PHI 392-01 - Advanced Studies in Anglo-American Philosophy: Davidson

4 credits (Fall)

In this seminar we will investigate the views of the contemporary American philosopher, Donald Davidson, on meaning, interpretation, knowledge, action and mind. The course will divide into three sections: the first will fill in Davidson’s philosophical background in Quine and Tarski and examine his theory of meaning paying particular attention to the following questions: whether a Tarski-style theory of truth can do service as a theory of meaning, how such a theory can be empirically tested, and whether it can provide an adequate semantic representation of natural language. The second considers the supposed anti-sceptical epistemological consequences of his theory of meaning. The third will be concerned with his conception of the relation between reasons and causes for action and his theory of ‘anomalous monism’ in the philosophy of mind.

Prerequisite: PHI 253, PHI 256, PHI 257, or PHI 258.
Instructor: Fennell