Phil 307 is an introduction to early analytic philosophy. Official, printable outlines can be found at the end of this page.

Course Description

We will study some important figures from the early history of analytic philosophy. “Analytic philosophy” is a catch-all term for a style of philosophy that has been dominant in English-speaking philosophy departments since the 1950s. However, it has its roots in the works of some 19th century logicians and philosophers, specifically Gottlob Frege, who in turn influenced Bertrand Russell, Ludwig Wittgenstein, and the Logical Empiricst philosophers of the so-called Vienna Circle (here represented by A. J. Ayer). From them, 20th century analytic philosophy has inherited a preoccupation with logic, language, and mathematics. In this course, we will study some of the writings of these early analytic philosophers. We’ll read four books, in addition to several papers: Frege’s Foundations of Arithmetic concerns the content of mathematical propositions and the grounds of their truth. Russell’s The Philosophy of Logical Atomism and Wittgenstein’s Tractatus are concerned with the ultimate structure of reality, and the connection between it and the structure of language. The logical empiricists were decisively influenced by these views, and in turn very influential for the development of analytic philosophy, so we’ll also study their views, specifically, those of A. J. Ayer’s Language, Truth, and Logic.

Prerequisites

A previous course in Philosophy or consent of the Department.

Required Texts

A. J. Ayer, Language, Truth, and Logic (Hackett)
Gottlob Frege, The Foundations of Arithmetic, trans. J. L. Austin (Northwestern)
Bertrand Russell, The Philosophy of Logical Atomism (Open Court)
Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (Routledge)

Selected additional texts will be made available electronically.

Requirements and Evaluation
Writing Assignments

There will be 4 short writing assignments (5% each, or 20% of the final grade; 200 words max), one mid-term paper (700 words max; 30%), and one final paper (1,000 words max; 30%). There will be no exams.
All assignments should be typed/printed, double-spaced, on white (recycled is ok) lettersize paper with 3 cm margins all around, preferably in 12 point Times or a similar serif font.
Participation. Class participation counts for 20% of your final grade. Your participation will be assessed on the basis of your contribution to discussion in class and on the course website. (If you are shy and don’t want to speak in class, 5 posts with substantive philosophical content in the online discussion forum will earn you an A for this part of the final grade.) However, if all of your posts occur within one 7-day period, at most 3 of them will be counted toward your participation mark. Only posts before the due date of the final paper count.

Note: Prior to Fall 2006, Phil 307 was just called "Analytical philosophy" and had this description:

An introductory survey of some of the fundamental concepts and techniques of contemporary philosophical analysis. Topics and figures to be discussed will include definition, meaning and reference, the analytic-synthetic distinction, the nature of philosophical analysis, Frege, Russell, Carnap, Quine, and Kripke.

The current calendar description of Phil 307 reads:

An introduction to Philosophy through the study of a period in its history. A selection of philosophers from Mill to Quine, such as Frege, Russell, Wittgenstein, Ayer, Camap and Austin will be discussed.

I've taught Phil 307 both as a historical course in line with the current description, and as an introduction to the philosophy of language as suggested by the previous description. We now offer a separate course in philosophy of language (Phil 371), Phil 307 is now an introduction to the history of analytic philosophy.

Official Outlines