Wednesday, August 14, 2019

Spring, 2024 Syllabi (scroll down to desired syllabus)


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Logic & Critical Reasoning

          Spring, 2024 

Section 1: MWF 10-10:50; Section 2: MWF 11-11:50

Bowman 206

 

Professor:            Dr. David K. Braden-Johnson                      

Department:       Department of English and Philosophy

Office:             60 Porter, Rm 109

Office Hours:     MW 3:30-4:30; F 2-3; and by appt.

Email:                 d.johnson@mcla.edu (best way to contact me)

Blog:               http://www.critojazz.blogspot.com

 

Primary Online Texts:   Matthew Van Cleeve, Introduction to Logic and Critical Reasoning; Matthew Knachel, Fundamental Methods of Logic

Focus of Course

This course is designed to improve your ability to understand, construct, and criticize both informal (natural language) and formal (categorical and propositional) "arguments" or claims presented as reasons for accepting some further claim.  Our every effort to communicate (including our efforts to teach and learn) involves the use (and, quite frequently, misuse) of logical argumentation.  Consider, for example, the following (humorous) syllogism (an argument consisting of three statements (two premises and one conclusion) relating three terms (nothing, logic, and eternal happiness):

Nothing is better than finding eternal happiness.

Taking a course in logic is better than nothing.

Therefore, taking a course in logic is better than finding eternal happiness!

The argument has a superficially valid form (a>b, c>a, therefore, c>b) which produces a rather unbelievable result.  It is clear that something in our reasoning has gone wrong -- but what exactly?  (It turns out that the premises equivocate on the meaning of the word "nothing.")  Our most general task is to avoid all such logical mistakes (especially in more serious contexts).  To this end we will consider in some detail the very notion of argument, argument structure, and the criteria for constructing good arguments; distinguish arguments supported by evidence and reason from mere opinion or belief; learn about a constructive form of induction and the limits of deduction; assess the nature and scope of “critical thinking”; and, most generally, apply these logical concepts to our writing, thinking, and acting.

 Online Resources

My blog listed above contains links (DKBJs Handouts) to all supporting course handouts and assignments, including a noninteractive page that lists weekly assignments for this course (Assignments: Logic).  I will also post each assignment to Canvas.

Class Policies and Expectations

Carefully review Handout CL.

Cancellations

I will attempt to email the entire class to warn of any unanticipated cancellations.

Laptop Policy

Like a concert hall or theater, our classroom is reserved for face-to-face interaction. Thus, barring special needs or circumstances, you may bring but not use your laptop during class. The same policy applies to cell phones and all other distracting gadgets. Please print out in advance any electronic material required for class.

Examinations

There will be several exams, spaced roughly evenly throughout the semester.  They will be modeled after the exercises of the text and designed to test your attendance and note-taking skills, basic grasp of the issues, ability to study for cumulative exams, and attention to the details of all reading assignments and problem sets.

My grading policy is transparent and simple, based solely on the scores of your exams. (See Handout CL, “grading”).

 

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Philosophy & Literature

Spring, 2024

MW 2-3:15

Bowman 204

 

Professor:            Dr. David K. Braden-Johnson                         

Department:       English and Philosophy

Office:                  60 Porter, Rm 109

Office Hours:      MW 3:30-4:30; F 2-3; and by appt.

Email:                   d.johnson@mcla.edu

Blog:                      http://www.critojazz.blogspot.com

 

Required Text: (all other readings online or in handout form)

Peter Lamarque, The Philosophy of Literature 

 Focus of Course

This course hybridizes two distinguishable yet overlapping approaches to the intersection of philosophy and literature: 1. The philosophy of literature and 2. Philosophy in literature.  The former approach (that of Lamarque) considers ways in which philosophical analysis augments our appreciation of literature, while the latter approach focuses on the contributions of literature to philosophical understanding.  To this end, and partly in response to the resurgence in the US and Western Europe of simple-minded Russophobic and dangerous, cold war-like sentiment and behavior, we will take up a close reading/analysis of several Russian authors, along with brief introductions to elements of Russian history, culture, and language.

 The first approach typically raises these sorts of questions (see the Lamarque volume):

 How ought we to define literature and fiction?

Do fictional characters exist?

Can we make true or false claims about fictional characters and events?

What is the nature and source of our emotional responses to literature?

Must we accept any particular constraints on our interpretations of a work of literature?

And the second approach typically raises these sorts of questions:

Should a writer whose aims are essentially philosophical incorporate elements of literary form?

Should a writer whose aims are essentially literary make use of philosophical analysis or ideas?

Can (should) literature improve our philosophical understanding or knowledge?

Can (should) literature improve its readers morally?

Online Activities

My blog listed above contains links to all supporting course handouts (DKBJs Handoutsand assignments, including a noninteractive page that lists weekly assignments for this course (Assignments: Phil of/and Lit).

Class Policies and Expectations

Carefully review Handout CL.

Cancellations

I will attempt to email the entire class to warn of any unanticipated cancellations.

Laptop Policy

Like a concert hall or theater, our classroom is reserved for face-to-face interaction. Thus, barring special needs or circumstances, you may bring but not use your laptop during class. The same policy applies to cell phones, iPods, and all other distracting gadgets. Please print out in advance any electronic material required for class.

Q&As

Every couple of weeks, students will complete a short, highly-polished, critical (See Handouts CR1, CR2, and CR3) or creative writing assignment (typically based on a specific reading from our text) called “Q&As” (see Handout QA).

My grading policy is transparent and simple, based solely on the scores of your Q&As. (See Handout QA and Handout CL, “grading”).

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Art and Philosophy

Spring, 2024

MWF 1-1:50

Bowman 204

 

Professor:            Dr. David K. Braden-Johnson                       

Department:        English and Philosophy

Office:                  60 Porter, Rm 109

Office Hours:      MW 3:30-4:30; F 2-3; and by appt.

Email:                   d.johnson@mcla.edu

Blog:                      http://www.critojazz.blogspot.com

 

Required Text:   Aesthetics, Cahn and Meskin, eds. (In MCLA Bookstore)

Focus of Class

This is an introductory yet rigorous seminar in the philosophy of art (often called “aesthetics”).  In the context of a philosophical (essentially theoretical, rather than a more narrowly historical, psychological, or sociological, etc.) approach to the products and processes of human artistic efforts, this course surveys and employs a variety of traditional and contemporary concepts for describing accurately our experience, understanding, and appreciation of all forms of art.

 Our philosophical inquiries will set out from two central questions of aesthetics: “What is art/the aesthetic?” and “What is the source of art’s unique value to humans?”  We will then take up several related, domain-specific, or applied questions such as:

 What are the significant connections between artists and their audiences, society, history, politics, and the so-called “art-world”?  What is the nature of artistic innovation and/or creativity?  How are emotions/feelings, knowledge, truth, taste, beauty, and interpretation related to the arts?

Online Activities

My blog listed above contains links to all supporting course handouts (DKBJs Handoutsand assignments, including a non-interactive page that lists weekly reading assignments for this course (Assignments: Art and Philosophy). I will also post each assignment to Canvas.

Class Policies and Expectations

Carefully review Handout CL.

Cancellations

I will attempt to email the entire class to warn of any unanticipated cancellations.

Laptop Policy

Like a concert hall or theater, our classroom is reserved for face-to-face interaction. Thus, barring special needs or circumstances, you may bring but not use your laptop during class. The same policy applies to cell phones, IPods, and all other distracting gadgets. Please print out in advance any material required for class.

Exams

Every two or three weeks, students will assist in composing and then complete in class short exams covering the content of all discussions and readings.  

My grading policy is transparent and simple, based solely on the scores of your exams. (See Handout CL, “grading”).