THE UNIVERSITY of EDINBURGH

DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2015/2016

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences : Philosophy

Postgraduate Course: Advanced Philosophical Methodology (Online) (PHIL11137)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences CollegeCollege of Humanities and Social Science
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate)
Course typeOnline Distance Learning AvailabilityNot available to visiting students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryThe course is aimed at students who either have a strong academic background in philosophy or who have taken the Introduction to Philosophical Methodology course (PHIL11132) or equivalent.
Course description Its goal is to enhance the student's understanding of philosophical methodology. This will be achieved by studying the structure of philosophical arguments as they appear in a selection of quite demanding cutting-edge philosophical texts, particularly in the core areas of philosophy of epistemology, ethics, and philosophy of mind and cognitive science.

Teaching will commence the week commencing 18th January 2016.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Students MUST have passed: Introduction to Philosophical Methodology (Online) (PHIL11132)
Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements Students must have passed Introduction to Philosophical Methodology (PHIL11132) or equivalent during their previous studies at another institution before taking this course.
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2015/16, Not available to visiting students (SS1) Quota:  None
Course Start Semester 2
Course Start Date 11/01/2016
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 200 ( Online Activities 22, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 174 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 85 %, Practical Exam 15 %
Additional Information (Assessment) Students will be assessed by one 2500 word essay due at the end of the semester (85%) and successful participation in the on-line activities associated with the course (15%).

Essay deadline: Thursday 21st April 2016 by 12 noon.
Word limit: 2500 words maximum (excluding references)
Return deadline: Friday 13th May 2016

Feedback Students have the opportunity to submit a formative essay by week 6 deadline on Turnitin via Learn. The essay cannot be draft of summative essay but it can be on the same topic.

Formative essay deadline: Thursday 25th February 2016 by 12 noon
Return deadline: Friday 18th March 2016
No Exam Information
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. develop their understanding of the methodology of philosophy, with particular focus on philosophical topics in the fields of epistemology, ethics, philosophy of mind and cognitive science, and philosophy of science.
  2. develop their skills in critical thinking and in the oral and written presentation of philosophical arguments.
Reading List
Week 1 of teaching. Reflective Equilibrium.
Daniels, Norman (1980). On Some Methods of Ethics and Linguistics. Philosophical Studies: 21-36.

Week 2 of teaching. The Consequence Argument and 'Begging the Question.'
Kane, Robert (2005). 'Chapter 3.' In A Contemporary Introduction to Free Will. Oxford University Press.
Fischer, John Martin & Pendergraft, Garrett (2013). Does the consequence argument beg the question? Philosophical Studies 166 (3):575-595.

Week 3 of teaching. Kripke I - Externalism in language.
Kripke, Saul (1980). Naming and Necessity. Harvard University Press.
Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Naming-Necessity-Library-Philosophy-Logic/dp/0631128018/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389744654&sr=8-1&keywords=saul+kripke

Week 4 of teaching. Kripke - The necessary a posteriori and rationalist methodology.
Kripke, Saul (1980). Naming and Necessity. Harvard University Press.

Week 5 of teaching. Twin Earth thought experiments: Putnam and Burge.
Putnam, Hilary (1975). The meaning of 'meaning'. Minnesota Studies in the Philosophy of Science 7:131-193. Online: http://philpapers.org/rec/PUTTMO Burge, Tyler 1982. Other Bodies. Chap. 4 In Foundations of Mind. Oxford University Press

Week 6 of teaching. Paper writing workshop.
Class reading: Handouts.

Week 7 of teaching. Experimental critique of semantic externalism.
Machery, E., R. Mallon, S. Nichols and S. Stich. 2004. 'Semantics, Cross-Cultural Style', Cognition 92: B1-B12. Online: http://philpapers.org/rec/MACSCS

Week 8 of teaching. Critique of the experimental critique of semantic externalism.
Ishani Maitra, Brian Weatherson & Jonathan Ichikawa. 'In Defense of a Kripkean
Dogma', forthcoming in Philosophy and Phenomenological Research.
Online: http://philpapers.org/rec/ICHIDO

Week 9 of teaching. Skepticism about intuition.
Weinberg, Jonathan M. (2007). How to challenge intuitions empirically without risking skepticism.
Midwest Studies in Philosophy 31 (1):318-343.
Brown, Jessica (2013). Intuitions, evidence and hopefulness. Synthese 190 (12): 2021-2046.

Week 10 of teaching. Stability of intuitions.
Swain, Stacey; Alexander, Joshua & Weinberg, Jonathan (2008). The instability of philosophical intuitions: Running hot and cold on truetemp. Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 76 (1): 138-155.
Wright, Jennifer Cole (2010). On intuitional stability: The clear, the strong, and the paradigmatic.
Cognition 115 (3):491-503.

Week 11 of teaching. Philosophical expertise?
Nado, Jennifer (2014a). Philosophical expertise and scientific expertise. Philosophical Psychology
28 (7):1026-1044.

Further background reading is available on the course Learn page.





Additional Information
Course URL Please see Learn
Graduate Attributes and Skills Not entered
Additional Class Delivery Information It is only for online MSc/Dip/Cert Epistemology, Ethics and Mind students.

The course is taught be Dr Mikkel Gerken and Dr Debbie Roberts.
KeywordsNot entered
Contacts
Course organiserDr Mikkel Gerken
Tel: (0131 6)51 5172
Email: mgerken@exseed.ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMiss Lynsey Buchanan
Tel: (0131 6)51 5002
Email: Lynsey.Buchanan@ed.ac.uk
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