PH29A Epistemology and Methodology

Assignment

The coursework component of this course consists of an essay worth 40% of your total mark.  It is due on Tuesday, November 13, 2001.  It should be c. 2500 words long.

Choose a topic from this list:

1.    What is "pseudo" about pseudo-science or pseudo-religion?

I will put a copy of Thagard's paper on astrology in the library photocopy collection, as well as one on acupuncture.

A good website is provided by the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims for the Paranormal; their list of online articles is here (most are focussed on particular issues but there are some that might help with the general question).

I haven't yet found anything helpful on pseudo-religion. 

2.    Do people have a duty to check on the reliability of the beliefs they espouse?

A famous Victorian paper here is by W.K. Clifford, "The Ethics of Belief".  It is in Pojman's collection.  There are some notes on it and a paper by William James by Allen Stairs here.  James' paper is also available.  Pojman has a chapter in his book and a section in his collection that deals with this general area.

3.    Can natural selection account for what appears to be our ability to grasp advanced mathematical knowledge?

A paper in this general area is Papineau's "Evolution of Knowledge"

Exam

The examination is worth 60% of your total mark.  It is presently scheduled for December 12th, but please keep checking the notice board for any changes.  You will be asked to write two reasoned essays out of a set of eight.

Links for the course

There are a couple of useful collections of links for epistemology:

It is also worth checking Episteme's page for epistemology.