Phi 346-01—Analytic Philosophy
Spring 2014—Glen Helman

Instructor: Glen Helman, Assoc. Prof. of Philosophy and Dept. Chair

E-mail: helmang@wabash.edu

Office: Center 214, (765) 361-6334

My posted hours currently are 1:10-2 on M and 3:10-4 on F (but this can change). I usually arrive on campus between 9 and 10 and leave between 5 and 6, and you stand a good chance of finding me in my office whenever I am not teaching (my other classes meet at 10 and 11 MWF). While I am in my office most noon hours, the noon hour is also a common time for meetings and other events, as is the afternoon after 4.

Home: 314 W. Wabash Ave., (765) 362-0428

This is your best bet evenings and weekends, but try my office too.

Cell phone: (765) 366-0791

Texts

On JSTOR:

Paul Feyerabend, “Wittgenstein’s Philosophical Investigations,” The Philosophical Review, vol. 64 (1955), pp. 449-483 (on JSTOR at 2182211)

Gottlob Frege, “Sense and Reference,” The Philosophical Review, M. Black (tr.), vol. 57 (1948), pp. 209-230 (on JSTOR at 2181485)

Gottlob Frege, “The Thought: A Logical Inquiry,” A. M. and M. Quinton (trs.), Mind, n.s. vol. 65 (1956), pp. 289-311 (on JSTOR at 2251513)

Bertrand Russell, “On Denoting,” Mind, n.s. vol. 14 (1905), pp. 479-493 (on JSTOR at 2248381)

Moritz Schlick, “Positivism and Realism,” D. Rynin (tr.), Synthese, vol. 7 (1948-49), pp. 478-505 (on JSTOR at 20114083)

Alfred Tarski, “The Semantic Conception of Truth: and the Foundations of Semantics,” Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, vol. 4 (1944), pp. 341-376 (on JSTOR at 2102968)

In PDF format (to be available on the website and Moodle):

Charles Sanders Peirce, “How to Make Our Ideas Clear,” Popular Science Monthly, vol. 12 (1877-78), pp. 286-302 (1up PDF, 2up PDF, booklet PDF)

Ludwig Wittgenstein, sels. from Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, C. K. Ogden (tr.)

Grading

Assignments and grading:

Two papers (the first paper about 3-4 pp. and the second paper 6-7 pp.); I will suggest the forms of the papers but you will have substantial freedom of choice in the topic. (2) Regular, prepared, and active participation in class discussion. Your final grade will be based on these in the following way: 25% and 55%, respectively, for the papers and 20% for class participation.

Attendance and due dates:

As part of my evaluation of your participation, I will be keeping a record of your attendance. You will be automatically excused if you notify me in advance that you will miss a class (e-mail or voice-mail messages are fine). After the fact, you will be excused if you give me a good reason or a dean’s excuse. Due dates for the papers are subject to negotiation. In each case, I have set a default due date for the class (2/12 and 3/7) and but I am willing to set individual due dates (within reason) for those who find the default dates inconvenient. My policy on missed deadlines is similar to that on missed classes: I’ll re-negotiate the deadline (again within reason) if I hear in advance, but after the fact I’ll expect an excuse. Unexcused missed deadlines will have an effect on your participation grade.

Calendar

Topics and reading. The assignments below are approximate and tentative. Sometimes a reading-guide handout will specify the details of an assignment, and it may include passages that are part of your assignment. Boxed dates are default due dates for papers and links to paper assignments when bold.

1/20  introduction
1/22Peirce Charles Sanders Peirce, “How to Make Our Ideas Clear” (286-293)—handout (1up PDF, 2up PDF, booklet PDF)
1/24  ——, “How to Make Our Ideas Clear” (294-302)—handout (1up PDF, 2up PDF, booklet PDF)
1/27Frege Gottlob Frege, “Sense and Reference” (209-216)—on JSTOR at 2181485
1/29  ——, “Sense and Reference” (216-224)—on JSTOR at 2181485
1/31 ——, “Sense and Reference” (224-230)—on JSTOR at 2181485
2/3Russell Bertrand Russell, “On Denoting” (479-483)—on JSTOR at 2248381
2/5 ——, “On Denoting” (483-488)—on JSTOR at 2248381
2/7  ——, “On Denoting” (488-493)—on JSTOR at 2248381
2/10Frege Gottlob Frege, “The Thought” (289-299)—on JSTOR at 2251513
2/12  ——, “The Thought” (299-311)—on JSTOR at 2251513
2/14Wittgenstein Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (sels.)—handout
2/17  ——, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (sels.)—handout
2/19Schlick Moritz Schlick, “Positivism and Realism” (478-492)—on JSTOR at 20114083
2/21  ——, “Positivism and Realism” (492-505)—on JSTOR at 20114083
2/24Wittgenstein Paul Feyerabend, “Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations” (449-460)—on JSTOR at 2182211
2/26  ——, “Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations” (460-473)—on JSTOR at 2182211
2/28  ——, “Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations” (473-483)—on JSTOR at 2182211
3/3Tarski Alfred Tarski, “The Semantic Conception of Truth: and the Foundations of Semantics” (341-351)—on JSTOR at 2102968
3/5  ——, “The Semantic Conception of Truth: and the Foundations of Semantics” (351-360)—on JSTOR at 2102968
3/7  ——, “The Semantic Conception of Truth: and the Foundations of Semantics” (361-370)—on JSTOR at 2102968