UCL - History of Philosophy V: Contemporary philosophy (first part)

[FILO1284]

[30h] 3 credits

This two-yearly course is taught in 2008-2009, 2010-2011,...

Teacher(s): Michel Ghins

Language: French

Level: First

Aims
Main themes
Content and teaching methods
Other information (prerequisite, evaluation (assessment methods), course materials recommended readings, ...)

Aims

The goal of the course is to give the student a general overview of the main tenets of so-called "Analytical" or "Anglo-Saxon" philosophy in the 20th Century.

Main themes

Through a study of some of the more representative thinkers of this period and style of philosophy, the course aims at giving a general overview of some its main philosophical concerns, such as pragmatism, logical empiricism, and logicism.

Content and teaching methods

The subject matter of this course is the history of the analytic tradition in philosophy since the end of the 19th century until the end of the 20th century. We focus on the philosophy of language and the philosophy of science. Instead of reviewing a large number of authors, only a few main philosophers will retain our attention (Frege, Russell, Wittgenstein, Carnap, Quine, Popper, Kuhn) through the study of some of their fundamental writings.

The course will be based on classroom lectures in which students are strongly encouraged to participate with questions that not only lead to a deepening of their grasp of the subject but also to discussions. Discussion sessions will also be organized. Finally, the students are encouraged to read some material before the lectures.

Other information (prerequisite, evaluation (assessment methods), course materials recommended readings, ...)

Assessment: Oral exam.

Supporting Material: Class notes.