Postgraduate Course: Themes in Epistemology MSc (PHIL11064)
Course Outline
| School | School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course will explore themes in two major areas of contemporary epistemology. First, we will examine some key topics in contemporary virtue epistemology, which is an approach epistemology that gives intellectual virtues a central place. Next, we will turn to self-knowledge, where we'll outline a range of accounts of self-knowledge and consider how they might be improved. |
| Course description |
This course introduces students to a number of ideas, theories, themes and controversies that have been prominent in two distinct areas of contemporary epistemology. The course lasts for 10 weeks, and is broken down into 5 weeks spent on virtue epistemology and 5 weeks spent on self-knowledge. The topics are as follows:
Week 1: Zagzebski on the Structure of Intellectual Virtue
Week 2: Greco on Knowledge as Success Through Virtue
Week 3: Virtue Responsibilism
Week 4: Virtue Responsibilism: Intellectual Humility
Week 5: The Situationist Challenge to Virtue Epistemology
Week 6: Introducing the Problem of Self-Knowledge
Week 7: Quasi-Perceptual Accounts of Self-Knowledge
Week 8: Agentialist Accounts of Self-Knowledge
Week 9: Agentialism Continued (Improvements and Criticisms)
Week 10: Ryle and the Neo-Ryleans
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2019/20, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
|
Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 20,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 3,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
173 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
One 2,500 word essay at the end of the semester (100%).
Word limit: 2500 words maximum (excluding references) |
| Feedback |
Students have the opportunity to submit a formative essay. The essay cannot be draft of the summative essay but it can be on the same topic.
|
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of several central theories and arguments from contemporary epistemology.
- critically assess and compare arguments and positions in epistemology and deploy these arguments for themselves.
- analyse complex arguments and concepts and to critically dissect arguments, applying these abilities to topics in epistemology.
- write and discuss with greater clarity, rigour and structural transparency and develop appropriate research skills in philosophy.
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Reading List
The following book and Stanford Encylopdia Entry will provide a good introduction to some of the topics we will cover in weeks 1-5:
Pritchard, D. (2009) Knowledge (Palgrave Macmillan) https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/epistemology-virtue/
For weeks 6-10, students are strongly recommended to read the following (prioritising the former):
Gertler, B. (2010) Self-Knowledge (Routledge)
Moran, R. (2001) Authority and Estrangement (Princeton University Press)
Reading for seminars
Week 1: Zagzebski on the Structure of Intellectual Virtue
Core Reading:
Zagzebski, L. (1996) Virtues of the Mind. Cambridge University Press. Pages 165-196.
Further Reading:
Zagzebski, L. (1996) Virtues of the Mind. Cambridge University Press. Pages 29-43.
Further Reading:
Axtell, G. (2000). Knowledge, Belief, and Character: Readings in Virtue Epistemology: Introduction (Rowman and Littlefield).
Week 2: A Personal Worth Acccount of Responsibilist Virtue
Core Reading:
Baehr, J. (2011). The Enquiring Mind: Chapter 6. Oxford University Press.
Instructions for access: At the bottom left of the screen, you'll see an option to log in with Athens. Click that, then select 'The University of Edinburgh' from the list of institutions.
Further Reading:
Battaly, H. (2008). 'Virtue Epistemology.' Philosophy Compass 3, no. 4, p. 639-663.
Further Reading:
Montmarquet, J. (1987). 'Epistemic Virtue.' Mind 96, no. 384, p. 482-497.
Week 3: The Virtue of Intellectual Humility
Core Reading:
Whitcomb, D. et al. (2017). 'Intellectual Humility: Owning Our Limitations.' Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 94, p. 509-539.
Further Reading:
Tanesini, A. (2018) 'Intellectual Humility as Attitude.' Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 96, p. 399-420.
Further Reading:
Church, I. and Samuelson, P. (2017) Intellectual Humility: An Introduction to the Philosophy and Science: Chapter 1. Bloomsbury.
Week 4: The Vice of Epistemic Insouciance
Core Reading:
Cassam, Q. (2018). 'Epistemic Insousiance.' Journal of Philosophical Research.
Further Reading:
Frankfurt, H. G. (2005). On Bullshit.
Further Reading:
¿ Lackey,
¿ J. (2013). ¿Lies and Deception: An Unhappy Divorce.¿ Analysis
¿ 73
¿ (2), p. 236-248.
¿
¿
o
o Instructions
o for access: You¿ll see an option to sign in via your insitution. Click that, then select ¿The University of Edinburgh¿ from the list of instituions.
o
¿
Week 5: The Situationist Challenge to Virtue Epistemology
¿
¿ Core Reading:
¿ Alfano,
¿ M. (2017). ¿Expanding the Situationist Challenge to Responsibilist Virtue Epistemology.¿
¿ The
¿ Philosophical Quarterly
¿ 62, no. 247, p. 223-249.
¿
¿
¿ Further Reading:
¿ Olin,
¿ L. and Doris, J. M. (2014). ¿Vicious Minds.¿ Philosophical
¿ Studies
¿ 168, no. 3, p. 665-692.
¿
¿
¿ Further Reading:
¿ Carter,
¿ J. A. and Pritchard, D. (2015). ¿Epistemic Situationism, Epistemic Dependence and the Epistemology of Education¿ in
¿ Epistemic
¿ Situationism
¿ (eds. M. Alfano and A. Fairweather). Oxford University Press.
Week 6: Introducing the Problem of Self-Knowledge
TBC
Week 7: Quasi-Perceptual Accounts of Self-Knowledge
TBC
Week 8: Agentialist Accounts of Self-Knowledge
TBC
Week 9: Agentialism Continued (Improvements and Criticisms)
TBC
Week 10: Ryle and the Neo-Ryleans
TBC |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Reading, understanding and critically engaging with complex texts; critical thinking; constructive oral engagement; essay writing. |
| Keywords | Knowledge,virtue epistemology,intellectual virtues,self-knowledge |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr James Openshaw
Tel: (0131 6)51 3083
Email: James.Openshaw@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Becky Verdon
Tel: (0131 6)50 3860
Email: Rebecca.Verdon@ed.ac.uk |
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