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Central Thinkers in Analytic Philosophy

Key information

  • Module code:

    6AANB015

  • Level:

    6

  • Semester:

      Autumn

  • Credit value:

    15

Module description

Analytic Philosophy is now the dominant philosophical tradition in English speaking countries. This was not always the case and we should ask:

  • Where does Analytic Philosophy come from?
  • Why did it displace its competitors?
  • Is it right/fruitful/good to do philosophy in the analytic style?

The module will help students to approach these questions by going back to the beginnings of Analytic Philosophy. The module will introduce debates that shaped Analytic Philosophy. We will engage with philosophers such as Gottlob Frege, E.E. Constance Jones, Bertrand Russell, Moritz Schlick, Susan Stebbing and Ludwig Wittgenstein.

 

The first part of the course will explore the discussion between Frege, E.E. Constance Jones, Bertrand Russell and Ludwig Wittgenstein about identity, identity statements and the advantages/problems of distinguishing between sense and reference.

 

The second part will focus on Russell distinction between description and acquaintance, his view of judgement and truth and Wittgenstein’s critical response to Russell in the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus.

 

Indicative list of topics

  • Frege on identity and the sense/reference distinction
  • E.E. Constance Jones and Russell on Reference and Description
  • Russell on Acquaintance and Judgement 
  • Wittgenstein on Judgement and Representation

Assessment details

Summative assessment: 1 x 3,000-word essay (100%)

Formative assessment: 1 x 2,500-word essay

Teaching pattern

One one-hour weekly lecture and one one-hour weekly seminar over ten weeks.

Suggested reading list

Gottlob Frege. 1892. Über Sinn und Bedeutung. Zeitschrift für Philosophie und philosophische Kritik, 100, 25–50; translated as ‘On Sense and Reference’.

Alexius Meinong. 1904. Über Gegenstandstheorie. In Meinong, A. Untersuchung zur Gegenstandstheorie und Psychologie. Leipzig: Ambrosius Barth, 1-51.

Bertrand Russell. 1905. On Denoting. Mind 14, 479-93.

E.E. Constance Jones. 1910. Mr. Russell's Objections to Frege’s Analysis of Propositions. Mind 19, 379-86.

Moritz Schlick. 1932. Form and Content, an Introduction to Philosophical Thinking. In his Philosophical Papers II, Dordrecht: Reidel 1979.

Susan Stebbing. 1933. Logical Positivism and Analysis. Proceedings of the British Academy, 53–87.

Module description disclaimer

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Please note that the module descriptions above are related to the current academic year and are subject to change.