概念

Course Objective:
 
    The aim of this course is to investigate the nature of concepts, and through this inquiry, we hope to know better who we are, how we act, and what it is to think. We will accomplish this aim by reading some of the important books written by prominent contemporary philosophers. By the end of the semester, students are expected to gain a better understanding of concepts, and develop a research project of their own.
 
Course Description:
    Concepts are constituents of thoughts, and are fundamental to human reasoning, planning, decision, and other rational activities. Many philosophers maintain that the capacity to possess concepts is what distinguishes humans from animals. However, it remains far from clear what concepts are. Philosophers, since Plato, have long been interested in the inquiry of the nature of concepts, which are the main sources of human knowledge. Fueled by productive research results in a wide variety of scientific disciplines, such as psychology, linguistics, artificial intelligence, computer science, etc., contemporary philosophers are better placed to illuminate what concepts might be.
In this course, we will focus on two important books, recently written by Jesse Prinz (2002) and Mark Wilson (2006). Prinz examines some of the leading theories of concepts by delineating their strengths and weakness, and further develops and defends an empiricist theory of concepts, taking into considerations of a rich source of empirical findings. Having read Prinz's book as background in the first few weeks of the semester, we then dive into a highly original and intriguing book by Wilson. Wilson deals with some of the main classical problems of philosophy about concepts from a novel perspective which combines philosophy of language with applied mathematics, engineering, and history and philosophy of science. The result is a new version of neo-pragmatism in the tradition of Dewey, Quine, and the latter Wittgenstein. Students from departments other than philosophy are also encouraged to this course.
 
Required Readings:
1)Furnishing the Mind: Concepts and Their Perceptual Basis, Jesse Prinz, 2002, The MIT Press.
2)Wandering Significance, Mark Wilson, 2006, Oxford University Press.

Course Requirements:
     1) Class attendance, participation, and leading discussions: 40 %
    2) A substantial term paper (10 to 15 pages): 60 %
 
A tentative schedule:

9/17        Course Introduction
        Prinz: Chapter 1
9/24        Prinz: Chapters 2 and 3
10/1        Prinz: Chapters 4 and 5
10/8        Prinz: Chapters 6 and 7
10/15    Prinz: Chapters 8 and 9
10/22    Prinz: Chapters 10 and 11
10/29     Wilson: Chapter 1
11/5        Wilson: Chapter 2
11/12    Wilson: Chapter 3
11/19    Wilson: Chapter 4
11/26    Wilson: Chapter 5
12/3      Wilson: Chapter 6
12/10     Wilson: Chapter 7
12/117    Wilson: Chapter 8
12/24    Wilson: Chapter 9
12/31     Wilson: Chapter 10
1/7    Last Day of Class!
1/12        Deadline for Term Paper!