Contemporary Philosophy (Phil 306)
Dr. Joshua Stuchlik
Office: John Roach Center, 216a
Email: jstuchlik@stthomas.edu
Office Hours:
MWF 1:30-2:30 pm
and by appointment
“We are unknown to ourselves, we knowers: and for good reason. We have never looked for
ourselves—so how are we ever supposed to find ourselves? How right is the saying: ‘Where your
treasure is, there will your heart be also’; our treasure is where the hives of our knowledge are.”
--Friedrich Nietzsche, On the Genealogy of Morality
Course Description:
This course is devoted to philosophical trends in the late 19th and 20th centuries (roughly 1850present). We’ll spend the first half of the semester studying three European “philosophers of
suspicion”: Freud, Marx, and Nietzsche. In the second half of the semester we’ll then focus on the
movement known as analytic philosophy, examining the contributions of recent analytic
philosophers to areas such as philosophy of language, epistemology, and the philosophy of mind.
Course Objectives:
1. Gain factual knowledge of views of various contemporary philosophers.
2. Learn some of the basic assumptions, fundamental principles, theories, and methods related to
those thinkers.
3. Analyze and critically evaluate the key ideas, basic assumptions, and arguments they make.
Meeting Times:
MWF Feb. 2 – May 15, 2014
Note: For every hour of class time, students are expected to devote two to three hours of study to this
course, including homework reading, review, and written assignments.
1
Required Texts:
1. Analytic Philosophy: An Anthology, Second Edition, ed. by A.P. Martinich and David Sosa.
Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2012.
2. Five Lectures on Psycho-Analysis, by Sigmund Freud. W.W. Norton & Co., 1989.
3. Suspicion and Faith: The Religious Uses of Modern Atheism, by Merold Westphal. New York, NY:
Fordham University Press, 1998.
Course Requirements and Grading:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Two term papers: 20% each
Two short reflection papers: 2.5% each
Midterm exam: 20%
Final exam: 25%
Participation: 10%
Attendance:
Students are expected to attend every class session on time; attendance will contribute to your
participation grade. Students should consult the instructor as soon as possible if circumstances require
an absence. Grounds for an excused absence are illness, a family emergency, or an official university
or seminary event. All other absences must be discussed with me in advance in order to count as
excused.
Classroom Accommodations:
Students who may need classroom accommodations due to a disability should make an appointment
within the first two weeks of the term with the Enhancement Program—Disability Resources office
(Murray Herrick, room 110; Telephone: 651-962-6315 or 800-328-6819, extension 6315).
Academic Integrity:
Please note that we will be following the UST Academic Integrity Policy. Plagiarism and other forms
of academic dishonesty, such as cheating, will not be tolerated. Confirmation of academic dishonesty
will result in notification of the dean and the maximum penalty possible. You can read more about the
university’s academic integrity policy online:
http://www.stthomas.edu/policies/student_policy_book/academic_integrity_policy.asp.
2
Schedule (subject to change based on class needs):
DATE
1
2
Feb. 2
Feb. 4
SUBJECT
Week 1
Introduction
Rationalizing Explanations of Action
3
Feb. 6
Wishful Thinking and Self-Deception
4
5
Feb. 9
Feb. 11
6
Feb. 13
7
Feb. 16
8
Feb. 18
Freud:
Freud’s Critique of Religion
9
Feb. 20
10
Feb. 23
11
Feb. 25
Freud:
Freud’s Critique of Morality
Week 4
Marx:
Alienation
Marx:
Historical Materialism
12
Feb. 27
13
March 2
14
March 4
15
March 6
16
March 9
Week 2
Wishful Thinking and Self-Deception (cont.)
Freud:
Psychoanalysis
Freud:
Freud’s Structural Theory of the Mind
Week 3
Freud:
Dreams
Marx:
Capitalism and Communism
Week 5
Marx:
Communism and Catholic Social Thought
Marx:
Ideology and Religion
Nietzsche:
Master Morality and Slave Morality
Week 6
Nietzsche:
Ressentiment and Free Will
3
ASSIGNMENT
---Davidson, “Actions, Reasons,
and Causes”, Sections I-III
Johnston, “Self-Deception and
the Nature of Mind” (to pg. 78)
---Freud, Five Lectures on PsychoAnalysis, Lectures 1-2
Freud, Five Lectures on
Psycho-Analysis, Lectures 4-5
Freud, Five Lectures on PsychoAnalysis, Lecture 3
Westphal, Chs. 7-9
Freud, Civilization and Its
Discontents, Chs. 2-3
Westphal, Chs. 10, 13, 17, 19
Freud, Civilization and Its
Discontents, Chs. 6-7
Marx, Alienated Labor
Westphal, Chs. 20-22
Marx, Preface to A Contribution
to the Critique of Political
Economy
Westphal, Ch. 25
Marx and Engels, Communist
Manifesto, I-II
Leo XIII, Rerum novarum
(excerpts)
Westphal Chs. 26, 28-30, 33-34
Nietzsche, On the Genealogy of
Morality Preface; I, 1-10
Westphal, Chs. 35-37
Nietzsche, On the Genealogy of
Morality I, 11-17
Westphal, Chs. 39-41
17
March 11
Nietzsche:
The Ascetic Ideal
18
March 13
Nietzsche:
The Death of God and The Eternal Recurrence
19
20
March 16
March 18
March 20
21
March 23
22
March 25
23
March 27
24
April 6
April 8
25
April 10
26
April 13
27
April 15
28
April 17
29
30
April 20
April 22
31
April 24
32
April 27
33
April 29
34
May 1
Week 7
Class Discussion: Philosophers of Suspicion
***Midterm Exam***
No Class
Week 8
Philosophy of Language:
Frege on Sense and Reference
Philosophy of Language:
Russell and Logical Analysis
Russell and Logical Analysis (cont.)
Week 9: Spring Break
Week 10
Easter Break
Epistemology:
Knowledge by Acquaintance
Epistemology:
Knowledge by Description
Week 11
Epistemology:
Moore’s Proof
Epistemology:
Skepticism, Methodism, and Particularism
Logical Empiricism
Week 12
Logical Empiricism (cont.)
Metaphysics:
Modality
Metaphysics:
Modality (cont.)
Week 13
Philosophy of Mind:
Behaviorism and Identity Theory
Philosophy of Mind:
Functionalism
Philosophy of Mind:
Functionalism and Its Discontents
4
Nietzsche, On the Genealogy of
Morality III, 7, 13-21, 28
Westphal, Chs. 42-43
Nietzsche, The Gay Science
(excerpts)
Paper 1 Due
Reflection 1 Due
------Frege, “On Sense and
Reference”, pp. 9-13
Russell, “On Denoting”
----
---Russell, “Knowledge by
Acquaintance and Knowledge
by Description”
---Moore, “Proof of an External
World”
Chisholm, “The Problem of the
Criterion”
Ayer, “The Elimination of
Metaphysics”
---Kripke, “Identity and Necessity”
---Putnam, “The Nature of Mental
States”
---Searle, “Can Computers
Think?”
35
May 4
36
May 6
37
May 8
38
May 11
39
May 13
40
May 15
Week 14
Philosophy of Mind:
Consciousness
Free Will:
Libertarianism and Agent Causation
Free Will:
Frankfurt’s Compatibilism
Week 15
Personal Identity:
The Psychological and Somatic Theories
Personal Identity:
Human Beings
Class Discussion: Analytic Philosophy
Final Exam:
PHIL 306-01: Tuesday, May 19, 8:00 – 10:00 a.m.
PHIL 306-02: Wednesday, May 20, 8:00 –10:00 a.m.
5
Nagel, “What Is It Like to Be a
Bat?”
Chisholm, “Human Freedom
and the Self”
Paper 2 Due
Frankfurt, “Alternate
Possibilities and Moral
Responsibility”
Williams, “The Self and the
Future”
Johnston, “Human Beings”
(focus on I-III)
Reflection 2 Due