Postgraduate Course: Epistemology (Online) (PHIL11131)
Course Outline
| School | School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
| Course type | Online Distance Learning |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | The course examines the nature of human knowledge and cognition. This area is called 'epistemology' and it is among the classic and continuously prominent sub-fields of philosophy. No previous philosophical or logical expertise is required. Any technical / unfamiliar terms will be defined as we go.
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| Course description |
The course covers a range of core topics in epistemology, such as (inexhaustive list): the analysis of knowledge; scepticism; the structure of justification; externalism and internalism about knowledge and justification; feminism and epistemology; contextualism; relativism; knowledge-first epistemology; the norm of assertion; epistemological methodology.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2017/18, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
| Course Start Date |
18/09/2017 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 20,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 5,
Summative Assessment Hours 20,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
151 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
85 %,
Practical Exam
15 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Students will be assessed by a 2500 word essay at the end of the semester (85%) and successful participation in the on-line activities associated with the course. How the participation component will be assessed will be made clear to the students at the start of the course.
Word limit: 2500 words maximum (excluding references)
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| 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.
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| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- articulate central issues, views and concepts in epistemology
- critically analyze and engage with the contemporary epistemological literature.
- present arguments clearly and concisely both within a classroom and in a 2,500-word essay.
- gain transferable skills in research, analysis and argumentation.
- critically discuss philosophical arguments with peers.
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Reading List
Available through Talis aspire
http://resourcelists.ed.ac.uk/index.html
Indicative reading list:
Gettier, Edmund (1963). Is Justified True Belief Knowledge? Analysis 23(6):121-123. Online: http://philpapers.org/rec/GETIJT-4
Descartes, Rene (1641). The First Meditation from Meditations on First Philosophy.
Klein, Peter. 2001: Skepticism. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Online: http://plato.Stanford.edu/entries/skepticism
Williams, Michael. 2001: Skepticism. The Blackwell Guide to Epistemology (eds. Sosa and Kim), pp. 35-69.
Online:http://www.blackwellreference.com/subscriber/uid=2748/tocnode?id=g9780631202912_chun k_g97806312029124
Goldman, Alvin I. (1979). What is Justified Belief? In Ernest Sosa & Jaegwon Kim (eds.),
Graham, Peter J. (2012). Epistemic Entitlement. Noûs 46 (3):449-482. Online: http://philpapers.org/rec/GRAEE
Rysiew, Patrick (2009): Epistemic Contextualism. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, ed. Edward N. Zalta. Spring 2009 edn. Online: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/contextualism-epistemology
Rysiew, Patrick. (2001). The context-sensitivity of knowledge attributions. Noûs, 35 (4): 477-514.
Online: http://philpapers.org/rec/RYSTCO
Nagel, Jennifer (2010). Knowledge ascriptions and the psychological consequences of thinking about error. Philosophical Quarterly 60 (239):286-306.
Online: http://philpapers.org/rec/NAGKAA-2
Nagel, Jennifer. Forthcoming. 'Intuitions and Experiments: A Defense of the Case Method in Epistemology', Philosophy and Phenomenological Research:
Online: http://philpapers.org/archive/NAGIAE.1.pdf
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Students can develop their ability for independent learning through online resources. |
| Additional Class Delivery Information |
Priority for this course will be given to online MSc/Dip/Cert Epistemology, Ethics and Mind students. Students on any other programme must obtain permission to enrol from Prof Jesper Kallestrup as Programme Director. |
| Keywords | Epistemology |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Ms Fiona Doherty
Tel:
Email: fdoherty@exseed.ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Becky Verdon
Tel: (0131 6)51 5002
Email: Rebecca.Verdon@ed.ac.uk |
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