PHILOSOPHY 15: Contemporary Philosophy (Section 3307) - L.A. Pierce College
PHILOSOPHY 15 NEWS!
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Dr. Dean Pickard |
Office: FO 3008, Ph: 818-710-4398 |
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L.A. Pierce College |
E-mail: DrPickard@deanpickard.com |
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Spring 2007, Thurs 6:45-9:55 |
Hrs: Thur. Email for appt |
Course Description: This course takes students to the cutting edge of main
currents in contemporary philosophy. It shows them what has become of the traditional
philosophical issues after the “linguistic turn” and most importantly
presents the opportunity to see how each of the philosophers we cover can speak
to their own lives in such as way that it liberates thinking and transforms the
way we participate in the world, which is to say, transforms our meaningfulness.
The course will introduce students to some of the major figures in contemporary
continental and Anglo-American philosophy. In the so-called “continental”
tradition, these include the lineage from Nietzsche to Heidegger, Derrida, and Foucault;
in phenomenology from Husserl to Merleau-Ponty; in hermeneutics, Gadamer and Ricoeur,
as well as the lineage from Hegel and Marx to Critical Theory and Habermas. In the
American and Anglo-American Analytic traditions this lineage goes from Frege, to
Russell and Wittgenstein, and converges with Dewey and American Pragmatism in the
works of Quine, Davidson and Rorty. It also includes moral philosophy from Kant
and deontological moral theory, Mill and utilitarianism in the 19th century
to Rawls and contemporary Justice theory. All contemporary philosophy is a development
from or reaction to the 2500 year tradition of western philosophy. There are many
great philosophers in this tradition but the most important are generally accepted
to be Plato (and Socrates), Aristotle, Hume, and Kant. We will therefore begin with
a very brief overview of Western philosophy, followed by an overview of the three
major contemporary western approaches to philosophy. The rest of the semester will
be focused on several major representatives of these movements whose works have
been influential in the last 30 years: Gadamer, Rorty, Davidson, and Habermas. All
these thinkers in various ways are centrally concerned with language and meaning
as central to not only to any philosophical understanding, but to any understanding
at all.
What is Philosophy: Philosophy literally means love (philos) of wisdom (Sophia).
Wisdom is not knowledge, but, as the word wisdom indicates, “seeing,”
in the metaphorical sense of seeing into things. Philosophy cannot be simply defined,
but it concerns the activity of thinking very carefully and critically about such
fundamental issues as self, society, reality, truth, meaning, value, reason, and
philosophy itself. Our beliefs and our world views that guide our actions are rooted
in Western philosophical, religious, and cultural traditions. This course can improve
your ability to think more clearly, critically, and with more perspective about
your beliefs and the cultural, conceptual, linguistic tradition from which they
emerged. Philosophy is typically arranged into these areas: 1) Metaphysics (theories
of reality), 2) Epistemology (theories of knowledge and truth), 3) Axiology (theories
of value, including moral philosophy or ethics, and aesthetics) 4) Logic (study
of the properties of consistent inference). Philosophy can also be divided according
to topics, such as, philosophy of... art, science, language, law, politics, etc.
All labeling is for convenience and no label is precise or fully adequate. Any philosophical
question in some way presupposes or implies many others. Philosophy is the activity
of very carefully and rigorously questioning our most basic assumptions in order
to either better understand things for its own sake, or in order to live a better
life. In this sense, philosophy can be seen either as the pursuit of truth for its
own sake or the pursuit of importance that makes a difference in human life. For
many philosophers it was both.
Gadamer’s philosophical hermeneutics exemplifies this in its
concern for immediate human experience of finitude (that we are always limited in
our perspective and understanding). It is the study of interpretation and understanding
at its most basic level as the one feature that is universal to human being. Literally,
the term hermeneutics means the art of making what is hidden manifest, traditionally,
the art of revealing the meaning of a text by investigating the factors crucial
to this, for example, its cultural and linguistic milieu. Biblical hermeneutics,
for example, provided guidelines for interpreting ancient religious texts. Philosophical
hermeneutics refers to the rigorous attempt to understand understanding and interpretation
themselves as basic to all human meaningfulness.
Davidson is in the Analytic tradition, which has also come to be centrally
concerned with language, meaning, and interpretation. Analytic philosophy is a movement
and style of philosophy that began in Britain and America in the early 20th century
and continues to dominate academic philosophy in the English-speaking world. Analytic
philosophy has typically been more abstract and concerned with truth and understanding
for its own sake. It has been concerned with very careful and precise analysis of
the concepts we use to speak about and make sense of the world, rather than a concern
with importance and the question of immediate human life. Davidson brought
this tradition to a point that not only in many ways moved beyond and away from
the assumptions of the early analytic thinkers, but to a point of convergence with
continental thought, especially philosophical hermeneutics, in his central concern
with language and meaning and, for example, in his “Principle of Charity”
as a central strategy for interpretation. He has contributed greatly to the analysis
of truth, meaning, interpretation, and action with surprising and compelling insights
developed in a very analytic style.
Habermas, who comes out of the German Frankfurt School, has been centrally
concerned with grounding ethics in the conditions for the possibility of human discourse
or speech acts. Habermas, however, also considers himself to be in the tradition
of Dewey and is concerned with practical outcomes for social justice purportedly
grounded in his discourse ethics. To be unethical is to violate the very conditions
for the possibility of communicating that we all have tacitly agreed to.
Rorty, who emerged from the analytic tradition, likewise sees himself as
a pragmatist. He has challenged analytic philosophy, in fact all philosophy as Heidegger
did, saying it has come to an end and must be replaced with conversations about
those things that concern us most, such as achieving greater social justice and
individual well-being, by minimizing the humiliation and harm of others. There are
no grand truths to sustain us, only our own courage and creativity, in the face
of uncertainty, to achieve a humane society.
Our concern in the course will be 1) to gain some understanding of the works of
these philosophers 2) to understand their significance for human life and understanding
in general and 3) to experience a transformation in our own understanding that can
change the way we live and think about things.
Grading
The course will not presuppose any background other than college level ability to
read and write. Reading material will be carefully discussed in class. Attendance
will be required for a grade. Writing: Personal journal, two take home essays, take
home discussion questions. The journal and some written responses to discussion
questions will be an on-going assignment.
Note:
- If you drop the class, do so officially or you could receive an F automatically
that is beyond the control of the professor.
- You are subject to automatic exclusion if you miss 2 weeks of class.
- Late arrival or early departure: sit in rear seats that will be left empty and notify
Professor of arrival and departure time.
- Beepers/cell phones should be turned off before entering class.
- Please see me first for help or complaints. This is stated as a polite request,
but is intended as a requirement.
- This outline is a basic guide and is subject to revision. Carefully follow announcements
in class or online of any changes.
Course Texts
- Gadamer, Hans-Georg, Philosophical Hermeneutics. Berkelely: Univ. of Calif.,
1977.
- Rorty, Richard., Philosophy and Social Hope. Penguin, 1999.
- Ludwig, Kirk, ed., Donald Davidson. Cambridge, 2003.
Baillie, James. Contemporary Analytic Philosophy. Prentice Hall, 1997.
(Recommended, will use two articles)
- May, Todd. Twentieth Century Continental Philosophy. Prentice Hall, 1997.
(Recommended, will use three articles)
- Pickard, Dean. “The problem of Reflexivity in Habermas.” Auslegung
19 (1993): 1-21. (Handout)
“Nietzsche vs Habermas: Emancipation, Truth, and Ethics.” New Nietzsche
Studies, Winter, (1997): 85-109. (Handout)
- Wadsworth Philosophy Series: On Gadamer, On Davidson, On Rorty, On Habermas.
Wadsworth/Thompson Learning
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Date |
Topic |
Reading |
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2/8 |
Background & Intro to Western Philosophy |
To be announced |
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2/15 |
Intro to Contemporary Western Philos: Analytic Philos & Hermeneutics |
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2/22 |
Rorty: Philosophy and Social Hope |
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3/1 |
Rorty |
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3/8 |
Rorty |
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3/15 |
Gadamer |
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3/22 |
Gadamer |
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3/29 |
Spring Vacation |
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4/5 |
Current Debate on Hermeneutics: Gadamer, Habermas, Derrida |
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FIRST JOURNAL and ESSAY DUE |
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4/12 |
Habermas and Discourse Ethics |
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4/19 |
Habermas |
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4/26 |
Habermas |
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5/3 |
Davidson & Analytic Philosophy |
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5/10 |
Davidson |
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5/14 |
Davidson |
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5/17 |
Gadamer, Rorty, Davidson, & Habermas |
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5/24 |
FINAL JOURNAL & ESSAY DUE |
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