Course description & grading policy

Topic. Bertrand Russell suggested that philosophical theories can be tested by their ability to deal with logical puzzles. This is the approach to philosophy that we will take in this course. The puzzles with which we will be concerned are paradoxes: sets of propositions each member of which is intuitively true but which nonetheless seem jointly inconsistent. Paradoxes of various sorts have been a focus of study in almost every area of philosophy; accordingly, this course will use paradoxes as a tool to raise questions about the following topics, among others: the nature of space and time; the nature of physical objects and change; the possibility of an omniscient and/or omnipotent God; the rules which govern what we rationally ought to believe, and what we rationally ought to do. We will also discuss more purely logical paradoxes such as the sorites, the liar, and Russell's paradox. A subsidiary aim of the course will be to help students to appreciate the importance of consistent beliefs and to improve their ability to think clearly about the logical relations between claims.

An online syllabus will be made available on this web site some time before the start of the semester.       

Texts. Students will be required to purchase Sainsbury's Paradoxes (3d edition, isbn 0521720796). Copies are available in the bookstore or online. Other readings will be made available in PDF form via links from the syllabus.

Assignments. Two 5 page papers, each worth 20% of the grade; and a midterm, and a final exam, each worth 25% of the grade. The final 10% of the grade will be based on class participation and attendance. In all of their assignments, students are responsible for compliance with the University’s honor code, information about which is available at http://www.nd.edu/~hnrcode/. You should also review the philosophy department guidelines regarding plagiarism.