Objectives and competences
The aim of this course is to introduce students to general problems, currents and personalities in contemporary philosophy, through the study of selected topics and arguments. It explores how philosophy struggled to preserve its autonomous status in relation to science and situates it within a broader picture of the 20th century intellectual history. And it offers students an insight into forms, scope and limits of philosophical self-reflection.
Content (Syllabus outline)
• General and chronological overview of contemporary philosophy, a survey of historic roots and current development.
• Phenomenology: definition and survey of the principal problems, notions of phenomenological reduction, philosophy as a strict science, phenomena, intentionality, intentional correlates, pure sensation, essence-viewing.
• Pragmatism: Peirce as the pioneer of pragmatism-pragmaticism, James and reinterpretation of Peirce's pragmaticism, Dewey and the eclipse of pragmatic movement, Lewis and the fusion of pragmatism and logical positivism, identification of truth and utility.
• Logical positivism: Vienna circle, the importance of logics, criticism on methaphysics, protocol sentences.
• Existentialism: notions of existence, history and transcendence, the problem of engagement and resignation, existence and resistence, the relation between philosophy and science, existence and existentialities, metaphysics and the crisis of European philosophy, Heidegger's thinking of the being; existentialism and personalism.
• Structuralism: critique of individualism and subjectivism, notions of structure, system, sinchronia, diachronia, structure, science and history, semantics and semiology, Lévi-Strauss's structural anthropology, Derrida's grammatology, Lacan's theoretical psychoanalysis, Foucault's discourse analysis.
• Contemporary analytical philosophy: ordinary language philosophy, resurgence of interest in traditional 'metaphysical' issues (mind-body, freedom, modality, truth, knowledge), revival of political and moral philosophy, critical reflection on methods of philosophy (experimental philosophy and metaphilosophy)
Learning and teaching methods
• Introductory lectures,
• Debating issues,
• Presenting student papers, providing information and questionning claims and evidence for them.
Intended learning outcomes - knowledge and understanding
On completion of this course the student will
• be acquainted with historic roots and current trends in the 20th century's philosophy, its main representatives and issues,
• understand main issues, debates and discussions,
• master basic vocabulary and concepts,
• gain an insight into the internal logic and regularities in the development of philosophical themes and strands.
Readings
• Husserl, E. (1975). Kartezijanske meditacije. Ljubljana: Mladinska knjiga.
• Heidegger, M. (1997). Bit in čas. Ljubljana: Slovenska matica.
• Peirce, C.S. (2004). Izbrani spisi o teoriji znaka in pomena ter pragmatizmu, Ljubljana: Krtina.
• Wittgenstein, L. (1976), Logično-filozofski traktat, Ljubljana: Mladinska knjiga.
• Sartre, J. P. (1981). Izbrana dela. Ljubljana: Cankarjeva založba.
• Kripke, S. (1990). Imenovanje in nujnost. Ljubljana: Krtina.
