PHIL2901 Problems of Knowledge

Assignments

The coursework component of this course consists of two parts: a brief report on your tutorial work (20%) and a short essay worth another 20% of your total mark.  The short essay is due at the session on November 15th.  It should be c. 1500 words long.

Report on tutorial work (not more than 1000 words)

You are being asked to report on and criticise a philosophical paper in the tutorial.  For the written report, I want each person to state concisely one main contention in the tutorial reading and either argue for it or against it.  (You do not have to adopt the stance you chose for the actual tutorial session.)  The paper should not exceed 1000 words.  I would like to receive it within a fortnight of the tutorial session it relates to.

Short essay (c. 1500 words)

Choose a topic from this list:

    1.    Why might one think contextualism (i) concedes too much to scepticism, and (ii) allows us to be too lax in our claims to knowledge?

    2.    Physicists sometimes talk of a "final theory of everything". Explain why we ought not to expect a final explanation of everything.

    3.    Take a well-known but not obviously true scientific claim and analyse how standard textbooks (at high school and/or university level) explain and support it.

I once wrote a paper doing something like this with respect to the shape of the earth and atomism. It may give you some guidance, but please choose some other scientific claim.

If there is a topic in the course that you would like to develop further, you may be allowed to choose your own topic for this essay, BUT you must consult with me beforehand.

Exam

The examination is worth 60% of your total mark.  It is presently scheduled for December ?? at ??.  You will be asked to write two reasoned essays out of a set of eight.