Checking date: 19/05/2023


Course: 2023/2024

Contemporary trends in philosophy
(13824)
Bachelor in Humanities (2008 Study Plan) (Plan: 156 - Estudio: 213)


Coordinating teacher: GONZALEZ MARIN, MARIA CARMEN EVA

Department assigned to the subject: Humanities: Philosophy, Language, Literature Theory Department

Type: Electives
ECTS Credits: 6.0 ECTS

Course:
Semester:




Requirements (Subjects that are assumed to be known)
History of Ancient and Medieval Philosophy History of Modern Philosophy
Objectives
This course is designed to introduce students to the exciting debates that characterize twentieth century philosophy. Among the most prominent trends are analytical philosophy, phenomenology, hermeneutics, deconstruction etc. Each of these subject areas challenges us to revisit our ancient and modern origins and interrogate the history of philosophy. Students will be asked to revisit the following questions: what is the logical consequence of accepting this philosophers argument? What other propositions are implied? We might also ask: what are the particular presuppositions that inform a particular theorist's writings? Who is he/she responding to and what are the central claims? Competencies: 1. Students will demonstrate mastery of the basic debates that characterized twentieth century thought. 2. Students will develop an understanding of how various theories were historically developed. 3. Students will learn to utilize basic critical thinking skills including the capacity to logically assess the claims of contemporary theorists. 4. Students will be able to enumerate the implications and consequences bound up with the acceptance of particular philosophical theories. 5. Students will possess the ability to identify, discuss and research issues of interest in twentieth century philosophy.
Skills and learning outcomes
Description of contents: programme
TRENDS IN CONTEMPORARY THOUGHT 1. INTRODUCTION TO CONTEMPORARY THOUGHT. GENEALOGIES. 2. PRAGMATISM. 3. THE REVIVAL OF LOGIC AND CRITICISM OF METAPHYSICS. 4. FROM LOGICAL POSITIVISM TO PHILOSOPHY OF ORDINARY LANGUAGE. 5. ANALYTICAL PHILOSOPHY OF THE SECOND HALF OF THE CENTURY. 7. FROM PHENOMENOLOGY TO EXISTENTIALISM. 8. FRENCH EXISTENTIALISM. PHILOSOPHY AND LITERATURE. 9. CRITICAL THEORY. 10. STRUCTURALISM. 11. POSTMODERN TIMES. 12. HERMENEUTICS: DIALOGUE AND LANGUAGE. 13. DECONSTRUCTION AND PHILOSOPHY. 14. NEOPRAGMATISM AND THE END OF PHILOSOPHY. READINGS: 1 The birth of modernity ", in Ch. Delacampagne. History of Philosophy in the Twentieth Century; G. Steiner, Real Presences. REQUIRED READINGS: Nietzsche: Aurora, The Gay Science, Human All Too Human (Excerpts) Freud: The Poet and daydreams. 2 H. Putnam: Pragmatism REQUIRED READINGS: W. James: "The concept of truth in pragmatism". J. Dewey: "The influence of Darwinism on philosophy ", in the Misery of Epistemology. 3. J. Ayer: The logical positivism. IntroductioN. REQUIRED READINGS: G. Frege: "On Sense and Reference ". R. Carnap: "The overcoming of metaphysics through logical analysis of language ". 4. Ph. Alston: The Origins of Analytical Philosophy. Moore, Russell, Wittgenstein. REQUIRED READINGS: B. Russell: "Logical Atomism" L. Wittgenstein: Tractatus Logicus-Philosophicus; Philosophical Investigations (EXCERPTS) 5. E. Tugendhat. Introduction to Analytic Philosophy. REQUIRED READINGS: W. O. Quine: "Two Dogms of Empiricism " D. Davidson: "The empirical content" in Subjective, Intersubjective, Objective. Or "The myth of the subjective ", in Mind, World and ActioN. 6 W. Szilashi. Introduction to Husserl's Phenomenology REQUIRED READINGS: E. Husserl: An Invitation to Phenomenology, or The Idea of ¿¿Phenomenology. Five Lessons. 7. V. Fatone: Introduction to Existentialism. REQUIRED READINGS: M. Heidegger: § § 32 to 35 of Being and Time. 8. S. de Beauvoir: Existentialism and the Wisdom of the People. REQUIRED READINGS: J.P. Sartre: "Existentialism is a Humanism". A. Camus: "The Myth of Sisyphus". 9 r. Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School. REQUIRED READINGS: W. Benjamin: "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction". "Theses of the Philosophy of History" in Angelus Novus. T. Adorno, Minima Moralia (EXCERPTS). 10 G. Deleuze. "What is recognized as structuralism?" REQUIRED READINGS: M. Foucault. Technologies of the Self. 11. A. Giddens. "Structuralism, poststructuralism and cultural production" REQUIRED READINGS: J.F. Lyotard. The Postmodern Condition. 12. R. Koselleck. History and Hermeneutics. REQUIRED READINGS: H.G. Gadamer. "Language and understanding", in Truth and Method 2. 13. J. Culler. On Deconstruction REQUIRED READINGS: J. Derrida. "Sign, event, context "; Force of law CHAPTER 1. 14 R. Rorty: Philosophy: End or transformation? REQUIRED READINGS: R. Rorty: Contingency, Irony and Solidarity A. Badiou. Manifesto for Philosophy
Learning activities and methodology
The teaching method includes: 1) Lectures, which sets up guidelines for understanding the problems and the readings of the relevant texts (1.5 ECTS). 2) Seminar class work on texts previously read by students. The seminar should encourage student participation in both oral communication and in the discussion. (1.5 credits) 3) Reading by the student, as well as finding information in libraries and on the web (1.5 credits) 4) Writing papers and book reviews. (1 credit) 5) Tutoring: discussion of problems and revising their papers.
Assessment System
  • % end-of-term-examination 55
  • % of continuous assessment (assigments, laboratory, practicals...) 45

The course syllabus may change due academic events or other reasons.