
PHIL250-16A (HAM)
Knowledge and Reality
20 Points
Staff
Convenors
Joe Ulatowski
9350
J.3.18
Mondays 10.00-12.00 or by appointment
julatows@waikato.ac.nz
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Lecturers
Stephanie Gibbons
6062
J.3.14
To be advised
sgibbons@waikato.ac.nz
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Paper Description
This paper is designed around the two main topics of knowledge and reality. We shall be addressing two main questions: What is there? How do we know? The course will combine historical presentation of questions about knowledge and reality with contemporary approaches. There will be a particular focus on the British Empiricists Locke, Berkeley, and Hume. As part of investigating the two main questions listed above, we will consider questions such as the following:
- What is knowledge?
- What counts as real?
- What sorts of things exist?
- Can there be knowledge of anything?
- What is the role of perception in our understanding of reality?
- Are we justified in believing the sun will rise tomorrow?
Students will become familiar with some common philosophical problems regarding these issues, and will learn how to construct and assess arguments concerning them.
Paper Structure
Students will attend three 50 minute lectures and one 50 minute tutorial a week.
15% of the course mark will be for class participation, including attendance, participation and completing tutorial exercises in advance of the tutorial sessions.
Students should sign up for a tutorial on the course Moodle page. Tutorials will begin on Friday of the first week.
Learning Outcomes
Students who successfully complete the course should be able to:
Assessment
Internally Assessed Components
The internal assessment/exam ratio (as stated in the University Calendar) is 3:2. The final exam makes up 40% of the overall mark.
Required and Recommended Readings
Required Readings
Recommended Readings
There are many fine resources available on the topics of knowledge and reality, and you're welcome to check in with us if the following introductory books do not suit your fine-grained interests.
- Garrett, Brian. 2011. What Is This Thing Called Metaphysics? (2d ed) Oxford: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-6722-2.
- Goldman, Alvin and Matthew McGrath. 2015. Epistemology: A Contemporary Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-998112-0.
Online Support
Course information will be regularly updated on the course Moodle page. This is also where you should access tutorial sign-up, and the tutorial preparation exercises. The course outline, required reading, and lecture schedule will be published here, as will the presentation and essay topics when they become available. Students are expected to check the Moodle page regularly for communications about the course. Essays will be submitted and returned through Moodle.
Workload
The workload for this paper is 10 hour per week .