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PHIL 258: Topics in Logic: Ten Problems in Deontic Logic (PHIL 158)

As witnessed by the handbook of deontic logic and normative systems, the area of deontic logic is in flux. Traditional questions and logical methods of deontic logic are being supplemented by new questions and new techniques. This tutorial gives an introduction to the current discussion in deontic logic. In what sense are obligations different from norms? Jorgensen's dilemma, from preference based modal logic to the modern approach. How to reason about dilemmas, contrary-to-duty and defeasible norms? Distinguishing various kinds of defeasibility. How to relate various kinds of permissive and constitutive norms? Permissions as exceptions and prioritized norms. How do norms relate to other modalities like beliefs, desires, and intentions How do norms change? What is the role of time, action and games in deontic reasoning? For each problem, we discuss traditional as well as new research questions. We see the new questions as good questions for current research, in the sense that they point to modern theories and applications. We are especially interested in new questions that make older traditional questions obsolete in the sense that they are now addressed from a modern perspective, or in a more general setting. This mini-course wil from the week of 15 April through the week of 13 May.

Last offered: Spring 2013

PHIL 259: Non-Classical Logic (PHIL 159)

This course surveys a range of non-classical logics. Each week, we discuss the formal rules and philosophical underpinnings of a different system. Key topics include modal logic (the logic of possibility and necessity), many-valued logics (in which propositions can be both true and false, or neither), relevant logics (which aim to bring the concept of valid inference into line with everyday ideas about relevance), and logical pluralism (the view that there is more than one correct logic).

Terms: Win | Units: 4

Instructors: Briggs, R. (PI)

PHIL 260A: Newtonian Revolution (PHIL 160A)

(Graduate students register for 260A.) 17th-century efforts in science including by Kepler, Galileo, Descartes, and Huygens, that formed the background for and posed the problems addressed in Newton¿s Principia.

PHIL 260B: Newtonian Revolution (PHIL 160B)

(Graduate students register for 260B.) Newton¿s Principia in its historical context, emphasizing how it produced a revolution in the conduct of empirical research and in standards of evidence in science.

PHIL 262: Philosophy of Mathematics (MATH 162, PHIL 162)

(Graduate students register for PHIL 262.) General survey of the philosophy of mathematics, focusing on epistemological issues. Includes survey of some basic concepts (proof, axiom, definition, number, set); mind-bending theorems about the limits of our current mathematical knowledge, such as Gödel's Incompleteness Theorems, and the independence of the continuum hypothesis from the current axioms of set theory; major philosophical accounts of mathematics: Logicism, Intuitionism, Hilbert's program, Quine's empiricism, Field's program, Structuralism; concluding with a discussion of Eugene Wigner's `The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Mathematics in the Natural Sciences'. Students won't be expected to prove theorems or complete mathematical exercises. However, includes some material of a technical nature. Prerequisite: PHIL150 or consent of instructor.

Terms: Aut | Units: 4

Instructors: Donaldson, T. (PI)

PHIL 263: Significant Figures in Philosophy of Science (PHIL 163)

(Graduate students register for 263.) Directed study of two or more thinkers, past or present, who have made a lasting impact on contemporary philosophy of science. Subjects last year were Henri Poincaré, Pierre Duhem, and Gaston Bachelard.

Last offered: Winter 2007

PHIL 264: Central Topics in the Philosophy of Science: Theory and Evidence (PHIL 164)

(Graduate students register for 264.) Is reductionism opposed to emergence? Are they compatible? If so, how or in what sense? We consider methodological, epistemological, logical and metaphysical dimensions of contemporary discussions of reductionism and emergence in physics, in the ¿sciences of complexity¿, and in philosophy of mind.

Terms: Spr | Units: 4 | Repeatable for credit

Instructors: Ryckman, T. (PI)

PHIL 264A: Central Topics in Philosophy of Science: Causation (PHIL 164A)

(Graduate Students register for 264A.) Establishing causes in science, engineering, and medicine versus establishing them in Anglo-American law, considered in the context of Hume and Mill on causation. May be repeated for credit.

| Repeatable for credit

PHIL 265: Philosophy of Physics (PHIL 165)

Graduate students register for 265.) Central topic alternates annually between space-time theories and philosophical issues in quantum mechanics; the latter in Winter 2013-14. Conceptual problems regarding the uncertainty principle, wave-particle duality, quantum measurement, spin, and their treatment within the 'Copenhagen interpretation' of quantum mechanics, and the related doctrine of complementarity. The issue of quantum entanglement as raised by Einstein and Schrödinger in the 1930s and the famous EPR (Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen) paper of 1935. Examination of EPR-type experimental set-ups and a result due to Bell in the 1960s, according to which no "hidden variables" theory satisfying a certain locality condition (apparently assumed by EPR) can reproduce all the predictions of quantum mechanics. Survey of several live interpretive options for standard quantum mechanics: Bohmian mechanics (a.k.a. 'pilot wave theory'), 'spontaneous collapse' theories, and Everett¿s relative-state interpretation. Critical scrutiny of the ¿decoherence¿ program that seeks to explain the classical-to-quantum transition, i.e., the emergence of the world of classical physics and macroscopic objects from quantum physics. May be repeated for credit if content is different.

Terms: Win | Units: 4 | Repeatable for credit

Instructors: Ryckman, T. (PI)

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