Seminar Presentations
Each student enrolled in the course for credit is required to do a seminar presentation on material assigned for the course or other material approved by the instructor. The presentation should be the basis for discussion during half of the seminar period, i.e., for approximately 80 minutes. Students may read a draft of their term paper, but this is not required. At least 40 minutes should be allowed for discussion.
In addition to presenting on philosophers covered in the course, suggested questions are listed below.
Possible Topics
- What is the best contemporary account of a priori knowledge? (What account of concepts and/or of knowledge does it rely upon?)
- Can semantic externalism accommodate a priori knowledge?
- Are there any contingent a priori truths?
- Is logic or math knowable a priori?
- Is there any a priori knowledge in ethics?
- Can you gain knowledge of the existence of things a priori?
- Transcendental arguments: what are they, are there any good ones?
- If there is no a priori knowledge, then what are we doing when we do philosophy?
Term Paper
Each student enrolled in the course for credit is also required to submit a term paper on a topic approved by the instructor. Term papers should be from 6000-7500 words long. Students needing a history distribution credit for the course should devote a substantial portion of their paper discussing a philosophical work published prior to 1900.
Papers are due the last day of exam period. Students intending to take an "completable" incomplete must at least submit full drafts of term papers by that date and a final version of their paper by Registration Day of the following term.