Fall 2017 - PHIL 802 G100
Selected Topics in Epistemology (5)
Class Number: 7255
Delivery Method: In Person
Overview
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Course Times + Location:
Sep 5 – Dec 4, 2017: Tue, 6:00–8:50 p.m.
Vancouver
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Instructor:
Jonathan Ichikawa
jonathan.ichikawa@ubc.ca
Description
COURSE DETAILS:
Selected Topics: Knowledge, Context, and Probability
[Note: this course is a joint SFU/UBC Seminar in Epistemology, taught by UBC Prof. Jonathan Jenkins Ichikawa]
Important note regarding enrollment: only Philosophy graduate students have access to this course. Enrollment is done through the Western Dean's Agreement in the UBC course PHIL 540 Seminar in Epistemology . The paperwork for enrollment goes through SFU Graduate Studies office and takes longer than regular enrollment, so please plan early.
This seminar has three central topics:
1. Knowledge and its role in philosophical theorizing—related to what is sometimes called, following Timothy Williamson, the “knowledge first” project. Central questions include whether knowledge is itself a mental state; whether knowledge should be understood in terms of more primitive epistemic notions like belief and justification; whether knowledge has roles to play in articulating norms of belief, assertion, and action, etc.
2. Contextualism about knowledge ascriptions—the idea that ‘knows’ is a contextsensitive word, and therefore that knowledge ascriptions express different propositions in different conversational contexts. Central questions include the degree to which contextualism is plausible, how it compares to rivals, and how the linguistic/semantic theorizing that characterizes contextualism bears on more traditional questions in epistemology, which are not in general questions about language.
3. Probability and epistemology—how graded notions like ‘degrees of belief’ and probabilistic assignments compare to ‘all or nothing’ epistemic notions like belief and knowledge.
The seminar will be centred primarily around two new books in contemporary epistemology: Probabilistic Knowledge by Sarah Moss, and Contextualising Knowledge by Jonathan Ichikawa. Both are currently forthcoming with OUP. We’ll read both books in their entirety, along with some additional related material. Both authors have agreed to make pdfs of their books available free of charge; most other readings, you can access electronically via library subscriptions.
Grading
- Weekly Brief Précis Responses 20%
- Main Presentations 15%
- Supplemental Presentations 10%
- Final Essay 30%
- Essay Preliminaries 15%
- Peer Feedback on Essay Preliminaries 10%
Materials
REQUIRED READING:
Probabilistic Knowledge by Sarah Moss
Contextualising Knowledge by Jonathan Ichikawa
Both books are currently forthcoming with OUP. The authors have agreed to make pdfs of their books available free of charge; most other readings, you can access electronically via library subscriptions.
Graduate Studies Notes:
Important dates and deadlines for graduate students are found here: http://www.sfu.ca/dean-gradstudies/current/important_dates/guidelines.html. The deadline to drop a course with a 100% refund is the end of week 2. The deadline to drop with no notation on your transcript is the end of week 3.
Registrar Notes:
SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://students.sfu.ca/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating. Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.
Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community. Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS