetextcharitably.2.Onceyouhaveagoodgraspofapaper,youshouldthenattempttoidentifysomeproblemsthatmayariseforitsproposedclaimsandarguments.3.Acriticalreadingofatextdoesnotstophere.Onceyourinitialcriticismsaremade,youshouldreturntothetextandonbehalfoftheauthor,youshouldattempttorespondtothesecriticisms.4.Havingengagedinathoroughevaluationofthepaper,youshouldassesswhattheprosandconsofthepaper'sclaimsandarguments.5.Finally,engagingwithatextdoesnotsimplymeanthatyouhaveunderstoodwhathasbeensaidandthatyouhavecometosomeevaluativejudgmentaboutit.Rather,theaimofphilosophicalengagementisagreaterunderstandingoftherelevantphilosophicalissue.Therefore,youshouldconcludeyourengagementwiththetextbyreflectingonwhatlessonsaretobelearned.Specificphilosophicalaims:Bytheendofthecourse,youshouldhaveagoodgraspofthefollowing1.Understandanumberofkeydifferencesbetweendegreesofbeliefandoutrightfullbelief(e.g.theiraims,norms,andfunctionalroles)2.Understandtheprosandconsofvariousthesesabouttherelationshipbetweendegreesofbeliefandoutrightbelief.3.Understandthekeypuzzlesandproblemsthatwefacewhenwetrytoarticulatetherelationshipbetweendegreesofbeliefandoutrightbelief.Requirements:AttendanceandParticipation(15%):ClassattendanceisrequiredandIexpecteachofyoutoregularlyparticipate.Ifthereisgoodevidencethatyouareregularlyunpreparedforclass,upto13ofyourattendanceandparticipationgradewillbededucted.Alackofpreparationmaybeduetounexcusedabsences,failingtokeepupwithreadings,andafailuretoparticipateinclass.Forthisclass,therewillbeanolaptop,tablet,orcellphonepolicyforclass.Isimplybelievethattheindividualbenefitoftypingoutnotesoutweighboththeindividualandcollectivecostssuchasbeingapotentialandactualdistractiontoyouandtoothers.IndividualPresentation(20%):Youwillbeaskedtogiveanapproximately3045minutepresentationonceduringthesemester.Thepresentationwillsummarizeoneofourreadingsaswellasbeginourdiscussionofthereadingbyprovidingalistofquestionsandcriticisms.Iwillaskeachofyoutomakeahandoutforyourpresentation.Thehandoutwillbegradedanditshouldsummarizethemainpointsandargumentsmadeinthepaper.Essay(10%,35%):Thiscourseisintendedtobeafocuseddiscussionofafoundationaltopicinthetheoryofknowledge.Youwillbeaskedtowriteasingleessayonthemaintopicofthecourse.Aninitialdraftwillbeassignedatthemidwaypointintheclassandthefinaldraftwillbedueattheendofthecourse.EssayComments(20%):Eachofyouwillbeassignedtoprovidecommentsandcriticismsforthepaperdraftofanotherclassmate.Thesecommentswillbewrittenoutinpaperform(approx23pages).Inthesecomments,youwillofferbothcriticismsoftheirproposalsaswellassuggestionsofhowtoaddressthesecriticisms.TopicsReadings:TherewillbenotextbookfortheclassandallthereadingswillbepostedonCarmen.Thetopicoftheclassisatopicofrecentdebateinepistemologyandsothereareveryfewcanonicalreadings.Iplantostartonlywitharoughoutlineofthetopicsthatwewillcoverduringthecourse.Bydoingso,Ihopetokeepthescheduleflexiblesothatwemaypursuequestionsandtopicsthattheclassfindsinteresting.Hereisaslistofthemaintopics:1.IntroductiontoBeliefs,DegreesofBeliefs,andtheLockeanThesis2.TheLotteryParadoxandConjunction3.WhatareDegreesofBelief?VarietiesofProbabilism4.WhatareBeliefs?5.TherelationshipbetweenDegreesofBeliefandBeliefa.ProbabilityCoresb.Decisiontheoreticaccountsc.SkepticalAccounts