Classics of Analytic Philosophy (328-0-20)

Instructors

Sean Ebels Duggan
847/491-2553
Kresge 3-443

Meeting Info

2001 Sheridan GPC 3111: Tues, Thurs 2:00PM - 3:20PM

Overview of class

Frege, Russell, Wittgenstein, Ramsey

Modern logic begins with Gottlob Frege, a mathematician whose striking insights and methods also produced a compelling approach to philosophy. This course will explore, in the writings of Frege, Russell, Wittgenstein, and Ramsey, a question that arises from Frege's approach: to what extent does having a logic, or a philosophy of logic, constitute having the rest of philosophy--for examples: an epistemology, a metaphysics, even an ethics? As time allows we'll look at the nearby work of G.E. Moore and Susan Stebbing.

A course in logic (such as PHIL 150 or PHIL 250) may be helpful for this course, but is not required.

Registration Requirements

One course in Philosophy.

Learning Objectives

To comprehend a selection of the major works of, and interpretive approaches to, Frege, Russell, Wittgenstein, and Ramsey.

To articulate in written and verbal form the main issues that concerned these writers, and how their approaches were distinctive.

To be ready to situate these writers and their contributions in the context of others writing at the time, their antecedents, and those who followed after them.

Class Materials (Required)

Class materials must be purchased.

Gottlob Frege, The Frege Reader, ed. by Michael Beaney. Wiley Blackwell, 1997, 978-0631194453
Bertrand Russell, Russell on Metaphyiscs, ed. by Stephen Mumford. Routledge, 2003. 978-0415277457
Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus.  Translated by Michael Beaney.  Oxford, 2023.  978-0198861379"

Class Materials (Suggested)

Bertrand Russell, Logic and Knowledge. Routledge Classics, 2025. 978-1032914862

Frege, Frege: An Introduction to the Founder of Modern Analytic Philosophy. Anthony Kenny Frege. Wiley-Blackwell, 2000. 978-0631222316 

Class Notes

Students may be called upon to do an impromptu defense or presentation on written work, either individually with the professor or in class.

Class Attributes

SoC Humanities and Fine Arts Distro