20th Century philosophy

 

Syllabus

  1. 1.AIMS AND STRUCTURE OF THE COURSE

  2. 2.CONTACT INFORMATION

  3. 3.CLASSES

  4. 4.TEXTS AND READINGS FOR THE COURSE

  5. 5.ASSESSMENT

  6. 6.IMPORTANT DATES

  7. 1.AIMS AND STRUCTURE OF THE COURSE

  8. Although this course is named “Twentieth Century Philosophy” we will not really survey all philosophy in the twentieth century. That would be an absurd undertaking.  What we will do is look at the work of a number of seminal turn-of-the-century philosophers whose work set both the tone and much of the agenda for the rest of the century: Brentano, Twardowski, Meinong, Mally, Frege, and Russell, along with some of their late twentieth century heirs. We will not be looking at the whole corpus of each of these philosophers—they were all pretty prolific and some of their works are long, deep and technical—but rather focussing on a small number of basic problems in metaphysics and mind (which they all tackled in one guise or another) and on the solutions they offered. The real title of the course is “The Object”. Our main aim will be to show that we still have something to learn from their solutions to these problems. 

  9. 2.CONTACT INFO

  10. Professor: Graham Oddie, Hellems 274

  11. Email: oddie@colorado.edu

  12. Phone (303) 492-8449. But, honestly, I never answer that phone, nor do I ever venture into its impossibly burgeoning archive of voicemails, so just email me or accost me in the hallway.

  13. Web site: http://spot.colorado.edu/~oddie/C20thPHIL/Home.html

  14. My office hours: Tuesdays 1.00 pm - 2.00 pm, in Hellems 274. At other times by appointment.

  15. I am here to help you, so do not hesitate to come to the scheduled office hours if you have any problems. Other times can be arranged by appointment.

  16. 3. CLASSES

  17. Lectures will be three times a week, Tu-Th, 2.00 - 3.15 pm in Hellems 177.

  18. 4.TEXTS AND READINGS FOR THE COURSE

  19. There is no text to purchase for this course. I will however be placing books on reserve and making articles available on the D2L website.

  20. 5.ASSESSMENT

  21. The assessment for the course will be based on three items:

  22. i.In class participation: 15%.

  23. ii.Weekly exercise (to be submitted to the D2L discussion board each Saturday by midnight): 15%.

  24. iii.Term Paper: 1500-1800 word paper (to be submitted, by email, Monday March 21, midnight): 30%.

  25. iv.Final Paper: 2000-2200 word term paper: (to be submitted, by email, Monday May 5, midnight): 40%.

  26. Drafts:  I am always happy to read, comment on and discuss drafts of papers, but they have to be submitted to me at least ten days before you need them back for revision.

  27. Resubmitting: If you have a legitimate and documented excuse for missing a deadline or failing a paper (illness, dismemberment, death etc.), then you may be granted a late submit or the opportunity to revise and resubmit the paper. In certain circumstances I might require you to revise and resubmit.

  28. Disabilities:  If you have specific physical, psychiatric, or learning disabilities and require accommodations, please let Professor Oddie know in the first two weeks of the semester so that your learning needs may be appropriately met. You will need to provide documentation of your disability to the Disability Services Office in (C4C), Suite N200, phone 303-492-8671, E-mail dsinfo@colorado.edu.

  29. Religious observances. It is university policy to make reasonable accommodations for religious observances.

  30. (For those who do do not observe any religion, you have to be there and get your stuff in on time, no excuses.)

  31. 6.IMPORTANT DATES

  32. TERM PAPER 1: MONDAY MARCH 14 (5 pm). Submit your paper electronically,on the D2L Dropbox

  33. FINAL PAPER 2: TUESDAY MAY 3 (7 pm) . Submit your paper electronically,on the D2L Dropbox