Epistemology: Theories of Knowledge, Language, Interpretation and Science (AP3230C)

Undergraduate, 18.0 points

Content

This unit examines excerpts from major philosophical texts in order to discuss some of the significant issues of epistemology, language, interpretation, and philosophy of science. Questions considered may include some or all of the following: What is knowledge? Does knowledge come from our senses, or from reason? What is the status of scientific and historical knowledge? What is the relation between thought and reality? What is the relationship between reality, our language, and our knowledge? (This unit may be offered in intensive mode.)

Unit code: AP3230C (Approved)

Points: 18.0

Unit level: Undergraduate Level 3

Unit discipline: Philosophy

Proposing College: Catholic Theological College

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Learning outcomes

1.

Critically explore and reflect on their own acts of thinking.
2.

Explain the main epistemological issues in the Western philosophical tradition.
3.

Expound the fundamental ideas, positions and arguments of the thinkers studied in the unit.
4.

Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the major arguments of the thinkers presented in the unit and appraise their key positions.
5.

Critically compare the philosophies of language presented in the unit.
6.

Reflect on philosophical debates about the status of scientific and historical knowledge.

Unit sequence

36 points of philosophy at second level

Pedagogy

Lectures and discussion of readings

Indicative Bibliography

  • Alcoff, Linda Martin, ed. Epistemology: The Big Questions. Oxford: Blackwell, 1998.
  • Audi, Robert. Epistemology: A Contemporary Introduction to the Theory of Knowledge, 2nd ed. Routledge Contemporary Introductions to Philosophy. London: Routledge, 2002.
  • Dancy, Jonathon, and Ernest Sosa, eds. A Companion to Epistemology. Blackwell Companions to Philosophy. Oxford: Blackwell, 1992.
  • Descartes, Rene. Meditations on First Philosophy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986.
  • Grondin, Jean. Introduction to Philosophical Hermeneutics. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1994.
  • Landesman, Charles. An Introduction to Epistemology. Oxford: Blackwell, 1997.
  • Lemos, Noah. An Introduction to the Theory of Knowledge. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007.
  • Musgrave, Alan. Common Sense, Science, and Scepticism: A Historical Introduction to the Theory of Knowledge. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993.
  • Norris, Christopher. On Truth and Meaning: Language, Logic and the Grounds of Belief. London: Continuum, 2006.
  • O’Brien, Dan. An Introduction to the Theory of Knowledge. Cambridge: Polity, 2006.

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)
Essay 3000 60.0
Written Examination

2-hour written examination

2000 40.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by Maggie Kappelhoff on 22 Jul, 2020

Unit record last updated: 2020-07-23 09:43:20 +1000