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Contemporary Philosophy_____________________________________

  1. 9/3:     Introduction to the Course

    2. Unit #1: The Contemporary View of the Cosmos and Society

  2. 9/8:     Readings: Berman, Jones, Chapter 1; Lecture: "Finding the Twentieth Century"
  3. 9/10:   Readings: Wheelis, "The End of the Modern Age"; Lecture: "Modernism"
  4. 9/15:   Readings: Hawking, "A Brief History of Time" (excerpt); Lecture: "Cosmology and Philosophy"

    5. Unit #2: Realism, Analytic Philosophy, Positivism
     

  5. 9/17:   Reading: Jones, Chapter 3; Lecture: "Realisms"
  6. 9/22:   Short reports on Kant's categories of understanding from Cliff; Ryle's "Misleading Expressions" from Denise. Finish Moore's argument for realism.
  7. 9/24:   Reading: Jones, Chapter 6; Lecture: "Explaining the Tractatus"
  8. 9/29:   Reading: Jones, Chapter 7; Lecture: "Assessing Positivism"
  9. 10/1:   Exam Date for Unit 1, Unit 2, or Unit 1 & 2 exams.  All others, no class today.
        Unit 3: Phenomenology & Existentialism
  1. 10/6:   Lecture: "The First Phenomenologist" Read & Discuss: Jones, Chapter 9 "Heidegger"
  2. 10/8:   Discussion: Heidegger
  3. 10/13:   Reading: Kaufman, "Existentialism From Dostoevsky To Sartre"; Lecture: "Introduction to Existentialism"
  4. 10/15: Read: Jones, Chapter 10, "Sartre"
  5. 10/20: Founder's Day: No Class
  6. 10/22: Readings: Sartre, No Exit
  7. 10/27: Possible Presentation Day
  8. 10/29: Exam Day for Unit 3.  All others, no class today.
    Unit 4: Later Analytic Philosophy
     
  1. 11/3: Reading: Jones, Chapter 11; Lecture: "Understanding Language Games"
  2. 11/5: Reading: Wittgenstein, On Certainty; Discussion  (Exam date for Unit 4 or 3 & 4 postponed until 11/24.)
  3. 11/10: Final discussion of On Certainty.

    4. Unit 5: Postmodernism

  4. 11/12:   Lecture: "Introducing Postmodernism" Readings: There are two background readings for this unit: Powell, Derrida for Beginners and Tractenberg, "Introduction," The Postmodern Moment.  Read them during this unit, as soon as is convenient.
  5. 11/17: Lecture: "Postmodern Views of Language" Reading: Culler
  6. 11/19: Lecture: "Postmodern Views of Language"
  7. 11/24: Exam Date for all exams up to and including Unit 4.
  8. 11/26: No Class, Thanksgiving Holiday.
  9. 12/1:   Readings: Lyotard (excerpt) The Postmodern Condition; Lecture: "Postmodern Views of Knowledge"
  10. 12/3:   Lecture: "Postmodern Views of the Self" Reading: Rorty
  11. 12/8:   Reading: Barthelme, Apple
  12. 12/10: Possible Presentation Day
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©1997 by Mark Alfino, Department of Philosophy, Gonzaga University.