180043 KU Conceptions of Truth (2024S)
Continuous assessment of course work
Labels
Registration/Deregistration
Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).
- Registration is open from Sa 10.02.2024 10:00 to Su 18.02.2024 23:59
- Registration is open from Fr 23.02.2024 10:00 to Tu 27.02.2024 23:59
- Deregistration possible until Su 31.03.2024 23:59
Details
max. 25 participants
Language: English
Lecturers
Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N
Friday
15.03.
09:45 - 11:15
Hörsaal 2i NIG 2.Stock C0228
Friday
22.03.
09:45 - 11:15
Hörsaal 2i NIG 2.Stock C0228
Friday
12.04.
09:45 - 11:15
Hörsaal 2i NIG 2.Stock C0228
Friday
19.04.
09:45 - 11:15
Hörsaal 2i NIG 2.Stock C0228
Friday
26.04.
09:45 - 11:15
Hörsaal 2i NIG 2.Stock C0228
Friday
03.05.
09:45 - 11:15
Hörsaal 2i NIG 2.Stock C0228
Friday
10.05.
09:45 - 11:15
Hörsaal 2i NIG 2.Stock C0228
Friday
17.05.
09:45 - 11:15
Hörsaal 2i NIG 2.Stock C0228
N
Friday
24.05.
09:45 - 11:15
Hörsaal 2i NIG 2.Stock C0228
Friday
31.05.
09:45 - 11:15
Hörsaal 2i NIG 2.Stock C0228
Friday
07.06.
09:45 - 11:15
Hörsaal 2i NIG 2.Stock C0228
Friday
14.06.
09:45 - 11:15
Hörsaal 2i NIG 2.Stock C0228
Friday
21.06.
09:45 - 11:15
Hörsaal 2i NIG 2.Stock C0228
Friday
28.06.
09:45 - 11:15
Hörsaal 2i NIG 2.Stock C0228
Information
Aims, contents and method of the course
Truth is one of the most important and contested notions in the history of Western philosophy. This course will trace some of the major developments and shifts in philosophical conceptions of truth, from Parmenides in the 5th century BCE, up to Charles Sanders Peirce and Martin Heidegger in the 19th and 20th centuries CE. The central questions of the course are “What is truth?” and “What has it been thought to be?”In reading through and discussing the history of philosophical thinking about truth, we will see that truth has been conceived in very different ways by different thinkers in different times: sometimes as mysterious, sometimes as mundane; sometimes as timeless, sometimes as historical; sometimes as metaphysical, sometimes as existential; sometimes as coextensive with Being, sometimes as a feature of ideas or propositions, sometimes as something done. The course, however, will aim to go beyond merely comparing various theories of truth held by historical figures. We will also hope to begin to understand conceptions of truth as developing across time and, also, to evaluate these developments. By the end of the course students should possess the ability to assess contemporary and historical notions of truth at a foundational level, and to understand these differing notions in historical relation to each other.Each week, students will read primary texts or excerpts from primary texts. Class meetings will be aimed at discussing these texts, critically evaluating their conceptions of truth, and exploring changes in such conceptions. Assignments will give students the opportunity to analyse textual arguments, to critically engage further with individual thinkers, and to explore historical shifts in philosophical thinking about truth.
Assessment and permitted materials
Students will be assessed on the basis of class participation (10%), six sets of reading questions (20%), and two short essay assignments (70%).
Minimum requirements and assessment criteria
A positive evaluation requires that students achieve a pass grade (4) in two out of the three assessment components. Two unauthorised absences will be excused. A pass grade for class participation requires having read the required texts before class meetings and contributing to half of the class discussions. A pass grade for argument-analysis tasks requires completing at least two such tasks. Delayed completion due to certified circumstances beyond your control, e.g. illness, are exempt. A pass grade for the essay component requires an average score of 50% for the two essays.
Examination topics
Reading list
Texts are likely to include:
Parmenides, The Fragments of Parmenides
Plato, Timaeus
Aristotle, Metaphysics
Augustine, On Free Choice of the Will
Anselm, On Truth
Aquinas, Disputed Questions on Truth
Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy
Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding
Hegel, The Science of Logic
Peirce, "Truth"
Heidegger, Being and Time
Anscombe, "Practical Truth"
Misak, "Pragmatism and Deflationism"
Parmenides, The Fragments of Parmenides
Plato, Timaeus
Aristotle, Metaphysics
Augustine, On Free Choice of the Will
Anselm, On Truth
Aquinas, Disputed Questions on Truth
Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy
Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding
Hegel, The Science of Logic
Peirce, "Truth"
Heidegger, Being and Time
Anscombe, "Practical Truth"
Misak, "Pragmatism and Deflationism"
Association in the course directory
Last modified: Th 07.03.2024 15:06