SENIOR SEMINAR: THEORIES OF TRUTH
PHIL 483, Sec. 1001: MW 11:30am-12:45pm in CEB 240
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Spring 2024

Professor: James Woodbridge
email address:
Course Website: http://jwood.faculty.unlv.edu/unlv/Phil483S24.htm
Office Hours:  M 2:30pm-4pm, T 12:30pm-2pm, and by appointment
Office: CDC 426
Dept. Phone: 895-3433

I. COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course functions as a capstone course or a culminating Senior Seminar for the Philosophy major. The question at the heart of the course this term is, "What is truth?" In contrast with the question, "What is true?" (or "What is the truth?")--an issue addressed by inquiry in general--our query focuses on the issue of the nature of truth itself (i.e., what being true involves). The notion of truth is a central philosophical concept. Truth is said to be the aim of inquiry, a criterion of knowledge, and the paramount relation between thought or language and the world. The concept of truth is intertwined with, and often said to explain, other important philosophical ideas, such as realism, objectivity, fact, belief, assertion, representation, and rationality. But truth itself is an enduring philosophical enigma, as it remains controversial what truth itself is. Is it an objective property whose applicability is independent of any opinions? Is truth a property that applies only relative to some belief system or worldview? Is there more than one property of truth? Is there a property of truth at all? In this course we will examine the strengths and weakness of the main philosophical accounts of truth, including correspondence, coherence, pragmatist, pluralist, and deflationary views. Readings will be taken mainly from contemporary sources, along with a few historical selections.

Topic Learning Objectives:                                        Culminating Experience Objectives:
To demonstrate knowledge about central problems concerning Understand the University Undergraduate
   the notion of truth, as it figures in metaphysics, epistemology,    Learning Outcomes (UULOs).
   and philosophy of language. Reflect on your achievement of these
On completing the course, students should be able to:    UULOs in your UNLV education.
Identify central issues or debates pertaining to different theories Reflect on the role of your Philosophy
   of truth, and, when appropriate, compare or contrast different    major in achieving these UULOs.
   views that might be taken with respect to these issues, Review the Philosophy major's five Goals.
Summarize motivations/arguments for the alternative positions, Reflect on how well your path through the
Present objections that were/could be raised to these positions,    Philosophy major has met these Goals.
Assess the relative merits of these arguments and objections.

II. REQUIRED CLASS MATERIALS

Kirkham, R. Theories of Truth: A Critical Introduction. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 1992.
Lynch, M., Wyatt, J., Kim, J., Kellan, N. (eds.) The Nature of Truth: Classic and Contemporary
        Perspectives, Second Edition. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2021.
The books are available at The UNLV Bookstore.
Additional readings will be available through WebCampus/Canvas.

III. CLASS REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING SCHEME

Requirements.............................................Percent of Final Grade
Class Participation......................................................15%
Reflection Essay..........................................................10%
First Paper...................................................................25%
Second Paper...............................................................25%
Final Exam..................................................................25%

About the Requirements:
Class Participation--Since his requirement covers your contribution during class, class attendance is necessary. However, to do well you must do more than just attend. You are expected to show up having read the assignment for the day and ready to talk about it. Second, everyone must make at least six contributions to the Electronic Discussion Board (on WebCampus/Canvas) during the term: 3 before March 17 and 3 after.

Reflection Essay--To fulfill the Culminating Experience requirements, early in the term you will submit a 1000-word Essay about your overall UNLV education, satisfaction of UNLV's UULOs, and the contribution of your Philosophy major to this. Near the end of the term you will re-submit an updated/revised version.

The First Paper--There will be a 6-8 page paper due in early March. Paper topics will be distributed 12 days before the paper is due.

The Second Paper--There will be a second 6-8 page paper due in late April. Again, topics will be distributed 12 days before the paper is due.

The Final Exam--There will be a timed (2 hour), in-person, in-class final exam given on Wednesday, May 8, 2024 at 10:10am. The exam will consist of a choice of essay questions.

Note: All requirements must be satisfactorily completed in order to pass the course. More than 3 unexcused absences reduces your course grade by 1/3 grade, more than 5 by a full letter grade, more than 8 is automatic failure of the course.

IV. CLASS FORMAT

Since this is a Senior Seminar, I expect a substantial amount of student participation during our meetings--our class meetings should not just be lectures. I want you to express your views about the material whenever possible. People's views on philosophical topics often differ. You are encouraged to question your classmates (and me) whenever anyone says something you disagree with, but on either side of this sort of exchange, everyone should always keep in mind that expressing disagreement is not a personal attack. Philosophical discussion thrives under this kind of interaction and often stems from disagreement. At the same time, philosophical discussion aims at reaching some sort of agreement. We probably won't reach agreement every time, but we should aspire towards it.

V. CLASSROOM ETIQUETTE

In recent years a further comment about classroom etiquette has become necessary. Engaging in activities like text messaging, surfing the web, gaming, Instagramming, TikToking, etc. during class is extremely rude and highly disrespectful of our joint enterprise of teaching and learning. Whether you are or are not interfering with anyone else is irrelevant. It is not a question of what you are caught doing; it is a matter of what you do, noticed or not. I expect everyone to be engaged with our cooperative project and refraining from inappropriate activities.

VI. TOPICS AND READINGS

The readings from Kirkham's book are listed by author, chapter, and page numbers (in parentheses). The articles from the Lynch, et al. anthology are listed by article author, title, and chapter number (or page numbers) in parentheses. Readings from other sources will be available online through WebCampus/Canvas or the course's External Website and are listed by author and title, followed by the label "(online)".

After a general overview, the course consists of 5 main units. The readings for them are as follows.

0. Overview
Frankfurt, On Truth (online)
Lynch, "Preface" and "Introduction: The Metaphysics of Truth" (pp. ix-xi, 1-6)
Kirkham, Chapter 1 and 2 (pp. 54-72)
1. Correspondence Theories of Truth
Lynch, et al., "Introduction to Part I" (pp. 9-15)
Kirkham, Chapter 4
Russell, "Truth and Falsehood" (1)
David, "Truth as Identity and Truth as Correspondence" (online)
Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (selections online)
Austin, "Truth" (2)
Strawson, "Truth [1950]" (online)
Alston, "A Realist Conception of Truth" (3)
2. Epistemic Theories of Truth
Putnam, "Two Philosophical Perspectives" (12)
Lynch, et al., "Introduction to Part II" and "Introduction to Part III" (pp. 103-105, 151-158)
Kirkham, Chapters 2 (pp. 41-54) and 3
Blanshard, "Coherence as the Nature of Truth" (6)
Walker, "The Coherence Theory" (7)
Peirce, "How to Make our Ideas Clear" (8)
James, "Pragmatism's Conception of Truth" (9)
3. Pluralism about Truth
Lynch, et al., "Introduction to Part VII" (pp. 557-566)
Lynch, "Three Questions for Truth Pluralism" (30)
Edwards, "Truth, Winning, and Simple Determination Pluralism" (31)
Tappolet, "Mixed Inferences: A Problem for Pluralism about Truth-Predicates" (online)
Beall, "On Mixed Inferences and Pluralism About Truth Predicates" (online)
Tappolet, "Truth Pluralism and Many-Valued Logic: A Reply to Beall" (online)
Edwards, "How to Solve the Problem of Mixed Conjunctions" (online)
Ferrari, et al., "Austere Truth Pluralism" (32)
4. Deflationism about Truth
Wyatt, "Introduction to Part V" (pp. 319-333)
Ramsey, "The Nature of Truth" (16)
Strawson, "Truth [1949]" (17)
Kirkham, Chapter 10
Quine, "Truth" (18)
Grover, "The Prosentential Theory: Further Reflections on Locating Our Interest
        in Truth" (20)
Horwich, "A Defense of Minimalism" (21)
Devitt, "The Metaphysics of Deflationary Truth" (online)
Armour-Garb and Woodbridge, "Deflationism as Alethic Fictionalism via a SPIF
        Account of Truth-Talk" (23)
5. The Liar Paradox and Tarski's Definition of Truth
Priest, "Paradoxical Truth" (online)
Dowden, "Liar Paradox" (entry from Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy) (online)
Lynch, et al., "Introduction to Part IV" (pp. 257-263)
Tarski, "Truth and Proof" (online)
Tarski, "The Semantic Conception of Truth and the Foundations of Semantics" (14)
Kirkham, Chapters 5 and 6
*The instructor of this course reserves the right to change any aspect of the syllabus, with the understanding that any such changes will be announced in class.

University of Nevada, Las Vegas Additional Information/Policies

Public Health Directives
Students must follow all active UNLV public health directives while enrolled in this class. UNLV public health directives are found at https://www.unlv.edu/coronavirus/health-requirements. Students who do not comply with these directives may be asked to leave the classroom. Refusal to follow the guidelines may result in further disciplinary action according to the UNLV Student Conduct Code, https://www.unlv.edu/sites/default/files/page_files/27/StudentConduct-Code.pdf, including administrative withdrawal from the course.

Academic Misconduct
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Auditing a Course
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Classroom Conduct
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Since the COVID-19 pandemic forced some instruction to be delivered remotely starting in Spring 2020, numerous students have asked instructors to record their synchronous classes, so that they can access them at their convenience. Instructors who agree to record their classes (audio only, or video and audio) should inform students in advance. Recorded lectures may not be broadly released to anyone, but made available exclusively to those students enrolled in the class during the particular academic term. Recorded lectures must be stored securely, and are subject to the Nevada System of Higher Education's Records Retention Policy, meaning that the recordings can only be deleted 120 days after the end of class (i.e., after grades are posted). Once this requirement is met, the recordings should be deleted. Class recordings are protected from disclosure, as they are deemed part of an educational record under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

Copyright
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The UNLV Disability Resource Center (Student Services Complex, SSC-A, Room 143, https://www.unlv.edu/drc, telephone 702-895-0866) provides resources for students with disabilities. Students who believe that they may need academic accommodations due to a permanent disability, temporary or permanent medical need, or academic support due to pregnancy are encouraged to contact the DRC as early as possible in the academic term. A Disabilities Specialist will discuss what options may be available to you. Students who are already registered with the DRC should request their accommodations online each semester, and make an appointment to discuss their accommodations with their instructors.

Final Examinations
The University requires that final exams given at the end of a course occur on the date and at the time specified in the Final Exam schedule. The Final Exam schedule is typically available at the start of the semester, and the classroom locations are available approximately one month before the end of the semester. See the Final Exam Schedule, https://www.unlv.edu/registrar/calendars.

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UNLV students enrolled in online courses are also expected to read and adhere to the Acceptable Use of Computing and Information Technology Resources Policy, https://www.it.unlv.edu/policies/acceptable-use-computing-and-information-technology-resources-policy, which prohibits sharing university accounts with other persons without authorization.
To the greatest extent possible, all graded assignments and assessments in UNLV online courses should be hosted in WebCampus-Canvas or another UNLV-managed platform that requires ACE login credentials for access.

Incomplete Grades
The grade of "I" (Incomplete) may be granted when a student has satisfactorily completed three-fourths of course work for that semester/session, but cannot complete the last part of the course for reason(s) beyond the student's control and acceptable to the instructor, and the instructor believes that the student can finish the course without repeating it. For undergraduate courses, the incomplete work must be made up before the end of the following regular semester. Graduate students receiving "I" grades in 500-, 600-, or 700-level courses have up to one calendar year to complete the work, at the discretion of the instructor. If course requirements are not completed within the period indicated, a grade of "F" will be recorded, and the student's GPA will be adjusted accordingly. Students who are fulfilling an Incomplete grade do not register for the course, but make individual arrangements with the instructor who assigned the "I" grade.

Library Resources
Librarians are available to consult with students on research needs, including developing research topics, finding information, and evaluating sources. To make an appointment with a subject expert for this class, please visit the Libraries' Research Consultation website, https://guides.library.unlv.edu/appointments/librarian. You can ask the library staff questions via chat or text message at https://ask.library.unlv.edu/.

Missed Classwork
Any student missing class, quizzes, examinations, or any other class or laboratory work because of observance of religious holidays will be given an opportunity during that semester to make up the missed work. The make-up opportunity will apply to the religious holiday absence only. It is the responsibility of the student to notify the instructor within the first 14 calendar days of the course for Fall and Spring courses (except for modular courses), or within the first 7 calendar days of the course for Summer and modular courses, of their intention to participate in religious holidays which do not fall on state holidays or periods of class recess. For additional information, visit the Missed Classwork policy, under Registration Policies, on the Academic Policies webpage, https://catalog.unlv.edu/content.php?catoid=32&navoid=8271&hl=.
In accordance with the policy approved by the Faculty Senate regarding missed class time and assignments, students who represent UNLV in any official extracurricular activity will also have the opportunity to make up assignments, provided that the student submits official written notification to the instructor no less than one week prior to the missed class(es).
The spirit and intent of the policy for missed classwork is to offer fair and equitable assessment opportunities to all students, including those representing the University in extracurricular activities. Instructors should consider, for example, that in courses which offer a "Drop one" option for the lowest assignment, quiz, or exam, assigning the student a grade of zero for an excused absence for extracurricular activity is both contrary to the intent of the Faculty Senate's policy, and an infringement on the student's right to complete all work for the course.
This policy will not apply in the event that completing the assignment or administering the examination at an alternate time would impose an undue hardship on the instructor or the University that could be reasonably avoided. There should be a good faith effort by both the instructor and the student to agree to a reasonable resolution. When disagreements regarding this policy arise, decisions can be appealed to the Department Chair/School Director, College/School Dean, and/or the Faculty Senate Academic Standards Committee.
For purposes of definition, extracurricular activities may include, but are not limited to academic recruitment activities, competitive intercollegiate athletics, fine arts activities, liberal arts competitions, science and engineering competitions, and any other event or activity sanctioned by a College/School Dean, and/or by the Executive Vice President and Provost.

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Tutoring and Coaching
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