Taught by

Pragmatism has recently emerged as a vital and radical current in contemporary philosophy. “-Isms” are elusive identifiers, but a good handle on pragmatism is that it's an approach to philosophical questions by way of our social practices, rather than by way of claims about our seemingly most distinctive and deep human faculties such as reason or experience. Pragmatists turn away from abstract theories towards practical outcomes in their explorations of “what can we really know?” or “what really exists?” or “what really are we, as humans?” or "what is the true basis of morality?"

We will begin with some of the foundational works of American pragmatism, selections from writings by Charles S. Pierce, William James, and John Dewey. But our more concentrated focus will be on work carried out in the 1960s, ’70s, and later. We will study seminal essays by Wilfrid Sellars, W.V.O. Quine, Donald Davidson, Richard Rorty, and perhaps others—works that inspire an ongoing renaissance of pragmatism in contemporary philosophy. We will end the quarter studying recent developments offered by Robert Brandom, Rebecca Kuhkla, Mark Lance, and others. Our readings also will include Orwell’s 1984 and perhaps other works of fiction, and we will watch some of the many films that explore knowledge and being in philosophically rich ways.

Students will be expected to read difficult works closely, explore their thinking in small-group discussion, and write both short and longer essays that sharpen the questions and tentative answers that arise in the course of their studies.

Quarters

Fall Open

Location and Schedule

Campus Location

Olympia

Time Offered

Day