PHL 462 -- David Hume, Origin and Limits of Knowledge -- Fall 2012

• SYLLABUS (Includes GRADING POLICIES)

• BOOKS

  The following texts are required for the course and available for purchase on the university bookstore:

  • T: Hume, David. A Treatise of Human Nature. Oxford Philosophical Texts. Edited by David Fate Norton and Mary J. Norton.
  • Bb: Beebee, Helen (2006) Hume on Causation. Routlegde.

  The following texts will be used in class and will be available for copy in the Boyce Library (LA 101):

  • BGH: Saul Traiger (2008). The Blackwell Guide to Hume's Treatise. Blackwell Guides to Great Works. Wiley-Blackwell.
  • BC: Radcliffe, Elizabeth S. (2011). A Companion to Hume. Wiley-Blackwell.
  • CC: Norton, David Fate and Taylor, Jacqueline (2009). The Cambridge Companion to Hume. Cambridge University Press.

• SCHEDULE

  WEEK 1	Introductions and Welcome. Introduction to Hume and the Treatise.
  	T: Abstract 407-417, Advertisement and Introduction, pp. 2-6 + Introductory Material pp. I2-I15
  	BGH1 (Wright)
  	Optional: BGH2, BC1, CC1
  WEEK 2	Impressions and Ideas
  	T 1.1.1-7 + Introductory Material -- pp.~I16-I20
  	BGH3 (Broughton)
  	BC2 (Garrett)
  	Optional: CC2, CC3
  WEEK 3 and 4	Knowledge, Causation, and Belief
  	T 1.3.1-16 + Introductory Material pp.~I24-I37
  	BGH5 (Morris) and BGH6 (Roth)
  	BC5 (Watanabe Dauer) and BC6 (Loeb)
  	Optional: CC5
  WEEK 5	Skepticism
  	T: 1.2.6 and 1.4.1-4 + Introductory Material -- pp.~I38-I47
  	BGH7 (Baxter)
  	BC7 (Malherbe)
  	Optional: CC7
  WEEK 6, 7 and 8	Interpreting Hume's views on Causation and Induction
  	Bb in its totality (7 chapters over three weeks)
  	Prospectus due on 10/9 in class
  WEEK 9	Hume's Legacy: Causation and Induction
  	Lewis, David (1973). CausationThe Journal of Philosophy, 70: 556Ð567.
  	Beebee, Helen (2006). Does Anything Hold the Universe Together? Synthese 149 (3):509-533.
  	Beebee, Helen (2011). Necessary Connections and the Problem of Induction. Noûs, 45: 504-527.
  WEEK 10-13	Presentations: Research Projects
  	No class on 11/6, 11/15 and 11/22
  WEEK 14-15	Final Paper Presentations
  	Final paper due on 12/10 by 12pm in my mailbox

• Guidelines for writing and reading philosophy

  • Jim Pryor's great Guidelines on reading, writing and grades in philosophy

  • My guidelines on writing a philosophy paper

  • Tim o'Keefe guideline for writing a philosophy paper

  • Peter Horban's guidelines

  • Last but not least: Advice on how to write a BAD philosophy paper