Summary. Analytic philosophy is a loose tradition unified neither by adherence to any particular set of views nor by use of any particular philosophical method, but rather by a series of historical connections to the work of a number of seminal early twentieth century philosophers. This course will be an introduction to analytic philosophy via the study of selected works of some of these philosophers: G. E. Moore, Bertrand Russell, A. J. Ayer, and W. V. Quine.

These philosophers touched on virtually every area of philosophy; depending on how far we get, we will examine their contributions to metaphysics (with special attention to logical atomism), epistemology (with special attention to the problem of skepticism about the external world and the explanation of a priori knowledge), the philosophy of language (with special attention to the distinction between surface form and logical form, the use of linguistic theses to dissolve metaphysical puzzles, and the verificationist criterion of meaning), the philosophy of mind (with special attention to the sense datum theory of perception), the philosophy of mathematics (with special attention to the logicist reduction of mathematics to logic), and ethics (with special attention to the emotivist claim that ethical, political, and aesthetic sentences are expressions of attitudes which are neither true nor false).

Requirements & grading. Students will be required to attend and participate in class, do the assigned reading, take two examinations, and complete one essay. The paper and the examinations will each be worth 30% of the final grade, with class attendance and participation accounting for the final 10%.

Prerequisites. Introductory logic will be very helpful, but is not required. If you’re unsure as to whether you should take this class, or have any other questions, you should feel free to contact me by e-mail.

Texts. There are two required texts: A. J. Ayer’s Language, Truth, & Logic (available at Paragraphe Books), and a coursepack (available at the McGill bookstore). Of these, it is most important that you buy the coursepack; all the readings will also be available for photocopy on reserve at the library.

"McGill University values academic integrity.  Therefore all students must understand the meaning and consequences of cheating, plagiarism and other academic offences under the Code of Student Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures (see http://www.mcgill.ca/integrity for more information)."

"L'université McGill attache une haute importance à l’honnêteté académique. Il incombe par conséquent à tous les étudiants de comprendre ce que l'on entend par tricherie, plagiat et autres infractions académiques, ainsi que les conséquences que peuvent avoir de telles actions, selon le Code de conduite de l'étudiant et des procédures disciplinaires (pour de plus amples renseignements, veuillez consulter le site http://www.mcgill.ca/integrity)."