Professor Eve Browning has started a UMD Philosophy Blog. Check it out!
Philosophical Superheroes! (and Villains)
Collect 'em all!
I will be offering the following course this fall semester at UMD. I hope you'll consider taking it! It should be fun!
Phil 3118: Special Topics
Logic, Language, and Life
Description: Shows how logic and linguistic analysis are relevant and applicable to various fields of knowledge and aspects of life.
Objectives/Outcomes:
In this course we will study logic in a broader sense than it is typically studied in an introductory logic class. We will focus on how logic in general is relevant to “real-world” issues, problems, and challenges such as persuading others, making rational decisions, recognizing and avoiding mistakes in reasoning, communicating clearly and effectively, understanding difficult reading material, and even doing well on standardized tests like the LSAT and GRE. We will discuss both deductive (certain) and inductive (probabilistic) reasoning.
Students will:
• become familiar with various types of meaning and reasoning
• learn to evaluate various instances of reasoning as good/bad, better/worse
• learn to recognize various patterns of reasoning in real-world situations
• become familiar with some interesting and problematic aspects of certain types of reasoning
Anyone can take this course, but it will appeal especially to students with interests in communication, computer science, economics, engineering, law, linguistics, literature, marketing, mathematics, philosophy, political science, psychology, and writing. While some familiarity with logic or critical thinking will be helpful, it is neither required nor presupposed. Grades will be based primarily on homework assignments and a term project (e.g. a paper, video, or presentation).
Probable readings:
Austin, J. L. 1975. How to Do Things with Words. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Blackburn, Simon. 1984. Spreading the Word: Groundings in the Philosophy of Language. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Epstein, Richard L. 2002. Five Ways of Saying “Therefore.” Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Grice, Paul. 1989. Studies in the Way of Words. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Priest, Graham. 2000. Logic: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
I'll be back at UMD for another year (this time as "Assistant Professor"). Woo hoo!
Socratic Society discussion 7:30 tomorrow evening, Thursday Feb 28,
will be led by student Simon R:
"The Ontological Argument revisted, again"
The famous ontological argument, devised by St. Anselm circa 1000 a.d.
and endorsed by Descartes, and, for a couple hours, Bertrand Russell,
is an argument that the very concept of God entails that He exists.
Note that this week discussion will be in room Kirby 311, across from
the Dining Center.
Hear Ye, Hear Ye:
The Socratic Society meets for the second time this semester!
Thursday, February 21, 7:30 – 9:00 pm, Kirby 355-57
“Free Will, Determinism, and Counterfactuals”
A discussion led by Professor Casey McGinnis.
Casey will explain why free will is compatible with determinism.
Then everyone else will explain why he is wrong.
All are welcome.
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P.S.:
Socratic Society is looking for presenters! Or, at the very
least, discussion leading. No Ph.D. or expert knowledge needed. You can
tell us about the view of a philosopher you have read about, you can
present an argument, or you can merely pose a series of questions.
Previous topics have included the meaning of life, freewill vs
determinism, infinity, religious experiences, aesthetics, and various
thought experiments.
Socratic Society meets on Thursday evenings from 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm in
Kirby 355-57 (unless noted).
If you are interested, feel free to sign up for a meeting date on the
door of the seminar room, ABAH 301.