AP/PHIL4040 3.0 M: Seminar in Contemporary Philosophy
Offered by: PHIL
Session
Winter 2022
Term
W
Format
SEMR
Instructor
Calendar Description / Prerequisite / Co-Requisite
An intensive examination of problems and contemporary issues in philosophy. Topics vary from year to year. Prerequisite: At least nine credits in AP/PHIL courses.
Course Start Up
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Professor C. Verheggen
cverheg@yorku.ca
Office Location: S436 Ross
Office Hours: Tuesdays 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.
This course will focus on two of the most celebrated analytic philosophers of the 20th century: Ludwig Wittgenstein and Saul Kripke. Both were revolutionary thinkers who dramatically changed the way we approach issues in philosophy of language. To put it in a nutshell, they both externalized meaning. The later Wittgenstein did this, in Philosophical Investigations, by drawing our attention to the essential connections between how we use our words and what we mean by them. Kripke did this, in Naming and Necessity, by drawing our attention to the essential connections between meaning and aspects of the physical and social environment of language users. Thus, what they have in common is that they both maintained that a better philosophical understanding of meaning would be achieved by no longer focusing on the minds of language users. This course will investigate the extent to which their views about meaning are indeed similar, as well as the particular respects in which they differ, and what consequences this has for their views about communication and the relation between language and reality.
Wittgenstein, Ludwig. Philosophical Investigations
Kripke, Saul A. Naming and Necessity
- Class attendance and participation: 10% of final grade
- In-class examination: 20%
- Paper topic and annotated bibliography: 10%
- Class presentation: 10%
- Term Paper: 50%
Weekly Class (3 hours); 5 components to class assessment
- Students will be able to engage major debates concerning specific issues in contemporary philosophy, as well as the arguments and theories underlying various positions in those debates.
- Students will be able to think critically about philosophical concepts and theories that are currently at the foreground of philosophical debates.
- Students will develop advanced analytic and communicative skills in philosophy; namely, the ability to articulate and defend a coherent thesis within an essay, as well as the ability to absorb, synthesize and reflect upon complex information gained from reading assignments or in a classroom setting.
- Academic Honesty
- Student Rights and Responsibilities
- Religious Observance
- Grading Scheme and Feedback
- 20% Rule
No examinations or tests collectively worth more than 20% of the final grade in a course will be given during the final 14 calendar days of classes in a term. The exceptions to the rule are classes which regularly meet Friday evenings or on Saturday and/or Sunday at any time, and courses offered in the compressed summer terms. - Academic Accommodation for Students with Disabilities
