(in Polish) Analytic Philosophy 3800-ISP-AnlP
2026Z
The course will cover major tenets of 20th century analytic philosophy, focusing on its distinctive methodology and objects of interest. In particular, we will consider contrast foundational texts: writings of Russell, early and late Wittgenstein, Carnap, Sellars and Willard Quine with (often critical or revisionary) applications of their methods. The course will focus on four main methods: (a) conceptual analysis/conceptual engineering, (b) logical analysis, (c) ordinary language analysis; (d) naturalist approaches to philosophy; (e) essence-based metaphysics.
2025Z
The course will cover major tenets of 20th century analytic philosophy, focusing on its distinctive methodology and objects of interest. In particular, we will contrast foundational texts: writings of Moore, Russell, early and late Wittgenstein, Carnap and Willard Quine with contemporary (and often critical or revisionary) applications of their methods. The course will focus on four main methods: (a) conceptual analysis, (b) logical analysis, (c) ordinary language analysis and (d) naturalist approaches to philosophy of mind, language and action.
TO 2024Z
I have selected seven topic areas of examination: I. The beginnings of analytic philosophy (Frege, Russell, early Wittgenstein), II. Truth and meaning (Tarski, Davidson, Quine), III. Language in action (Austin, Grice, late Wittgenstein), IV. Mind-body problem (Ryle, Place, Smart, Kripke, Putnam, Block), V. Cognitive architecture (McClelland, Rumelhart & Hinton, Fodor & Pylyshyn, Smolensky, Ramsey, Stich &Garon), VI. Nativism versus constructivism (Piaget, Chomsky, Fodor, Putnam), VII. Modularity (Fodor, Sperber).
Course coordinators
Term 2026Z: | Term 2025Z: |
Type of course
Learning outcomes
The student will be made familiar with major tenets of analytic philosophy and will be acquainted with the concepts and methods used by eminent representatives of this philosophy. (K_W03, K_W06, K_W09, K_W10, K_W13, K_W14).
The student will be suspicious of facile proposals to solve difficult questions by intuitive insights and will be warned against philosophical simplifications of any kind. (K_U03, K_U04, K_U05, K_U07, K_U10)
Clarity of thought and inquisitiveness. (K_K02, K_K10).
Assessment criteria
FROM 2025Z
Active class participation and the preparation of a short essay (ca. 4k words) on the topic chosen with the instructor.
TO 2024Z
Class participation, class presentation and exam testing the understanding of fundamental concepts and problems of analytic philosophy.
Acceptable number of missed classes without formal explanation: 2
Bibliography
2026Z
List is tentative and subject to change (selection of papers/book chapters will be read and some may be added):
1. Conceptual Analysis 1
Edmund Gettier, “Is Justified True Belief Knowledge?” / Frank Jackson, From Metaphysics to Ethics, Chapter 1
2. Conceptual Analysis 2
Jonathan Weinberg, Shaun Nichols, Stephen Stich, „Normativity and Epistemic Intuitions”
3. Conceptual Analysis vs Conceptual Engineering
Sally Haslanger, „Gender and Race: (What) Are They? (What) Do We Want Them To Be?”
4. Logical Analysis 1
Ludwig Wittgenstein, „Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus”
5. Logical Analysis 2
Rudolf Carnap, „The Elimination of Metaphysics Through Logical Analysis of Language”
6. Ordinary Language Philosophy 1
Ludwig Wittgenstein, „Philosophical Investigations”
7. Ordinary Language Philosophy 2
Gilbert Ryle, „The Conscious Mind”
8. Pragmatism 1
Wilfrid Sellars, „Empiricism and the Philosophy of Mind”
9. Pragmatism 2
Amie Thomasson, „A Neo-Pragmatist Approach to Modality”
10. Naturalistic Philosophy 1
W. V. O. Quine, „Epistemology Naturalized”
11. Naturalistic Philosophy 2
David Chalmers, „The Conscious Mind”, Chapter 3
12. Naturalistic Philosophy 3: Experimental Philosophy
James Genone, Tania Lombrozo, „Concept Possession, Experimental Semantics, and Hybrid Theories of Reference”
13. Essence-First Metaphysics
Kit Fine, „Essence and Modality”
2025Z
List is tentative and subject to change (selection of papers/book chapters will be read and some may be added):
Conceptual analysis: G. E. Moore, Principia Ethica; P. Geach, Good and Evil; E. Gettier, Is Knowledge Justified True Belief?; T. Williamson, Knowledge and Its Limits; Haslanger, Gender and Race:(What) Are They?(What) Do We Want Them to Be?; Cappelen, H., Fixing Language: An essay on conceptual engineering;
Logical analysis: B. Russell, On Denoting; L. Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus; R. Carnap, The elimination of metaphysics through logical analysis of language; D. Davidson, Truth and Meaning; J. Hintikka, Knowledge and Belief: The Introduction to the Logic of the Two Notions; Prior, A., Time and Modality; D. Davidson, The Logical Form of Action Sentences.
Ordinary language analysis: L. Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations; Strawson, P., On referring; Ryle, G., The Concept of Mind; Kripke, S., Wittgenstein on Rules and Private Language; Knobe, J. Intentional Action and Side Effects in Ordinary Language; Sytsma et al., Reference in the land of the rising sun: A cross-cultural study on the reference of proper names.
Naturalist approaches: W. V. O. Quine, Epistemology naturalized; P. Churchland, Eliminative Materialism and the propositional attitudes; R. Millikan, Language, Thought and Other Biological Categories; Chalmers, D., The Conscious Mind.
Additional sources:
Soames, S., Philosophical Analysis in the 20th Century, Vol. I-III.
Cappelen, H., Hawthorne, J., Gendler, T., The Oxford Handbook of Philosophical Methodology.
TO 2024Z
Essential literature: Frege: On sense and nominatum, Russell: On denoting; Strawson: On referring; Kripke: Naming and necessity; Wittgenstein: Tractatus logico-philosophicus; Davidson: Truth and meaning; Quine: Quantifiers and propositional attitudes; Wittgenstein: Philosophical investigations; Austin: How to do things with words; Grice: Logic and conversation; Ryle: Descartes’ Myth; Place: Is consciousness a brain process?; Putnam: The nature of mental states; Block: Troubles with functionalism; McClelland, Rumelhart & Hinton: The appeal of parallel distributed processing; Fodor & Pylyshyn: Connectionism and cognitive architecture: a critical analysis; Smolensky: The constituent structure of connectionist mental states; Ramsey, Stich &Garon: Connectionism, Eliminativism, and the Future of Folk Psychology; Piaget: The psychogenesis of knowledge and its epistemological significance; Chomsky: On cognitive structures and their development: a reply to Piaget; Putnam: What is innate and why? Comments on the debate; Fodor: Modularity of Mind; Sperber: The Modularity of Thought and the Epidemiology of Representations.