Phil. 2400: M&E Core
Metaphysics and Epistemology
Core Seminar
University of Pittsburgh, Fall 2009
  Course Information

  • Course syllabus

  • Seminar Meetings:

    Tuesdays, 2:00-5:00
    Wilfrid Sellars Seminar Room ("The Space of Reasons")
    1001 Cathedral of Learning

  • Instructor Information:

    Prof. Robert Brandom
    Office: 1001E CL
    Office Hours: tba and by appointment
    Email: rbrandom@pitt.edu
    Phone: 412-624-5776
  Books
Wilfrid Sellars, Empiricism and the Philosophy of Mind
Saul Kripke, Wittgenstein on Rules and Private Language
Saul Kripke, Naming and Necessity
Frank Jackson, From Metaphysics to Ethics: A Defense of Conceptual Analysis
  Schedule
9/1/09 Introduction
9/8/09 W. V. O. Quine, "Two Dogmas of Empiricism"
D. Davidson, "On the Very Idea of a Conceptual Scheme," Proceedings and Addresses of the APA 47 (1973-74): 5-20 (jstor)
Notes on QuineNotes on Davidson
9/15/09 W. Sellars, Empiricism and the Philosophy of Mind, secs. 1-38
Guide to EPM
John McDowell, "Sellars and the Space of Reasons"
John McDowell, "Why Is Sellars's Essay Called 'Empiricism and the Philosophy of Mind'?"
9/22/09 W. Sellars, Empiricism and the Philosophy of Mind, sec. 39 to end
9/29/09 First paper due
W. V. O. Quine, Word and Object, ch. 1-2 (drawer)
10/6/09 S. Kripke, Wittgenstein on Rules and Private Language, ch. 1-2
10/13/09 No class.
10/20/09 S. Kripke, Wittgenstein on Rules and Private Language, ch. 3
J. McDowell, "Wittgenstein on Following a Rule," Synthese 58 (1984): 325-364 (jstor)
10/27/09 Second paper due
H. Field, "Tarski's Theory of Truth," Journal of Philosophy 69 (1972): 347-375 (jstor)
J. McDowell, "Physicalism and Primitive Denotation: Field on Tarski," Erkenntnis 13 (1975): 131-152 (jstor)
D. Davidson, "Truth and Meaning," Synthese 17 (1967): 304-323 (jstor)
11/3/09 S. Kripke, Naming and Necessity
11/10/09 H. Putnam "The Meaning of Meaning" (drawer)
H. Putnam, "Brains in a Vat" (drawer)
A. Brueckner, "Brains in a Vat," Journal of Philosophy 83 (1986): 148-167 (jstor)
M. David, "Neither Mentioning 'Brains in a Vat' nor Mentioning Brains in a Vat Will Prove that We Are Not Brains in a Vat," Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 51 (1991): 891-896 (jstor)
11/17/09 F. Jackson, From Metaphysics to Ethics, ch. 1-3
Lecture Notes, Part One
Lecture Notes, Part Two
11/24/09 Third paper due
A. Goldman, "Discrimination and Perceptual Knowledge," Journal of Philosophy 73 (1976): 771-791 (jstor)
R. Brandom, "Insights and Blindspots of Reliabilism"
12/1/09 D. Davidson, "Actions, Reasons, and Causes," Journal of Philosophy 60 (1963): 685-700 (jstor)
  Papers