Readings | Problems in Philosophy | Linguistics and Philosophy

[RR] = Feinberg, Joel, and Russ Shafer-Laundau. Reason and Responsibility. 14th ed. Wadsworth Publishing, 2010. ISBN: 9781439046944.

Note: The two sets of page numbers given for articles from Reason and Responsibility refer to the 13th/14th editions. Occasionally an article appears in only one of these two editions of the text.

Course readings.
LEC #	TOPICS	READINGS
God
1	Existence of God	St. Anselm. "The Ontological Argument." From Proslogium. [RR], pp. 6/20. Gaunilo of Marmoutiers. "On Behalf of the Fool." [RR], pp. 8/21. Rowe, Wm. "The Ontological Argument." [RR], pp. 11/25.
2	Problem of evil	Dostoevsky, Fyodor. "Rebellion." From The Brothers Karamazov. [RR], pp. 72/86. Johnson, B. C. "God and the Problem of Evil." [RR], pp. 97/113. Schlesinger, G. "The Problem of Evil and the Problem of Suffering." [RR], p. 86. American Philosophical Quarterly 1, no. 3 (1964): 244-248. Russell, Bruce. "The Problem of Evil: Too Much Suffering." In Introduction to Philosophy. 3rd ed. Edited by Louis P. Pojman. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2004. ISBN: 9780195171501.
3	Pascal's wager	Pascal, Blaise. "The Wager." [RR], pp. 119/135. Blackburn, Simon. "Miracles and Testimony." [RR], pp. 122/138.
4	Decision puzzles and paradoxes
Knowledge
5	Internal/external	Descartes, Rene. "First Meditation: What Can Be Called Into Doubt." [RR], pp. 166/184. Pollock, John. "A Brain in a Vat." [RR], pp. 137/153. Moore, G. E. "Proof of an External World." [RR], p. 216.
6	Past/future	Hume, David. "An Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding." [RR], pp. 222/240. Salmon, W. "An Encounter with David Hume." [RR], pp. 245/263.
7	Gettierology	Gettier, Edmund L. "Is Justified True Belief Knowledge?" [RR], p. 171 (14th ed.). Nozick, Robert. "Knowledge and Skepticism." In Philosophical Explanations. Harvard University Press, 1983. ISBN: 9780674664791. (PDF)
8	Epistemic puzzles and paradoxes
Mind
9	Consciousness and felt experience	Jackson, Frank. "The Qualia Problem." [RR], pp. 297/315. Carruthers, Peter. "The Mind is the Brain." [RR], pp. 301/319.
10	Materialist options	Churchland, Paul. "Behaviorism, Materialism, and Functionalism." [RR], pp. 309/327.
11	Can machines think?	Turing, Alan. "Computing Machinery and Intelligence." [RR], pp. 321/335. Searle, John. "Minds, Brains, and Programs." [RR], pp. 330/344.
12	Puzzles and paradoxes of consciousness
Identity
13	Soul and body	Locke, John. "The Prince and the Cobbler." [RR], pp. 365/373. Perry, John. "A Dialogue on Personal Identity and Immortality. The First Night." [RR], pp. 387/395.
14	Memory	Reid, Thomas. "Of Mr. Locke's Account of Our Personal Identity." [RR], pp. 368/376. Perry, John. "A Dialogue on Personal Identity and Immortality. The Second Night." [RR], pp. 394/402.
15	The self	Hume, David. "The Self." [RR], p. 371. Parfit, Derrek. "Divided Minds and the Nature of Persons." [RR], pp. 373/381. Perry, John. "A Dialogue on Personal Identity and Immortality. The Third Night." [RR], pp. 401/409.
16	Puzzles and paradoxes of vagueness
Freedom
17	Determinism	Rachels, James. "The Debate over Free Will." [RR], p. 478. Holbach, Paul. "The Illusion of Free Will." [RR], pp. 458/451.
18	Compatibilism	Ayer, A. J. "Freedom and Necessity." [RR], pp. 414/475. Stace, W. "The Problem of Freewill." From Religion and the Modern Mind. [RR], p. 419. Frankfurt, Harry. "Alternate Possibilities and Moral Responsibility." [RR], pp. 486/481.
19	Can science help?	Nahmias, Eddy. "Scientific Challenges to Free Will." Georgia State University, Department of Philosophy, 2009. Vohs, Kathleen, and Jonathan Schooler. "The Value of Believing in Free Will." Pyschological Science 19, no. 1 (2008): 49-54. (PDF)
20	Responsibility	Frankfurt, Harry. "Freedom of the Will and the Concept of a Person." Journal of Philosophy 68, no. 1 (January 1971): 5-20. Nagel, Thomas. "Moral Luck." [RR], pp. 493/487.
21	Supertasks
Morality
22	Egoism	Feinberg, Joel. "Psychological Egoism." [RR], pp. 520/514. Rachels, James. "Ethical Egoism." [RR], p. 532.
23	Relativism and subjectivism	Midgley, Mary. "Trying Out One's New Sword." [RR], p. 567. Rachels, James. "The Challenge of Cultural Relativism." In The Elements of Moral Philosophy. Temple University Press, 1986. ISBN: 9780877224051. Shafer-Landau, Russ. "Ethical Subjectivism." [RR], pp. 555/540.
24	Utilitarianism	Mill, John Stuart. "Utilitarianism." Chapters 1-2. [RR], pp. 640/597. Singer, Peter. "Famine, Affluence, and Morality." [RR], pp. 678/630.
25	Deontology	Kant, I. "The Good Will and the Categorical Imperative." [RR], pp. 625/590. Sayre-McCord, Geoff. "Kant's Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals: A Very Brief Selective Summary of Sections 1 and 2." (PDF)