PHIL 201 Epistemology

Spring Semester 2013 | Day | Burnaby

INSTRUCTOR: E. Begby, WMC 5653 (ebegby@sfu.ca)

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course will serve as an introduction to epistemology, the theory of knowledge. We will explore time-honored philosophical questions such as, What is knowledge? Does knowledge depend on justification? How do our faculties of sensory experience and rational reflection each contribute to justification? After covering some of the classic philosophical debates on these questions, a substantial portion of the course will be set aside to examining recent developments which attempt to move away from the individualistic focus of classical epistemology by uncovering a distinctively social dimension of knowledge. Among the questions that will concern us here are testimony, peer disagreement, feminist epistemology, and epistemic injustice.

REQUIRED TEXTS

• None. All readings will be available online or on reserve.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

• Participation - 10%
• Two papers (5-6 pp. each) -  25% + 35%
• Take-home final exam - 30%
  

Prerequisites: Prerequisite: one of PHIL 100W, 144, 150, or 151, or COGS 100. Students who have taken PHIL 301 cannot take this course for further credit.