Topics in Metaphysics and Epistemology
Spring 2016
Details
| Course Code | Location | Times |
|---|---|---|
| PHIL-SHU 103-001 (24317) | 1555 Century Avenue, Room 1200 | Thursdays, 4:35pm–6:30pm |
Instructor
| Name | Office | Consultation Times | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brad Weslake | brad.weslake@nyu.edu | 1555 Century Avenue, Room 1226 | Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11:00am–12:00pm, or by appointment. |
Overview
A discussion-based seminar on selected issues in the philosophy of mathematics and modality.
Assessment
Requirements:
- One 10–15 page paper.
- Attendance and participation.
Schedule
Section I: Mathematics
Meeting 1: Set Theory (Thursday 4 February)
- Steinhart, Eric. 2009. More Precisely: The Math You Need to Do Philosophy, Broadview, Peterborough ON, Chapter 1.
Spring Festival Holiday: 8–12 February
Meeting 2: Structuralism (Thursday 18 February)
- Benacerraf, Paul. 1965. “What Numbers Could not Be”, in The Philosophical Review, Vol. 74, No. 1, January, pp. 47–73. URI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2183530.
- Shapiro, Stewart. 1997. Philosophy of Mathematics: Structure and Ontology, Oxford University Press, Oxford, Chapter 3.
Meeting 3: Logicism (Thursday 3 March)
- Shapiro, Stewart. 2000. Thinking about Mathematics: The Philosophy of Mathematics, Oxford University Press, Oxford, Chapter 5.
Meeting 4: Formalism (Thursday 10 March)
- Shapiro, Stewart. 2000. Thinking about Mathematics: The Philosophy of Mathematics, Oxford University Press, Oxford, Chapter 6.
Meeting 5: The Analytic and Synthetic (Thursday 17 March)
- Papineau, David. 2012. Philosophical Devices: Proofs, Probabilities, Possibilities, and Sets, Oxford University Press, Oxford, Chapter 4.
Meeting 6: Necessity and Contingency (Thursday 24 March)
- Papineau, David. 2012. Philosophical Devices: Proofs, Probabilities, Possibilities, and Sets, Oxford University Press, Oxford, Chapter 5.
Meeting 7 (Thursday 31 March)
- Papineau, David. 2012. Philosophical Devices: Proofs, Probabilities, Possibilities, and Sets, Oxford University Press, Oxford, Chapter 6.
Spring Recess: 4–8 April
Meeting 8: (Thursday 21 April)
- Kripke, Saul. 1980. Naming and Necessity, Harvard University Press, Cambridge MA, Lecture 1.
Meeting 9: (Thursday 28 April)
- Kripke, Saul. 1980. Naming and Necessity, Harvard University Press, Cambridge MA, Lecture 2.
Meeting 10: (Thursday 5 May)
- Kripke, Saul. 1980. Naming and Necessity, Harvard University Press, Cambridge MA, Lecture 3.
Meeting 11: (Thursday 12 May)
- Lycan, William G. 1974. “Kripke and the Materialists”, in The Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 71, No. 18, pp. 677–689. URI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2024806, Chapter 5.
Updated: 9 May 2016