Principles of Inquiry: Ways of Knowing, Spring 2002
Click here for links to some things to read
| Date | Topic | Reading | Discussion Projects, etc. |
| January 10 | Introduction | none | Intuitions about knowledge |
| January 17 | Cartesian skepticism | Morton, Chapter 1; Potter, Introduction; Descartes, Meditations One and Two (Handout) | |
| January 24 | Rationalism and Empiricism | Morton, Chapters 2 and 3 | A priori/ a posteriori |
| January 31 | Induction and Falliblism | Morton, Chapters 4 and 5 | Induction exercises |
| February 7 | Knowledge and Other Minds | Morton, Chapters 6 and 7 | |
| February 14 | Bayesianism, Naturalism and Inference to the Best Explanation | Morton, Chapters 9 and 10 | Inference to the best explanation exercise |
| February 21 | Normal Science and Science in Crisis | Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, pp.viii, 1-11, 17-24, 28, 35-36, 43-51, 52-67, 77-91 | Kuhn Resources from Lawrence University |
| February 28 | Scientific Revolutions | Kuhn, Structure..., pp. 92-159 | Study Questions for Kuhn |
| March 7 | Progress and Reason in Science | Kuhn, Structure,,,, pp.160-191, 198-210 | Midterm exam - click here for possible questions |
| March 14 | No class - Spring Break | ||
| March 21 | Science Studies after Kuhn | Potter, Representing Reality, Chapter 1, "Social Studies of Science"( and 2, if you have time); Haack, Manifesto of a Passionate Moderate, Chapter 5, "Puzzling Out Science" | |
| March 28 | Postmodernism and all that | Potter, Representing Reality, Chapter 2, "Ethnomethodology and Conversation Analysis," and (especially) Chapter 3 "Semiology -- Post-structuralism --Postmodernism"; Haack Chapter 3 | |
| April 4 | Relativism, constructivism and social criticism | Potter Chapters 4 and 8 (and whatever catches your interest in between); Haack, Chapter 9; Rorty, "Solidarity or Objectivity" (handout), Ramberg on Rorty on Epistemology (Link here) | Paper drafts due |
| April 11 | Feminist Epistemology and Women's Ways of Knowing |
Patricia Hill Collins, "Toward an Afrocentric Feminist Epistemology"; Elizabeth Anderson, "Feminist Epistemology"; A midwife talks about women's ways of knowing vs. masculine, technocratic knowledge; Haack, Chapters 7 and 6; "Are Old Wives Tales Justified?" by Dalmiya and Alcoff (handout) |
|
| April 18 | Multiculturalism and African Philosophy | Kwame A. Appiah, "Old Gods, New Worlds"; Samuel Imbo, "Is African Philosophy Unique" (handouts); Haack, Chapter 8. | Final version of papers due |
| April 25 | Final Exam |