PHIL 4213: The Analytic Tradition
Dr. R. Davis, Time: M 8:30-11:30, Room: Rm 2083

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Email: rdavis@tyndale.ca
Phone: (416) 226—6620, ext. 2124
Office: Rm. 1109

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Course Description

This course is an examination of the key figures in the development of analytic philosophy: Gottlob Frege, Bertrand Russell, Ludwig Wittgenstein, A. J. Ayer, and Saul Kripke. Topics include: Frege’s distinctions between sense and reference, concept and object; Russell’s logical atomism and theory of descriptions; the early Wittgenstein’s picture theory of meaning; and Ayer’s verificationism with its notorious implications. The course concludes with an examination of Kripke’s revival of essentialism.

Course Objectives

1. To understand the historical origins of analytic philosophy, in particular the revolt against unclarity and vagueness of late 19th century philosophy, and in particular absolute idealism.

2. To carefully and critically examine the writings of some of the most influential philosophers in the analytic tradition: Gottlob Frege (1848-1925), Bertrand Russell (1872-1970), Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951), A. J. Ayer (1911-1989), and Saul Kripke (1940- ).

3. To gain facility with the key concepts and distinctions of analytical philosophy: sense/reference, concept/object, the logic of definite descriptions, the function of proper names, and the metaphysics of possible worlds.

Required Texts

1. Ayer, A. J., Language, Truth and Logic. Dover, 1946.
2. Kenny, Anthony, Frege: An Introduction to the Founder of Modern Analytic Philosophy. Blackwell, 2000.
3. Kripke, Saul, Naming and Necessity. Harvard University Press, 1980.
4. Russell, Bertrand. The Philosophy of Logical Atomism. Edited by D.F. Pears. Open Court, 1985.
5. Wittgenstein, Ludwig. Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus. Translated by D.F. Pears and B.F. McGuinness. Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1961.

Requirements and Grading

Participation

There is a class participation grade of 10%. You must earn this grade through your in-class contributions and participation. Participation in class is important to keep things active and enthusiastic. Therefore it is imperative that you do the readings before class each week. You can expect the professor to call upon you in class to summarize or explain various points from the readings. Effective participation also demands that all of us respect the learning environment and not be a distraction when others are speaking or engaged in group activities.

Examinations

You are also required to write a midterm test (20%) and a cumulative final exam (30%). These will consist of essay and short answer questions. There will be no makeups for the term tests unless you have a valid excuse, including documentation (e.g., doctor’s note, police report, note from an official College department, etc.) explaining why you could not be in class at the time the test was given. Prof. Davis is the final judge of whether or not an excuse is valid, and whether or not documentation is required to validate the excuse.

Term Papers

Finally, there will be two term papers: a short paper (15%) and then a longer, more substantial one (25%). The papers are to be well-organized, focused, critical discussions of an important argument, proposition, or principle advanced by one of the philosophers we are studying. (Paper topics will be distributed shortly after the term begins.) Late papers will not be accepted unless the professor has given prior permission. A late paper, if accepted at all, will receive no comments, and will be marked down by one grade fragment for each weekday it is late (e.g., B+ to B).

It is expected that outside educational and work-related commitments (including tests and assignments in other classes, weddings, vacations, and trips) will be organized around the schedule for this class.

Course Schedule

Sep 08 What Is Analytic Philosophy?
Sep 15 Foundations of Arithmetic
Sep 22 Concept and Object/Sense and Reference
Sep 29 Truth, Judgment, and Objectivity
Oct 06 Russellian Atomism: Facts, Propositions, and Relations
Oct 13 Review and First Term Test (20%)
Oct 20 Descriptions, Knowledge, and Belief
Oct 27 Logical Atomism I: Facts, Objects, and Picture Theory of Meaning
Nov 03 Logical Atomism II: Nature and Structure of Propositions
Nov 10 Logical Positivism I: Verifiability, Truth, and Judgment
Nov 17 Logical Positivism II: Ethics, Theology, Self, and the World
Nov 24 Metaphysical Essentialism I
Dec 01 Metaphysical Essentialism II

Further Reading

The literature on analytic philosophy is enormous. This list is meant only to facilitate reference, and does not aim at completeness.

Primary
  • Ammerman, Robert R., ed. Classics of Analytical Philosophy. Indianapolis: Hackett, 1990.
  • Baillie, James, ed. Contemporary Analytic Philosophy: Core Readings. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2002.
  • Hales, Stephen D., ed. Analytic Philosophy: Classic Readings. Florence, KY: Wadsworth, 2001.
  • Lindberg, Jordan J., ed. Analytic Philosophy: Beginnings to the Present. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2000.
  • Martinich, A. P., and David Sosa, eds. Analytic Philosophy: an Anthology. Oxford: Blackwell, 2001.
Secondary
  • Baldwin, Thomas, ed. Cambridge History of Philosophy, 1870—1945. Cambridge: CUP, 2003.
  • Bell, David, and Neil Cooper, eds. The Analytic Tradition: Meaning, Thought and Knowledge. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1990.
  • Biletzki, Anat, and Anat Matar, eds. The Story of Analytic Philosophy. London: Routledge, 1997.
  • Cohen, L. J. The Dialogue of Reason: an Analysis of Analytic Philosophy. Oxford: Clarendon, 1986.
  • Dummett, Michael. Origins of Analytical Philosophy. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard UP, 1996.
  • Glock, Hans-Johann, ed. The Rise of Analytic Philosophy. Oxford: Blackwell, 1997.
  • Hylton, P. Russell, Idealism, and the Emergence of Analytic Philosophy. Oxford: Clarendon, 1990.
  • Martinich, A. P., and David Sosa, eds. A Companion to Analytic Philosophy. Oxford: Blackwell, 2001.
  • Monk, Ray, and Anthony Palmer, eds. Russell and the Origins of Analytical Philosophy. Bristol: Thoemmes, 1996.
  • Munitz, Milton K. Contemporary Analytic Philosophy. New York: Macmillan, 1981.
  • Reck, Erich H., ed. From Frege to Wittgenstein: Perspectives on Early Analytic Philosophy. Oxford: OUP, 2002.
  • Stroll, Avrum. Twentieth-Century Analytic Philosophy. New York: Columbia UP, 2001.
  • Tait, W., and L. Linsky, eds. Early Analytic Philosophy: Frege, Russell, Wittgenstein. La Salle: Open Court, 1997.

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