Text:

Saul Kripke, Naming and Necessity (Blackwell, 1980).

On line:

Hilary Putnam, “Meaning and Reference,” The Journal of Philosophy, vol. 70 (1973), pp. 699-711 (on JSTOR at 2025079)

Michael Dummett, “Postscript” to Synthese, vol. 27, nos. 3/4 (1974), pp. 523-534 (on JSTOR at 20114942)

David Chalmers, “Consciousness and its Place in Nature,” in S. Stich and F. Warfield (eds.), Blackwell Guide to the Philosophy of Mind (Blackwell, 2003)—and on line at http://consc.net/papers/nature.pdf

Requirements: (1) Two papers (the first paper about 2-3 pp. and the second paper 6-8 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. I have set a default due date for the class, but I am willing to set individual due dates (within reason) for those who find that 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.