Jonny Cottrell

jcott@yorku.ca

Office Location: S404A Ross Building – South Wing

Office Hours (in person): Mon 3–4pm, Thurs 2–3pm

This course invites students to engage with some of the central philosophical questions about knowledge, truth and reality. What is it to really know something, rather than just having a belief or opinion about it? Can we really know anything at all about the world around us? Do we ever perceive material things, or do we just perceive ideas or sensations in our own minds? Might the world around us actually be made up of mental ingredients, like ideas or sensations, rather than matter? Or might it be the other way round: might our minds themselves be made out of matter?

Perhaps you’re starting to doubt whether these questions are really meaningful. Well then—what is meaning? And what is it for something to be (not just meaningful, but) true?

This course provides students with intellectual tools for addressing these questions, and for exploring and appreciating their interconnections. It does not presuppose any prior experience of philosophy. The readings are mostly by 20th- and 21st-century authors, but also include selections from historical texts drawn from Western and non-Western philosophical traditions.

Technical requirements for taking the course: Reading assignments and study materials will be shared via eClass, so you will need access to a computer or other device with internet access.

Here are some useful links for student computing information, resources and help:

Student Guide to Moodle

Zoom@YorkU Best Practices 

Zoom@YorkU User Reference Guide

Computing for Students Website

Student Guide to eLearning at York University

To determine Internet connection and speed, there are online tests, such as Speedtest, that can be run.

Times and locations: Lectures take place in person, twice a week: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:30–10:30am, Ross Building – South Wing room S137. In addition to scheduled lectures, this course also has in-person tutorial groups. Please check your schedule for your tutorial group time and location.

Office hours: Starting on Sept 5 (a Thursday), I will hold two in-person office hours each week: Mondays 3–4pm, and Thursdays 2–3pm in the Ross Building – South Wing room S404A.

All required readings will be posted or linked via eClass—there’s no need to buy any books.

Assessment will be based on participation, and on four written exams: three taken in class, and one final. These components are weighted as follows:

• Participation: 15%
• In-Class Exam 1 (Sept 26): 10%
• In-Class Exam 2 (Oct 29): 20%
• In-Class Exam 3 (Nov 14): 25%
• Final Exam (Date TBA): 30%

Your mark for participation will be based on your ongoing attendance and engagement in your tutorials.

All exams will be closed-book: no notes, books, electronic devices or any other reference materials will be allowed. Study guides will be provided in advance for each exam. The last lecture of the term will be a review meeting for the final exam.

This course takes place in person. It includes lectures and tutorials. Reading assignments and study materials will be provided via eClass. Each student will be assigned a Teaching Assistant (TA) who will be responsible for leading your tutorial meetings and grading your assignments. Your TA is your first point of contact for this course.

The main goal is to empower students to think philosophically about the topics we’ll cover, and about other topics they’ll encounter outside this class. We’ll focus on teaching students how to think through these topics for themselves, not on teaching them what to think about them.

More particularly, this course aims to help students to…

• Recall concepts and distinctions that are crucial to philosophical inquiry, including thought experiment, argument, paradox, a priori vs. a posteriori, conceptual analysis, and others
• Explain these concepts and distinctions in their own words
• Apply these concepts and distinctions to new questions and topics
• Explain some of the central philosophical problems about knowledge, truth and reality
• Explain some of the interconnections among these problems
• Identify arguments given by other philosophers in support of solutions to these problems
• Analyze the arguments they have identified
• Evaluate the arguments they have analyzed
• Formulate their own solutions to some of these philosophical problems
• Devise their own arguments in support of these solutions

Course policies

Grading:  The grading scheme for the course conforms to the 9-point grading system used in undergraduate programs at York (e.g., A+ = 9, A = 8, B+ - 7, C+ = 5, etc.). Assignments and tests will bear either a letter grade designation or a corresponding number grade (e.g.  A+ = 90 to 100, A = 80 to 90, B+ = 75 to 79, etc.)

For a full description of York grading system see the York University Undergraduate Calendar - http://calendars.registrar.yorku.ca/2010-2011/academic/index.htm

Missed Tests:  Students with a documented reason for missing a course test, such as illness, compassionate grounds, etc., which is confirmed by supporting documentation (e.g., doctor’s letter) may request a make-up test from the Course Instructor. Further extensions or accommodation will require students to submit a formal petition to the Faculty.

Accommodations: If you need any accommodations, please register with Student Accessibility Services as early as possible: https://students.yorku.ca/accessibility

Also, please inform me of any accommodations that you need during lectures; and please inform your TA of any accommodations that you need during tutorials.

Academic Integrity: York students are required to maintain the highest standards of academic honesty and they are subject to the Senate Policy on Academic Honesty: http://secretariat-policies.info.yorku.ca/policies/academic-honesty-senate-

policy-on/

The Policy affirms the responsibility of faculty members to foster acceptable standards of academic conduct and of the student to abide by such standards.

There is also an academic integrity website with comprehensive information about academic honesty and how to find resources at York to help improve students’ research and writing skills, and cope with University life. Students are expected to review the materials on the Academic Integrity website at: http://www.yorku.ca/academicintegrity/