Human Nature, Society, and Moral
Science
PHIL 3400: Mind,
Language, Reality MWF
10:45-11:35 AM OSH 175
Instructor: Dr. Ron Mallon
OSH
341
585-5810
www.hum.utah.edu/~rmallon
Office
Hours: Wednesday 2-4 PM or by appt.
Texts: Mill,
Book VI, Logic:The
Logic of The Moral Sciences (web
link)
Paul Griffiths, What Emotions Really
Are
Philip Pettit, The Common Mind
Reserve
Readings as assigned
Aristotle wrote, ÒMan
is a political animalÓ which H.D.F. Kitto interpreted as meaning that man is
the kind of creature that lives in a polis or city-state.
Understanding persons and their relationships to their social
environments has been an on-going project at least since the Greeks. But starting in the 16th
century in Europe, and accelerating in the 18th and 19th
centuries, a scientific revolution was born that brought with it undreamt of
power of prediction and explanation of the natural world. With this revolution came the dream
that persons and societies could also be understood scientifically. This pursuit was sometimes called
Òmoral scienceÓ (which did not mean that it was ÒmoralÓ in the contemporary
sense of this term). In this
course, weÕll consider some of the philosophical issues raised by the idea of a
human science, beginning with the work of John Stuart Mill.
Course
Assessment: Assessment for the course will be based
on the following:
(1)
3 short papers (10-20% each) Paper 1 Paper 2
(2)
Midterm (20%) MIDTERM QUESTIONS
(3)
Final (Around 20%) DATE/TIME: Monday,
December 13, 2004, 10:30 am Ð 12:30 pm FINAL REPLACED WITH OPTIONAL TAKE-HOME FINAL HERE
(4)
Class participation and other work as assigned
Attendance in this course is required, but will not
be recorded. You are responsible
for the material presented in class.
I am not responsible for representing material to you that you have
missed, and I will not do so. If
you are absent, take responsibility for getting notes from a classmate.
Late policy: Late work will be penalized. If you have a planned absence or a conflict
with another class, make arrangements with me in advance to avoid penalty. If you have an unexpected emergency
(e.g. the death of a loved one or a medical problem), plan to present me with
documentation of it. Unexcused
late work will be penalized at the rate of 1 letter grade per week, up to a
maximum of two full letter grades.
Policies:
The
University of Utah seeks to provide equal access to its programs, services and
activities for people with disabilities.
If you will need accommodations in the class, reasonable prior notice
needs to be given to the Center for Disability Services, 162 Olpin Union
Building, 581-5020 (V/TDD). CDS
will work with you and the instructor to make arrangements for accommodations. All written information in this course
can be made available in alternative format with prior notification to the
Center for Disability Services.
Classes dropped by the 10th calendar
day of the semester are deleted from students' records and no tuition is
charged. Students may withdraw
from a full term course without the instructor or dean's permission until the
midpoint of the semester as published on the academic calendar. To withdraw,
students must log into the Campus Information System. A "W" grade
will be recorded on students' academic record. Following is the link to the
University's Drop/Withdrawal Policy to learn more:
http://www.acs.utah.edu/sched/handbook/wddeadlines.htm
Plagiarism
"Plagiarism" means the intentional
unacknowledged use or incorporation of any other person's work in, or as a
basis for, one's own work offered for academic consideration or credit for
public presentation. Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to,
representing as one's own, without attribution, any individual's words,
phrasing, ideas, sequence of ideas, information or any other mode or content of
expression (Student Code, p. 3).
NOTE: New Tuition Policy
Beginning Fall 2003, undergraduate
students who do not pay tuition by the due date, September 10, will have
their classes cancelled and will not be able to reinstate them. Students are responsible for paying
tuition for Fall Semester by September 10, 2004. Students who have classes deleted due to non-payment of
tuition may not reinstate cancelled classes or use late add forms to add
classes.
http://www.acs.utah.edu/student/tuitchgs.htm
Important Undergraduate Student
Deadlines
School Starts Wednesday,
August 25
Last Day to Drop
Classes Friday,
September 3
Last Day to Add Classes Tuesday,
September 7
Tuition Due
Date Friday, September 10
Friday, August
27, 2004:
J.S. Mill,
ÒIntroductory Remarks,Ó 19-21 (web
link)
+ A brief
history of the moral sciences
+ Empiricism vs.
Rationalism
Monday August 30th:
Mill, ÒOf Liberty
and NecessityÓ 22-29 (web
link)
Mill, ÒThat there is, or may be, a
Science of Human NatureÓ and ÒOf the Laws of MindÓ 30-45 (link)
and (link)
Mill, ÒOf Ethology, or the Science of the Formation of CharacterÓ and ÒGeneral Considerations on the Social ScienceÓ 46-64 (link) and (link)
Mill, ÒOf the Chemical, or Experimental Method in the Social ScienceÓ (65-73) (link)
ÒOf the Geometrical, or Abstract MethodÓ (74-82) (link)
ÒOf the Physical, or Concrete Deductive MethodÓ (83-99) (link)
ÒOf the Inverse Deductive, or Historical MethodÓ (100-119) (link)
ÒAdditional Elucidations of the Science of HistoryÓ (120-133) (link)
ÒOf the Logic of Practice, or Art; including Morality and PolicyÓ (134-144) (link)
Topic 6: Humanist Alternatives to Naturalism about Social
Science
Charles Taylor ÒInterpretation and the Sciences of ManÓ
Available on-line through Marriot:
1. Go here: http://www.nlx.com/Journals/rvm.htm
2. Choose 1971.
3. Choose Issue 25:1 September
4. Choose Charles TaylorÕs article.
5. Read online or print out.
Topic 7. The Emotions and Elimination: An Overview
Griffiths, Chp. 1
Topic 8. The
Propositional Attitude Theory of the Emotions
Griffiths, Chp. 2
Topic 9. Naturalistic Approaches to the Emotions
Griffiths, Chp. 3
Griffiths, Chp. 4
Topic 10.
Emotion and Thought
Griffiths, Chp. 5
Topic 11.
Social Constructionist Approaches to the Emotions
Griffiths, Chp. 6
Topic 12: Pettit: Mind and Society, An Overview
Pettit, Chp. 1 Agency
Topic 13: Mind: Intentionality and Supervenience
Continue: Chp. 1
Topic 14: Theories of Intentionality
Continue: Chp. 1
The Problem of Causal Exclusion Handout (in rich text format)
(To see graphic, right click or Command Click and save file to your drive, then open)
Topic 15: Mind: Thinking
Pettit Chp. 2: Thinking Through p. 72 ONLY
OPTIONAL TAKE-HOME FINAL HERE