Search Results
Your search for courses · during 2023-24 · taught by jdecker · returned 5 results
-
PHIL 116 Sensation, Induction, Abduction, Deduction, Seduction 6 credits
In every academic discipline, we make theories and argue for and against them. This is as true of theology as of geology (and as true of phys ed as of physics). What are the resources we have available to us in making these arguments? It’s tempting to split the terrain into (i) raw data, and (ii) rules of right reasoning for processing the data. The most obvious source of raw data is sense experience, and the most obvious candidates for modes of right reasoning are deduction, induction, and abduction. Some philosophers, however, think that sense perception is only one of several sources of raw data (perhaps we also have a faculty of pure intuition or maybe a moral sense), and others have doubted that we have any source of raw data at all. As for the modes of “right” reasoning, Hume famously worried about our (in)ability to justify induction, and others have had similar worries about abduction and even deduction. Can more be said on behalf of our most strongly held beliefs and belief-forming practices than simply that we find them seductive—that we are attracted to them; that they resonate with us? In this course, we’ll use some classic historical and contemporary philosophical texts to help us explore these and related issues.
- Spring 2024
- Humanistic Inquiry Writing Requirement
-
PHIL 116.00 Spring 2024
- Faculty:Jason Decker 🏫 👤
- Size:25
- T, THLeighton 304 3:10pm-4:55pm
-
PHIL 210 Logic 6 credits
The study of formal logic has obvious and direct applicability to a wide variety of disciplines (including mathematics, computer science, linguistics, philosophy, cognitive science, and many others). Indeed, the study of formal logic helps us to develop the tools and know-how to think more clearly about arguments and logical relationships in general; and arguments and logical relationships form the backbone of any rational inquiry. In this course we will focus on propositional logic and predicate logic, and look at the relationship that these have to ordinary language and thought.
- Spring 2024
- Formal or Statistical Reasoning
-
PHIL 210.00 Spring 2024
- Faculty:Jason Decker 🏫 👤
- Size:25
- T, THLeighton 304 10:10am-11:55am
-
PHIL 223 Philosophy of Language 6 credits
In this course we will look at how philosophers have tried to understand language and its connection with human thought and communication. The course will be split into two parts: Semantics and Pragmatics. In the first part, we’ll look at general features of linguistic expressions like meaning and reference. In the second part, we’ll look at the various ways in which speakers use language. Topics to be considered in the second part include speech acts, implicature, and presupposition.
- Winter 2024
- Humanistic Inquiry Writing Requirement
-
PHIL 223.00 Winter 2024
- Faculty:Jason Decker 🏫 👤
- Size:25
- M, WLeighton 236 11:10am-12:20pm
- FLeighton 236 12:00pm-1:00pm
-
PHIL 399 Senior Thesis 6 credits
The planning, preparation, and completion of a philosophical paper under the direction of a member of the department and as part of a seminar group.
- Winter 2024
-
PHIL 399.00 Winter 2024
- Faculty:Jason Decker 🏫 👤
- Size:15
- M, WLeighton 301 1:50pm-3:00pm
- FLeighton 301 2:20pm-3:20pm
-
PHIL 400 Integrative Exercise 3 credits
A colloquium in which seniors defend their senior theses and discuss the senior theses of others.
- Winter 2024, Spring 2024