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2022/2023

Analytical Philosophy

Code: 100301 ECTS Credits: 6
Degree Type Year Semester
2500246 Philosophy OB 3 2

Contact

Name:
Olga Fernandez Prat
Email:
olga.fernandez@uab.cat

Use of Languages

Principal working language:
catalan (cat)
Some groups entirely in English:
No
Some groups entirely in Catalan:
Yes
Some groups entirely in Spanish:
No

Other comments on languages

Alguns textos obligatoris del curs estan escrits en llengua anglesa.

Prerequisites

It is recommended to have studied History of Ancient Philosophy and History of Modern Philosophy.

Objectives and Contextualisation

            In this course one of the main schools of contemporary philosophy, the Analytical Philosophy, will be introduced. The Analytic Philosophy now encompasses a far wider range of approaches, ideas and positions than it ever did in its early days. This course will examine the origins of this tradition by closely reading primary texts from key figures, including Gottlob Frege, Bertrand Russell, G.E. Moore, Rudolf Carnap, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Gilbert Ryle, and Elizabeth Anscombe. The purpose is to allow the understanging of this tradition form within, capturing what are the motivations that led to its development.You will develop an understanding of the methods and claims of analytic philosophy and be well positioned to participate in contemporary philosophical debates.

 

Competences

  • Act within one's own area of knowledge, evaluating sex/gender-based inequalities.
  • Analysing and summarising the main arguments of fundamental texts of philosophy in its various disciplines.
  • Placing the most representative philosophical ideas and arguments of a period in their historical background and relating the most important authors of each period of any philosophical discipline.
  • Recognising and interpreting topics and problems of philosophy in its various disciplines.
  • Students must be capable of collecting and interpreting relevant data (usually within their area of study) in order to make statements that reflect social, scientific or ethical relevant issues.
  • Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  • Students must develop the necessary learning skills to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
  • Thinking in a critical and independent manner on the basis of the specific topics, debates and problems of philosophy, both historically and conceptually.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Applying philosophical rigour in a written text following the international quality standards.
  2. Autonomously searching, selecting and processing information both from structured sources (databases, bibliographies, specialized magazines) and from across the network.
  3. Carrying out a planning for the development of a subject-related work.
  4. Communicate by making non-sexist, non-discriminatory use of language.
  5. Discriminating the features that define the writer's place in the context of a problem and reorganising them in a consistent diagram.
  6. Distinguishing and outlining the fundamental content of a philosophical text.
  7. Distinguishing the topics of philosophical relevance in current debates.
  8. Expressing both orally and in written form, the issues and basic problems of the philosophical tradition.
  9. Propose projects and actions that incorporate a gender perspective.
  10. Reading basic philosophical text thoroughly.
  11. Reading thoroughly philosophical texts of the History of Philosophy.
  12. Recognising, with a critical eye, philosophical referents of the past and present and assessing its importance.
  13. Relating the various orders of the philosophical ideas of different authors and historical moments.
  14. Solving problems autonomously.
  15. Submitting works in accordance with both individual and small group demands and personal styles.
  16. Summarising the topics and arguments exposed in a classical philosophical debate.
  17. Using suitable terminology when drawing up an academic text.

Content

1. What is Analytic Philosophy?

2. Frege: The Mathematical Background to Analytic Philosophy.

3. The revolt against idealism: Moore and Russell.

4. Russell: Philosophy of logic and methological issues. 

5. Moore: The Cambridge School.

6. Wittgenstein: The linguistic turn.

7. The Viena Circle: Carnap.

8. Quine, Putnam, Kripke: més enllà del gir lingüístic.

 

Methodology

 

The guided activities follow the methodology of learning based on the approach and problem solving. These activities are basically of two types:
										
											
										
											 a) Theoretical presentations of the subject with discussion of problems related to it by the teacher.
										
											
										
											 b) Argumentation practices in the classroom through scheduled lectures. The student will have to read texts that will be presented and discussed by all the students in such a way that they capture the main ideas and the internal relations of the text. Students must take part in the internship in order to acquire the assigned competencies and be able to be assessed as a whole. For this reason, student attendance will be monitored and will have weight in the final assessment. The purpose of the practical classes is to present an analytical essay.
										
											
										
											Theoretical and practical classes will alternate throughout the course.
 

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Activities

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Discussion in class of required readings. 15 0.6 2, 5, 3, 8, 17, 15, 13, 14
Lectures. 40 1.6 5, 7, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13
Type: Supervised      
Preparation of presentations/written papers. 30 1.2 2, 5, 6, 3, 8, 17, 10, 11, 15, 12, 13, 16
Resolution of doubts. 13 0.52 10, 11, 16
Type: Autonomous      
Required and supplementary readings. 30 1.2 2, 5, 7, 6, 3, 10, 11, 12, 14, 16

Assessment

The evaluation consists of:
										
											
										
											(i) The mark obtained in the written test on topics 1 to 4 and the corresponding readings (30% of the final mark).
										
											
										
											(ii) The mark obtained through attendance at the practical classes and the presentation of an analytical essay that will be prepared throughout the course according to the indications that will be provided in class (40%).
										
											
										
											(iii) The mark obtained in the written test on topics 5 to 8 and the corresponding readings (30%).
										
											
										
											All enrolled students can take the re-assessment. Activity (ii) cannot be reassessed.
										
											
										
											Students who do not have grades corresponding to items (i) and (iii) of the assessment will be listed as Non-Assessable students.
										
											
										
											Exam dates will be announced on the Virtual Campus calendar.
										
											
										
											Examinations will only be held outside the assigned dates in the event that the student can prove the impossibility of attendance. Taking a driving test is not considered an acceptable reason.
										
											
										
											Spelling and expression correction will be assessed. Repetition of spelling or grammar mistakes (minimum four) will result in a penalty of 10% of the mark of the test taken.
										
											
										
											In the event that the student commits any irregularity that could lead to a significant variation in the grade of an assessment act, this assessment act will be graded with 0, regardless of the disciplinary process that may be instructed. In the event of several irregularities in the assessment acts of the same subject, the final grade for this subject will be 0.
 

Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Attendance and writing of an analytical essay. 40% 19 0.76 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 6, 3, 8, 17, 10, 11, 15, 9, 12, 13, 14, 16
Examination on topics 1 to 4 and their required readings. 30% 1.5 0.06 2, 5, 7, 3, 8, 17, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16
Examination on topics 5 to 8 and their required readings. 30% 1.5 0.06 2, 5, 7, 6, 3, 8, 17, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16

Bibliography

1. Required readings (you will find in Campus Virtual).

2. Books:

Maria Ponte Azcárate, David Pérez Chico i Moisés Barroso (ed.), Pluralidad de la filosofía analítica, Madrid: Plaza y Valdés, 2007.

Hans-Johann Glock, What is Analytic Philosophy?, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008.

Steven D. Hales, Analytic Philosophy: Classic Readings, Wadsworth Publishing Co Inc, 2001.

Javier Muguerza, La concepción analítica de la filosofía, Alianza, 1974.

León Olivé, L. (ed.), Racionalidad. Ensayos sobre la racionalidad en ética y política ciencia y tecnología, s.XXI, 1988.

Scott Soames, The Analytic Tradition in Philosophy, Princeton University Press, 2014.

Web links:

Stanford Enciclopedia of Philosophy: http://plato.stanford.edu/

Software

None.