Relativism, reason, and reality

Lectures: 2 session / week, 1 hour / session

Recitations: 1 session / week, 1 hour / session

Are moral standards relative to cultures and/or moral frameworks? Are there incompatible or non-comparable ways of thinking about the world that are somehow equally good? Is science getting closer to the truth? Is rationality--the notion of a good reason to believe something--relative to cultural norms? What are selves? Is there a coherent form of relativism about the self? Guided by the writings of Thomas Kuhn, Gilbert Harman, Judith Thomson, John Perry and Derek Parfit, we attempt to make these vague questions precise, and we make a start at answering them.

You will submit 20 pages of written work (as required by HASS-D regulations). These will be divided among 4 papers (the HASS-D requirement is at least 3).

Feel free to discuss the writing assignments -- and, of course, also the reading assignments -- with each other. But (as you don't need me to tell you) the written work you submit must be entirely your own. Your papers should not contain quotations masquerading as paraphrases. A statement of ideas from one of the assigned authors must be couched in your own words. Do not use any footnotes. There will be no prizes for writing in anything other than plain English. There is only one route to a good grade: thinking hard about the issues, and formulating and defending definite opinions.

The course divides into three parts. At the end of each part we will hold an in-class debate. Everyone is expected to participate. Yummy snacks are a distinct possibility.

HASS-D regulations require a 3-hour final exam covering material dealt with throughout the term. The exam will be open book but not open notes, at a time and place to be announced. There will be no midterm exam.

This course is primarily intended for students who have not had any previous exposure to philosophy. It treats a small number of important philosophical questions in some depth. (For more breadth and less depth, try 24.00, Problems of philosophy.)

By the end of the course you should be able to see your way through the swirling fog of metaphor that often surrounds these issues to a reasonably precise formulation of the central questions. You should also have some familiarity with the way in which a philosophical problem arises, and techniques by means of which one might try to solve it. And, with a bit of luck, you might even end up with philosophical views yourself.

Your comments and criticism, expressed either to myself or the TAs, are extremely welcome.

Don't show me this again

This is one of over 2,200 courses on OCW. Find materials for this course in the pages linked along the left.

MIT OpenCourseWare is a free & open publication of material from thousands of MIT courses, covering the entire MIT curriculum.

No enrollment or registration. Freely browse and use OCW materials at your own pace. There's no signup, and no start or end dates.

Knowledge is your reward. Use OCW to guide your own life-long learning, or to teach others. We don't offer credit or certification for using OCW.

Made for sharing. Download files for later. Send to friends and colleagues. Modify, remix, and reuse (just remember to cite OCW as the source.)

Learn more at Get Started with MIT OpenCourseWare