FIRST YEAR SEMINAR IN PHILOSOPHY: RELATIVISM

PHIL 196, Sec. 004: TTh 4pm-5:30pm in G160 Angell Hall
The University of Michigan
Fall 2004


Instructor: James Woodbridge
email address: jwood@umich.edu
Course Webpage: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jwood/umich/Phil196.htm
Office Hours: T 2pm-3pm, W 12:30pm-2pm, and by appointment
Office: 2203 Angell Hall
Office Phone: 764-6882
Dept. Phone: 764-6285


FIRST PAPER ASSIGNMENT

Pick one of the following topics and write a 4-5 page paper fulfilling the tasks assigned.

Your paper is due at the beginning of class on Thursday, October 21st.

Topics:

1. In response to a particular formulation of relativism, several of our readings have presented what we might call the “self-application” objection. The historically earliest version of this appears in Plato’s Theaetetus, in Sections 170a-171c (pp. 38-40). Your job here is to explain the version of relativism criticized and how the objection is supposed to work, then to evaluate and relate particular presentations of this objection. In explaining the relevant kind of relativism, consider Plato’s account of it in Sections 152a-e (pp. 14-15) and 153e-154c (pp. 16-17) and his explanation of how it is supposed to solve the sorts of puzzles mentioned in Sections 155a-d (pp. 18-19). Compare this to what Kirk has to say on pp. 37-38 about relativism supposedly avoiding a problem with subjectivism (see also what he says on pp. 19-20 and Goodman's point on p. 110 regarding contradictions). In explaining and evaluating Plato’s presentation of the objection, relate it to Kirk, Chapter 3, Sections 2, 4, and 9; Melchert, pp. 17-19 and 28-29; and Goodman, pp. 112-113. What sort of response could Protagoras make to Plato in order to keep consistent? What effect will this have on relativism’s interest as a position about knowledge and reality? Your most important task in this paper is to explain as clearly as you can and in your own words, how the reasoning presented in these various passages proceeds. Be sure you specify all of the steps in any argument(s) you reconstruct and consider. Keep in mind that most of the time you are explaining arguments (i.e., talking about them), not giving them yourself.

2. Several philosophers we have read or read about reject what has been called the "cosmic porridge" view of the world (also called the "blobject" view in class). Briefly explain what this view claims about the world and our relation to it. Next discuss how Heraclitean metaphysics, as Plato describes it in Sections 156c-157c (pp. 20-21) of Theaetetus, could count as an early version of this view. (Consider, for example, what supposedly happens on this view during perception.) What objection to this metaphysics does Plato offer in Sections 181a-183c (pp. 52-55)? Evaluate this objection and explain why you think it is or is not effective. How might the "modern" cosmic porridge view try to deal with Plato's objection? Next, explain Kirk's objection to the "modern" view from pp. 49-54 (see also, p. 142). Kirk presents his reasoning as an objection to a "constructivist" relativism. In constrast, two constructivist relativists, Goodman and Rorty, also reject the cosmic porridge view and, in fact, claim that it is more a problem for the sort of realism Kirk prefers than for their views. (See Goodman, pp. 4, 20, 110, and 114-118; on Rorty, see Kirk, pp. 134-141). Explain the sort of view they offer and how it is supposed to avoid the cosmic porridge (Kirk, Chapter 6 might help with understanding this kind of view. Consider also the character Peter's position in Melchert, pp. 35-51.) Do you think this kind of relativism or realism is more likely to get saddled with accepting something like the cosmic porridge? Explain. Your most important task in this paper is to explain as clearly as you can and in your own words, the positions examined and the reasoning presented regarding them. Be sure you specify all of the steps in any argument(s) you reconstruct and consider. Keep in mind that most of the time you are explaining arguments (i.e., talking about them), not giving them yourself

Be sure to look at my Paper Requirements and Policies.

Keep your paper within the page limit!