BSc: Philosophy II

Philosophy 2: Knowledge and Perception

• Course name: Philosophy 2: Knowledge and Perception
• Code discipline: n/a
• Subject area: n/a

Short Description

This course covers the following concepts: Rationalism; Empiricism; Deductive Reasoning; Inductive Reasoning; Empirical Science; Applications of the Rationalism vs Empiricism debate in Modern Science; Scientific Methodology.

Course Topics

Course Sections and Topics

Section	Topics within the section
Basic Concepts and Ideas	Plato's Theory of Knowledge Doctrine of Recollection Allegory of the Cave Metaphor of the Divided Line Aristotle's Theory of Knowledge Difference between Logic and Rhetoric Kinds of Knowledge Essences and Categories
Reasons versus the Senses in the Development of the Scientific Method	Descartes' Philosophy and the Importance of his Synthesis Distribution The Mind/Body Problem Cogito Ergo Sum The Principles of Rationalism Deductive Reasoning The principles of Empiricism Evidence Based Knowledge Inductive Reasoning and the Role of Experience in Knowledge The Kantian Synthesis The Scientific Method
Internalism versus Externalism in Psychology and Neuroscience	Nativism Antinativism Internalism Computationalism Representationalism Externalism Embodied Cognition The Extended Mind Thesis
Synthesis	Summary of the Topics covered in the course Role of Deduction in the history of thought and science Role of Induction in the history of thought and science Understanding the role of Empiricism and Rationalism in Science Problematising around the notion of cognition. Applying the concepts learned in the first section of the course to understand the problem of induction and how it affects the justification of scientific findings Understanding the concept of empirical science

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

What is the main purpose of this course?

The main goal of the course is to give students a historical overview of the two main philosophical traditions (rationalism based on deductivism and empiricism based on inductivism) that fought one against the other in the history of human thought. A secondary goal of the course is to provide students with an informed understanding of the principles underlying the scientific method as well as a grasp of the concept of empirical science. A third goal of the course is to offer students a general awareness of how the battle between rationalism and empiricism has unfolded in our century beyond philosophy, in psychology and neuroscience.

ILOs defined at three levels

Level 1: What concepts should a student know/remember/explain?

By the end of the course, the students should be able to ...

• the basics of Plato’s epistemology
• the basics of Aristotle’s epistemology
• the basic tenets of rationalism
• the basic tenets of empiricism
• the Kantian synthesis
• the difference between deduction and induction
• the idea of empirical science
• the principles of the scientific method

Level 2: What basic practical skills should a student be able to perform?

By the end of the course, the students should be able to ...

• what is epistemology and why it is important
• the difference between internalist and externalist accounts of cognition
• how science progresses
• how philosophy influences science

Level 3: What complex comprehensive skills should a student be able to apply in real-life scenarios?

By the end of the course, the students should be able to ...

• computer science
• engineering
• robotics

Grading

Course grading range

Grade	Range	Description of performance
A. Excellent	85-100	-
B. Good	75-84	-
C. Satisfactory	60-75	-
D. Poor	0-59	-

Course activities and grading breakdown

Activity Type	Percentage of the overall course grade
Final Exam (Oral)	30 or 15
Video Presentations	30
Participation/Attendance	40

Resources, literature and reference materials

Open access resources

• Nagel, J. (2014). Knowledge: A very short introduction. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press
• Pritchard, D. (2018). What is this thing called knowledge?. London, UK: Routledge.
• Ladyman, James. Understanding philosophy of science. Psychology Press, 2002
• Barnes, J. (2000). Aristotle: A very short introduction (Vol. 32). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Teaching Methodology: Methods, techniques, & activities

Activities and Teaching Methods

Activities within each section

Learning Activities	Section 1	Section 2	Section 3	Section 4
Homework and group projects	1	0	0	1
Reports	1	1	1	1
Oral polls	1	0	1	1
Discussions	1	1	1	1
Development of individual parts of software product code	0	0	1	0

Formative Assessment and Course Activities

Ongoing performance assessment

Section 1

Activity Type	Content	Is Graded?
Question	What is the Allegory of the Cave and why is it important?	1
Question	Explain the difference between Innatism and Empiricism	1
Question	What does the doctrine of recollection say?	1
Question	Explain Aristotle’s theory of causation	1
Question	Discuss in groups the major difference between Plato's and Aristotle's systems of knowledge	0
Question	Describe the Metaphor of the Divided Line	0
Question	Explain the differences between episteme, techne, and phronesis	0

Section 2

Activity Type	Content	Is Graded?
Question	What do rationalism and empiricism have in common (if anything)? And how do they differ?	1
Question	What are the main arguments against rationalism	1
Question	What are the main arguments against empiricism?	1
Question	What are the principles of the Scientific Method?	1
Question	Why is Kantian epistemology so important?	1
Question	Are you a rationalist or an empiricist?	0
Question	Do you agree with Descartes’ cogito argument?	0
Question	Do you believe the senses can get us to real knowledge?	0

Section 3

Activity Type	Content	Is Graded?
Question	What is the difference between Internalism and Externalism?	1
Question	Describe the basic principles underlying internalist theories of cognition	1
Question	What are the basic principles underlying externalist theories of cognition?	1
Question	What are the implication for the debate between Internalism and Externalism for modern science?	1
Question	Critically discuss the claim that ‘cognition isn’t all in the head’. Do you agree/disagree with it? Provide a philosophical argument for your answer	0
Question	What is cognition for embodied cognition theorists? Compare that notion with the notion of cognition defended by internalists	0
Question	What are the methodological morals proposed by embodied cognition theorists and what vision of science does it seem to favour?	0

Section 4

Activity Type	Content	Is Graded?
Question	Is cognition wholly internal?	1
Question	What role, if any, do representations play in science?	1
Question	What is computationalism and why has it been for the development of science?	1
Question	What are the principles of the Scientific Method?	0
Question	Internalism/Externalism: which of these positions do you think best account for the development and evolution of our minds and hence for the development of our best epistemic theory?	0
Question	Should we give up computation?	0
Question	Why one can argue that Aristotle is a precursor of Empiricism?	0

Final assessment

Section 1

1. How do we acquire knowledge according to Plato?
2. What are the ways to discover Forms, according to Plato?
3. What is the ultimate source of knowledge in Plato's theory?
4. What are the elements of Plato's theory of knowledge?
5. How do we acquire knowledge according to Aristotle?
6. What is the ultimate source of knowledge for Aristotle?
7. What are the elements of Aristotle's theory of knowledge?

Section 2

1. What is Rationalism?
2. What is Empiricism?
3. Why do you think Rationalism and Empiricism are so Important? Reflect on the role they played in the history of human thought
4. What is Deduction and what is Induction?
5. Describe and explain the Kantian synthesis

Section 3

1. Do you agree that the concept of embodiment is important for research conducted in science?
2. It has been argued that human cognition can extend across the skin and skull of an organism so as to encompass as proper constitutive parts body-environmental loop
3. How the Extended Mind Thesis relate to other embodied cognition theories?

Section 4

1. Why one can claim that Plato is a precursor of Rationalism?
2. Explain why we can say that Descartes established modern philosophy
3. What is dualism and why is it important?
4. Why can we say that the Kantian synthesis allowed us to overcome dualism?

The retake exam

Section 1

Section 2

Section 3

Section 4