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Introduction to the Theory of Knowledge Syllabus [Summer 2011, 01:730:220]
1. Description This course will address some of the central questions in Theory of Knowledge: 'What is knowledge?'; 'Is knowledge possible?', 'What is the extension of human knowledge?'. 2. Requirements No previous contact with the literature will be presupposed for this course. Enrolled students will be expected to write two papers: the first one, due half-way through the course, should be 1 to 2 pages long and the second one, due the last day of class should be 2 to 5 pages long. Also, in-class activities and participation will count towards the final grade. The breakdown of the final grade for the course is thus: first paper (30%); second paper (50%); attendance and participation (20%). A. Papers a. There are two main ways to get the papers done. a.1. Survey Paper: the main objective of this kind of essay is to present the main claim (set of claims) of the topic you choose to write on. At the end, you should present your own assessment of the topic. The main structure of this kind of essay would be composed of (i) an introduction presenting the issue's main claim (set of claims), (ii) a middle section presenting the argument(s) in support of the main claim (set of claims) in the readings about the issue – including the main challenges to those claims and replies – and (iii) a final section in which you comment on what was presented and raise questions/doubts or make suggestions that are pertinent to the issue. a.2. Argumentative Paper: the main objective of this kind of essay is the presentation and defense of a claim or set of claims. The main structure of this kind of essay would be composed of (i) an introduction presenting the main claim or set of claims of the paper, (ii) a body of text presenting the argument(s) in support of one's claim and against the main rival position(s) and (iii) a conclusion stating one's accomplishments and needed future work. b. The main difference between the Survey Paper and the Argumentative Paper is that the focus of first one is the description of what a certain issue is while the second focuses on debating critically a certain issue. A successful Survey Paper will be a clear and precise description of an issue presented in one or more of the readings done for the course. A successful Argumentative Paper will be a clear and precise critical debate of an issue discussed in one or more of the readings done for the course. c. How is the final paper going to be graded? I will consider how well the student has achieved the objectives described above. c.1. Survey Paper: 30% of the grade will reflect the paper's general clarity and precision in which language is used. 70% of the grade will reflect the degree of accuracy in which the claims and arguments are described.
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c.2. Argumentative Paper: 30% of the grade will reflect the paper's general clarity and precision in which language is used. 70% of the grade will reflect how successful the author of the paper is in establishing his main claim or set of claims. d. Besides the readings listed on the syllabus, the student is encouraged to do additional research using books, journals or the web. The best research tool for philosophy on the web is the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (http://plato.stanford.edu/). Please, check the adequacy of any additional research tool you choose to use with Rodrigo before using it in your research. e. Plagiarism is ugly and the student who plagiarizes will be punished in accordance with University regulation. Please, refer to this website for Rutger's Academic Integrity Policy: http://academicintegrity.rutgers.edu/integrity.shtml. In light of that, any direct or indirect reference to someone else's work has to be acknowledge in one's papers and presentations. 3. Readings The required reading for the course will be (most chapters of) Richard Feldman’s book ‘Epistemology’ (Prentice Hall, 2003), but other readings will be suggested during the course. You can get Feldman’s book through Amazon.com. Other readings will be made available on the sakai page for the course. 4. Schedule The class meets Tuesday and Thursday. The first day of class is July 13, the last is August 18. Classes take place from 6pm to 9:55pm, at Scott Hall room 202. Here is a tentative (that is, subject to change), schedule. Day Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6
7/12 – T 7/14 – Th 7/29 – T 7/21 – Th 7/26 – T 7/28 – Th 8/2 – T 8/4 – Th 8/9 – T 8/11 – Th 8/16 – T
Reading - Introduction - Chs. 1, 2 & 3 of Feldman - Chs. 1, 2 & 3 of Feldman - Ch. 4 of Feldman - Ch. 4 of Feldman - Short Paper is Due - Ch. 5 of Feldman - Ch. 5 of Feldman - Ch. 6 of Feldman - Ch. 6 of Feldman - Ch. 7 of Feldman - Ch. 8 of Feldman - Long Paper is Due
5. Miscellanea A. Office Hours: Tuesday from 3 to 4pm during the time of our course. My office is at the Philosophy Department: Seminary 1, room 14 (basement). If you can't make it at those hours, let me know and we will schedule some other time. B. How to contact me: please, send e an email (
[email protected]) and I will get back to you as soon as possible.
