Phil 3388: History of Twentieth Century Philosophy
Instructor: James W. Garson x33208, Office Hours 10:00-11:00 M W F, e-mail: JGarson@uh.edu
Book: Baird, F. and Kaufmann, W. (Eds.) Twentieth Century Philosophy , Second Edtion

This course covers some of the major philosophical movements in the twentieth century. Both analytic and continental schools will be discussed. On the analytic side, we will cover the rise of logical positivism and the reaction against it by reading the work of Russell, Ayer, Wittgenstein and Quine. On the continental side, we will cover the development of phenomenology and existentialism by reading Husserl, Heidegger, and Sartre. Near the end of the course we will discuss the views of Richard Rorty Maurice Meleau-Ponty, and Hilary Putnam.

There will be three short papers (330 words maximum), two quizzes and a short final exam. Students may petition the professor to substitute a project (paper or website) for the quizzes or the final.
 

Reading Schedule

Jan. 19 - 21
The 20th Century: The Big Picture
Jan. 24 - 28
Russell "Problems of Philosophy" 70-86
Jan. 31 - Feb. 7
Wittgenstein "Tractatus" 157-168
Feb. 9 - 14
Ayer "Language Truth and Logic" 186-197
Feb. 16 Review
Feb. 18 Exam
Feb. 21 - 25
Husserl "Phenomenology" 1-12 "The Crisis..." 12-21
Feb. 28 - Mar. 3
Heidegger "An Introduction to Metaphysics" 119-147
Mar. 6 - 10
Sartre "Existentialism is a Humanism" 226-230; 245-258
Mar 20 - 27
Wittgenstein "Investigations" 168-185
Mar. 29 Review
Mar. 31 Exam
Apr. 3 - 7
Quine "Two Dogmas of Empiricism" 274-291
Apr. 10 - 14
Merleau-Ponty "What is Phenomenology?" 292-305
Apr. 17 - 21
Rorty "Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature" 373-380
Apr. 24 - 28
Putnam "The Many Faces of Realism" 410-422
May 1 Review
May 5 Final 11:00-2:00 This room
This schedule is ambitious. We may delete items if we get behind.
Three short (300 words max.) papers with announced topics will be due on Feb. 7, Mar. 6 and Apr. 17.
 
 
 

Some Secondary Sources for History of 20th Century Philosophy
 

J. Urmson, Philosophical Analysis

A. Janik and S. Toulmin, Wittgenstein's Vienna

Monk, R. Ludwig Wittgenstein, The Duty of Genius

G. E. M. Anscombe, An Introduction to Wittgenstein's Tractatus

A. Kenny, Wittgenstein

J. Kocklemans, A First Introduction to Husserl's Phenomenology

T. Langan, The Meaning of Heidegger

W. T. Jones, The Twentieth Century to Wittgenstein and Sartre