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Philosophy

Winter semester 2016/2017

List of courses (descriptions are below the list):

A Comparative Analysis of Leibniz’s Monadology and Ontology of Wittgenstein’s

Tractatus logico-philosophicus (Prof. Marek Rosiak - [email protected])

“All politics must bend its knee before right” - Kant on Morality, Law, and Politics

(Ewa Wyrębska – Dermanović, PhD - [email protected])

Art, Philosophy, Criticism. Aesthetic Dilemmas of Modernity (Agnieszka Rejniak-

Majewska, PhD - [email protected])

Basic Notions of Contemporary Ontology (Prof. Marek Rosiak - [email protected])

Cognitive Science. Selected Topics (Prof. Janusz Maciaszek – [email protected])

Computational Theories of Mind (Paweł Grabarczyk, PhD - [email protected]

Elements of Modern Philosophy of Action (Prof. Janusz Maciaszek -

[email protected])

Hauptströmungen der europäischen Ethik (Prof. Andrzej Maciej Kaniowski –

[email protected])

Introduction to Classical Philosophy (Prof. Marek Gensler - [email protected])

Introduction to Contemporary Epistemology (Prof. Marek Nowak -

[email protected])

Introduction to Phenomenological Ontology (Prof. Marek Rosiak - [email protected] )

Introduction to Political Philosophy (Michał Zawidzki, PhD - [email protected])

Introduction to Process Philosophy (Prof. Marek Rosiak - [email protected])

Issues in Philosophy of Religion (Tomasz Sieczkowski, PhD -

[email protected])

Metaphysics and Ontology (Prof. Janusz Kaczmarek - [email protected])

Methodology of Social Research (Janusz Ciuciura, PhD - [email protected])

Mythology and Philosophy in Richard Wagner’s Musical Works Part I (Prof. Marek

Rosiak - [email protected])

Mythology and Philosophy in Richard Wagner’s Musical Works Part II (Prof. Marek

Rosiak - [email protected])

Nietzsche und Zeitgenössische Philosophie (Prof. Paweł Pieniążek -

[email protected])

Philosophical Antropology (Prof. Janusz Kaczmarek - [email protected])

Philosophical Perspective on New Atheism (Tomasz Sieczkowski, PhD -

[email protected])

Philosophical Theories of Part and Whole (Prof. Marek Rosiak - [email protected])

mailto:[email protected]






















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Philosophy of Language (Prof. Janusz Maciaszek - [email protected]))

Polish Analytical Philosophy (Paweł Grabarczyk, PhD - [email protected])

Posthumanism and Human Nature (Dawid Misztal, PhD - [email protected])

Rhetoric and Argumentation (Michał Zawidzki, PhD - [email protected])

Science Fiction and Philosophy (Paweł Grabarczyk, PhD - [email protected])

Speech Act Theory (Prof. Marek Nowak - [email protected])

Theories of Metaphor (Prof. Janusz Maciaszek - [email protected]))

Vegetarianism. Social and Cultural Aspects (Janusz Ciuciura, PhD -

[email protected])

In order to fix the schedule of your course please contact your teacher. In case of any

doubts or problems do not hesitate to contact the Erasmus Coordinator at the Institute

of Philosophy prof. Janusz Maciaszek ([email protected])

Course title 1. A Comparative Analysis of Leibniz’s

Monadology and Ontology of Wittgenstein’s

Tractatus logico-philosophicus

Form Tutorial

Level of course Undergraduate (bachelor) / graduate (master) / doctoral degree

Year/semester 2016/2017 winter semester

ECTS 6

Language of

instruction

English

No. of hours 30

Course content Analysis of spiritualistic atomism of Monadology.and logical atomism

of Tractatus logico-philosophicus showing their systematic

correspondencies and basic differences.

Assessment scheme Regular attendance, activity and/or written work

Lecturer Marek Rosiak

Contact [email protected]

USOS code

Literature Leibniz, Monadology

Wittgenstein, Tractatus logico-philosophicus











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Field of study/

programme

Philosophy

Course title 2. “All politics must bend its knee before right” —

Kant on Morality, Law and Politics.

Form Tutorial/Discussion class

Level of course Undergraduate (bachelor) / graduate (master) degree


ECTS 6

Language of

instruction

English

No. of hours 30

Course content The aim of the course is to introduce the student to Kant’s political

philosophy with reference to the philosopher’s moral and legal theory.

The student will read and discuss selected excerpts from Kant’s text as

well as modern commentaries to his work. The course shall also

encourage confronting the ideas of Kant’s philosophy with

contemporary political issues.

Assessment scheme Participation in meetings, presentation of an excerpt from Kant’s

original text

Lecturer Ewa Wyrębska-Dermanović


USOS code

Literature Immanuel Kant, The Metaphysics of Morals (various editions)

Immanuel Kant, Perpetual Peace (various editions)

Paul Guyer (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Kant and Modern

Philosophy, Cambridge University Press 2006

Paul Guyer (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Kant, Cambridge

University Press 1992

Field of study/

programme

Philosophy


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Course title 3. Art, Philosophy, Criticism.

Aesthetic Dilemmas of Modernity

Form Tutorial



ECTS 6

Language of

instruction

English

No. of hours 30

Course content The course offers an overview of main philosophical problems of

modern and contemporary aesthetics, such as changing conceptions of

art, the meaning of aesthetic experience, aesthetic judgment, creativity,

originality, and social function of art.

The choice of readings comprises selected fragments from classical

texts as well as more recent critical essays and artists’ statements, so as

to point to broader connections between modern aesthetic theory and

artistic and cultural developments.

Assessment scheme Evaluation is based on: (1) students preparation for the class (reading

appointments), 2) active participation, 3) final essay on a chosen topic

Lecturer Agnieszka Rejniak-Majewska


USOS code

Literature - Immanuel Kant, Critique of Judgment, trans. James Creed Meredith,

Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007 (fragments).

- Friedrich Schiller, Letters on the Aesthetic Education of Man (fragm.)

- Roger Fry, An Essay on Aesthetics; Art and Live, in: idem, Vision

and Design, London 1937

- Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz, On Pure Form, in: Aesthetics in XXth

Century Poland, eds. J. Harrell, A. Wierzbiańska, New Jersey 1973;

- Matei Calinescu, The Idea of the Avant-Garde, in: idem, Five Faces

of Modernity: Modernism, Avant-garde, Decadence, Kitsch,

Postmodernism, Durham 1987

- Between Words: A Sourcebook of Central European Avant-gardes,

1910-1930, eds. Eva Forgacs, Th. Benson, Cambridge - London 2002

(fragm.)

- Benjamin Walter, The Work of Art in the Age of Its Technological

Reproducibility, in: idem, The Work of Art in the Age of Its

Technological Reproducibility and Other Writings on Media, ed.

Michael W. Jennings, Harvard University Press, 2008

- Theodor W. Adorno, On the Fetisch-Character of Music and the

Regression of Listening, in: idem, Essays on Music, ed. R. Leppert,

Berkeley, Los Angeles - London 2002

- Theodor W. Adorno, Commitment, in: Aesthetics and Politics, ed. F.


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Jameson, London 1980

- Richard Shusterman, Aesthetic Experience and Popular Art, in: idem,

Performing Live: Aesthetic Alternatives for the Ends of Art, Cornell

University Press 2000.

Field of study/

programme

Philosophy

Course title 4. Basic Notions of Contemporary Ontology

Form Tutorial

Level of course Undergraduate (bachelor) / graduate (master) /doctoral degree


ECTS 6

Language of

instruction

English

No. of hours 30

Course content An introductory course in systematic ontology. The course can

introduce more advanced notions and theories depending on the level

of competence of participants.




USOS code

Literature Handbook of Metaphysics and Ontology, ed. H. Burkhardt

Field of study/

programme

Philosophy

Course title 5. Cognitive Science. Selected Topics

Form Tutorial



ECTS 6

Language of

instruction

English

No. of hours 30


6

Course content 1. What is cognitive science

2. Developement of cognitive science

3. Main topics in cognitive science: artificial intelligence, neural

networks, neurophysiology, brain mapping, perception,

memory, sproblem solving, deficit studies, models of mind, etc.

4. Philosophy of cognitive science: identity theories,

functionalism, mind-body problem, problem of intencionality

5. Cognitive linguistics: conceptual metaphor theory and

metaphorical thinking.

Assessment scheme Regular attendance, activity, and presentation

Lecturer Janusz Maciaszek


USOS code

Literature Bechtel, W. and G. Graham (eds.) 1999 A Companion to

Cognitive Science.

Blackwell Publishers.

Clark, A. 2001 Mindware. An Introduction to the philosophy of

Cognitive Science. Oxford University Press.

Evans, V. and M. Green 2006 Cognitive Lingusitics. An

Introduction. Edinburgh University Press.

Field of study/

programme

Philosophy

Course title 6. Computational Theories of Mind

Form Tutorial

Level of course Undergarduade (bachelor) / graduate (master) degree


ECTS 6

Language of

instruction

English

No. of hours 30

Course content The easiest way to introduce computational theories of mind is to invoke a

famous metaphor – the mind is the software and the brain is the hardware.

From the outset of theories of computation (it was evident in the seminal

Turing paper) the idea that the mind might be a set of algorithms

implemented in the brain seemed very attractive. It looked like we could eat

our cake and have it too: the intuition that the mind is somehow immaterial

was preserved but we didn't have to adhere to any metaphysical claims.

Everything was coached in standard naturalistic terms.

Unfortunately the idea has been severely challenged in the following years.


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Most notably by John R. Searle famous counterexamples (the Chinese room

thought experiment) and by the advance of connectivists' models of mind

(the neural networks approach).

The course gives the students a thorough understandig of classic and current

approaches to computational theories of mind.

Assessment scheme Active participation, marked paper

Lecturer Paweł Grabarczyk


USOS code

Literature Alan Turing, Computing machinery and intelligence

Tim Crane "The Mechanical Mind"

Gualtiero Piccinini, "Computations and Computers in the Sciences of

Mind and Brain"

Field of study/

programme

Philosophy

Course title 7. Elements of Modern Philosophy of Action

Form Tutorial



ECTS 6

Language of

instruction

English

No. of hours 30

Course content Philosophy of human action was conceived by Plato and Aristotle, and

developed by Aquinas. The aim of the couse is to present main

problem of modern philosophy of action:

What is action?

Action and event

The problem of responsibility

Intentionality

The notion of agency

Reasons of actions

Causal approach to action

The problem of free will

Language and action

Are we free to act?

Assessment scheme Regular attendance, activity, and presentation or short essay


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USOS code

Literature 1. Davidson, D. 2001 Essays on Actions and Events. Oxford:

Clerendon Press. Second edition.

2. Moya, C. 1990 Philosophy of Action. An Introduction. Polity

Press.

3. O'Connor, T and C. Sandis (eds.) 2010. A Companion to the

Philosophy of Action. Blackwell.

Field of study/

programme

Philosophy

Course title 8. Hauptströmungen der europäischen Ethik

(Main Currents of the European Ethics)

Form Tutorial



ECTS 6

Language of

instruction

German

No. of hours 30

Course content Im Rahmen des Tutorials werden Grundtypen ethischer Theorien

sowie Grundformen moralischer Argumentation besprochen. Für das

europäische Denken sind zwei Modelle normativer Ethik von

grundlegender Bedeutung: ein teleologische und ein deontologischer

Ansatz. Die Lektüre von Auszügen aus klassischen Texten von

Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, Kant und Mill wird einen Einblick in

Paradigmen des ethischen Denkens und ein besseres Verständnis in

den Sinn und die Ursachen vieler zeitgenössischen

Auseinandersetzungen ethischer Art.

Assessment scheme Aktive Teilnahme (erbtacht durch Referat etc.)

Lecturer Andrzej Maciej Kaniowski


USOS code

Literature Ausgewählte Passagen und Auszüge aus den Schriften von Aristotle,

Thomas Aquinas, Kant und Mill.

Field of study/

programme

Philosophy



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Course title 9. Introduction to Classical Philosophy

Form Tutorial



ECTS 6

Language of

instruction

English

No. of hours 30

Course content The course presents main lines of development in Ancient ad Medieval

philosophy (from Plato to Ockham), showing the specificity of pre-

Modern thought

Assessment scheme Active participation, term paper

Lecturer Marek Gensler


USOS code

Literature Fragments of texts by Plato, Aristotle, Seneca, Augustine,

Anselm of Canterbury, Thomas Aquinas, William Ockham

Field of study/

programme

Philosophy

Course title 10. Introduction to Contemporary Epistemology

Form Tutorial



ECTS 6

Language of

instruction

English

No. of hours 30

Course content The JTB account of knowledge.

A priori and a posteriori knowledge.

The analytic-synthetic distinction (with application to mathematics).

Epistemic versus traditional deontological justification.

Internalism: foundationalism and coherentism.

Externalism: reliabilism


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Assessment scheme Active participation

Lecturer Marek Nowak


USOS code

Literature R. Chisholm, The Foundations of Knowing, University of

Minnesota Press 1982

R. Chisholm, Theory of Knowledge (3rd ed.), Prentice-Hall

1989

Steup M., An introduction to contemporary epistemology,

Prentice-Hall 1998

R. Audi, Epistemology. A contemporary introduction to the

theory of knowledge (2nd ed.), Routledge 2003

Field of study/

programme

Philosophy

Course title 11. Introduction to Phenomenological Ontology

Form Tutorial

Level of course Undergraduate (bachelor’s) / graduate (master’s)


ECTS 6

Language of

instruction

English

No. of hours 30

Course content Basic course in phenomenological ontology:

General notion of an object

Basic aspects of an object: matter, form, mode of existence

Basic notions of existential ontology

Basic notions of formal ontology

Some applications:

1. Purely intentional object

2. Idea

3. Types of temporal objects:

A. Object persisting in time

B. Process

C. Event






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USOS code

Literature Ingarden R., The Controversy over the existence of the world, transl.

H. Michejda

Mitscherling J., Roman Ingarden’s Ontology and Aesthetics, Univ. of

Ottawa Press, 1997

Field of study/

programme

Philosophy

Course title 12. Introduction to Political Philosophy

Form Tutorial

Level of course Undergraduate (bachelor) / graduate (master)


ECTS 6

Language of

instruction

English

No. of hours 30

Course content The course is devoted to major problems of political philosophy (such

as: the nature of justice, source of the law, obligations of a state, the

extent of personal freedom etc.) answered from the viewpoint of

different philosophers (like, inter alia, Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli,

Smith, Bentham, Marx, Rawls, Nozick) and major political ideologies

(such as, inter alia, liberalism, conservatism, socialism, communism).

As an important part of the course students, together with the lecturer,

will attempt to answer the question of how adequately concrete

elements of these philosophies fit in the contemporary political reality.

Assessment scheme 1 end of course reflective essay

Lecturer Michał Zawidzki


[email protected]

USOS code

Literature Textbook: J. Wolff, An Introduction Political Philosophy, Oxford University

Press 2006.

Anthology of original texts: S. Cahn, Political Philosophy: The Essential Texts, Oxford University

Press 2010.

Field of study/

programme

Philosophy



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Course title 13. Introduction to Process Philosophy

Form T



ECTS 6

Language of

instruction

English

No. of hours 30

Course content Elements of A. N. Whitehead’s process metaphysics

Modern science and philosophy

Critique of substantialism

Critique of idealism

Categorial scheme of process philosophy

Creativity vs. prime matter

Eternal objects vs. universals

Actual occasion vs. substance

Revindication of teleology

God




USOS code

Literature Whitehead A. N.,.Process and Reality. An Essay in Cosmology,

Corrected Edition, The Free Press, N. Y. 1978

Christian W. A., An Interpretation of Whitehead’s Metaphysics, Yale

Univ. Press, New Haven 1959

Field of study/

programme

Philosophy

Course title 14. Issues in Philosophy of Religion

Form Tutorial

Level of course Undergraduate (bachelor’s) / graduate (master’s)


ECTS 6

Language of

instruction

English


13

No. of hours 30

Course content The program of the class will cover the following topics:

- General idea of philosophy of religion

- The question of the existence of deity

- Contemporary atheistic ideologies


Lecturer Tomasz Sieczkowski


[email protected]

USOS code

Literature Chad Meister, Introduction Philosophy of Religion

Nicholas Everitt, The Non-existence of God

Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion

Field of study/

programme

Philosophy

Course title 15. Metaphysics and Ontology

Form Tutorial



ECTS 6

Language of

instruction

English

No. of hours 30

Course content 1) metaphysics, ontology and prote philosophia,

2) categories,

3) objects, state of affairs, events

4) whole and parts

5) analytical metaphysics and formal ontology

Assessment scheme active participation, term paper

Lecturer Janusz Kaczmarek


USOS code

Literature Aristotle, Metaphysics (fragments),

Copleston F., A History of Philosophy (fragments),

Kim J., Sosa E., A companion to Metaphysics (different

entries),

Wittgenstein L., Tractatus Logico – Philosophicus,

Wolniewicz B., Logic and Metaphysics,




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and other fragments from ontological papers

Field of study/

programme

Philosophy

Course title 16. Methodology of Social Research

Form Tutorial



ECTS 6

Language of

instruction

English

No. of hours 30

Course content The outline programme of the class will cover following topics: This

course is designed for students who are interested in the methodology

of social research. The course extends the general methodology

(methods) of science being presented during the Logic I course. It

provides an overview of the key elements of social research methods

and emphasizes their practical applications.

Assessment scheme Marked paper

Lecturer Janusz Ciuciura


USOS code

Literature Leonard Bickman, Debra J. Rog, Handbook of Applied Social

Research Methods, SAGE, 1998.

Earl R. Babbie, The Practice of Social Research, Wadsworth,

2010

Field of study/

programme

Philosophy

Course title 17. Mythology and Philosophy in Richard

Wagner’s Musical Works. Part I

Form Tutorial

Level of course Undergraduate (bachelor) / graduate (master) /doctoral degree


ECTS 6


15

Language of

instruction

English

No. of hours 30

Course content Analysis of ideological and philosophical contents of Richard

Wagner’s operas and musical dramas:

The Flying Dutchman, Tannhauser, Lohengrin, Ring of Niblung.

The course contains musical illustrations aimed at showing how

abstract ideas have been expressed in music.




USOS code

Literature Dahlhaus C., Deathridge J., Wagner

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians

Newman E, The Life of Richard Wagner

Schopenhauer A., The World as Will and Representation

Shaw G. B., The Perfect Wagnerite

Wagner R., Music and Revolution, Opera and Drama

Field of study/

programme

Philosophy

Course title 18. Mythology and Philosophy in Richard

Wagner’s Musical Works. Part II

Form Tutorial



ECTS 6

Language of

instruction

English

No. of hours 30

Course content Analysis of ideological and philosophical contents of Richard

Wagner’s musical dramas:

Tristan and Isolde, The Meistersingers, Parsifal.

The course contains musical illustrations aimed at showing how

abstract ideas have been expressed in music.






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USOS code

Literature Dahlhaus C., Deathridge J., Wagner

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians

Newman E, The Life of Richard Wagner

Schopenhauer A., The World as Will and Representation

Shaw G. B., The Perfect Wagnerite

Wagner R., Music and Revolution, Opera and Drama

Field of study/

programme

Philosophy

Course title 19. Nietzsche und Zeitgenössische Philosophie

(Nietzsche and Contemporary Philosophy)

Form Tutorial



ECTS 6

Language of

instruction

German

No. of hours 30

Course content Im Rahmen des Tutorials wird Nietzsches Kritik der Modernität sowie

ihr Einfluß auf Denken von M. Weber und Autoren der Dialektik der

Aufklärung. Der Wert wird besonders auf Rationalisierungsprozesse

und Kulturindustrie gelegt.

Assessment scheme Written work

Lecturer Paweł Pieniążek


USOS code

Literature Ausgewälte Fragmenten aus den Werken von Nietzsche (Vom Nutzen

und Nachteil der Historie für das Leben),Weber (Die protestantische

Ethik und der Geist des Kapitalismus) und Horkheimer/Adorno

(Dialektik der Aufklärung).

Field of study/

programme

Philosophy

Course title 20. Philosophical Anthropology

Form Tutorial



17


ECTS 6

Language of

instruction

English

No. of hours 30

Course content 1. The ideas of anthropology and human being given by Aristotle,

Thomas, Kant, Scheler, Hartmann and other will be presented and

discussed, (and also):

2. Anthropology and ontology

3. Anthropology and ethics

Assessment scheme Active participation, term paper or oral presentation

Lecturer Janusz Kaczmarek


USOS code

Literature Eike Hinz, Outline of a Philosophical Anthropology, 2006

Gilson E., History of Christian Philosophy in the Middle Ages,

1985

Aristotle, Thomas, Kant, Scheler and others – fragments of

writtings

Field of study/

programme

Philosophy

Course title 21. Philosophical Perspective on New Atheism

Form Tutorial



ECTS 6

Language of

instruction

English

No. of hours 30

Course content Philosophical overview of the so called neoatheistic worldview,

concentrating on figures such as Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Daniel

Dennett and A.C. Grayling.

Analysis of the three main dimensions of neoatheistic thinking: the

supremacy of science, the political agenda, and the ethical project of

humanism.


Lecturer Tomasz Sieczkowski


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[email protected]

USOS code

Literature Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion

A.C. Grayling The God Argument

Daniel Dennett, Breaking the Spell. Religion as Natural Phenomena

Field of study/

programme

Philosophy

Course title 22. Philosophical Theories of Part and Whole

Form Tutorial



ECTS 6

Language of

instruction

English

No. of hours 30

Course content Presentation and analysis of most important contemporary

philosophical part-whole theories. Contains theories of Franz

Brentano, Casimir Twardowski, Edmund Husserl and Roman Ingarden




USOS code

Literature The Handbook of Mereology, ed. Hans Burkhardt and oths

Field of study/

programme

Philosophy

Course title 23. Philosophy of Language

Form Tutorial



ECTS 6



19

Language of

instruction

English

No. of hours 30

Course content The aim of the couse is to present brief history and main problems of

the philosophy of language:

Plato and Aristotle on language

J. Locke and psychological theory of meaning

J. S. Mill on denotation and connotation

G. Frege on sense and denotation

B. Russell and definite descriptions

The problem of proper names: descriptionism versus

millianism

Causal theory of naming (S. Kripke and H. Putnam)

Pragmatisc of natural language – L. Wittgenstein on linguistic

games

J. Austin and speech acts theory

P. Grice and rules of conversation

Literal versus non-literal use of language

Assessment scheme Regular attendance, activity, and presentation or short essay



USOS code

Literature Austin, J. L. 1962 How to Do Things with Words. Oxford:

Clerendon Press.

Grice, H. P. 1975 Logic and Conversation. W: P. Cole i J.

Morgan (red.) Syntax and Semantics, vol. 3, Academic Press:

London.

Hale, B. and C. Wright (eds.) 1997 A Companion to the

Philosophy of Language. Blackwell Publishing.

Kripke, S. 1980 Naming and Necessity. Oxford. Blackwell

Lycan, W. G 2000 Philosophy of Language. A Contemporary

Introduction. London and New York: Routledge.

Martinich, A. P. (ed.) 2001 The Philosophy of Language. New

York: Oxford University Press.

Field of study/

programme

Philosophy

Course title 24. Polish Analytical Philosophy

Form Tutorial




20

ECTS 6

Language of

instruction

English

No. of hours 30

Course content The course introduces the students to the works of the most prolific

polish analytic philosophers – Jan Lukasiewicz, Alfred Tarski,

Kazimierz Ajdukiewicz, Andrzej Zabludowski and Marian Przelecki.

Apart from the works which has been translated into English it gives

the student the opportunity to discuss the problems and ideas contained

in works which are currently available only in Polish.

Assessment scheme Active participation, marked paper



USOS code

Literature Jadacki, J. J., Paśniczek, J. (eds.), 2006, The Lvov-Warsaw School —

the New Generation, Rodopi: Amsterdam

Lapointe, S., Woleński, J., Mathieu, M., Miśkiewicz, W., 2009, The

Golden Age of Polish Philosophy. Kazimierz Twardowski's

Philosophical

Legacy, Dordrecht: Springer.

Jadacki, J. J., 2009, Polish Analytical Philosophy, Semper: Warszawa.

Field of study/

programme

Philosophy

Course title 25. Posthumanism and Human Nature

Form Tutorial



ECTS 6

Language of

instruction

English

No. of hours 30

Course content 1. Dystopic posthumanism

2. Liberal posthumanism and transhumanism

3. Radical posthumanism

Assessment scheme Oral assessment

Lecturer Dawid Misztal




21

USOS code

Literature Sharon, T [2014], Human Nature in an Age of Biotechnology.

The Case for Mediated Posthumanism, Springer: Dodrecht.

Wolfe, C. [2010], What is Posthumanism?, University of

Minnesota Press: Minneapolis.

Field of study/

programme

Philosophy

Course title 26. Rhetoric and Argumentation

Form Tutorial



ECTS 6

Language of

instruction

English

No. of hours 30

Course content In everyday life we often find ourselves in a situation in which we

discuss certain issues with our interlocutor and even though we feel

that (s)he is wrong with her statements, we cannot tell why. Frequently

it is the case that the interlocutor is only rhetorically more skillful than

us and despite the fact that we are substantially right in our opinions, it

suffices for him (her) to win a discussion.

During the course we are going to learn how to identify unfair

arguments in a discussion. We will also investigate the structure of

arguments and distinguish these constituents of an argument, whose

violation results in a fallacy (or an unfair trick). In the end, we will get

to know different classifications of (both correct and incorrect)

arguments and we will name and discuss the most important types of

them.

A substantial part of the course will be devoted to thought errors we

tend to commit in everyday reasoning (which is one of the causes of

our vulnerability to unfair arguments exploited in discussions). One of

them is known under the name of conjunction fallacy and was

primarily described by Daniel Kahneman in his book “Thinking fast

and slow”, in which he presented the following experiment: a fictional

figure, Linda, was pictured to a group of students as follows: “Linda is

31 years old, single, outspoken, and very bright. She majored in

philosophy. As a student, she was deeply concerned with issues of

discrimination and social justice, and also participated in anti-nuclear

demonstrations.” Afterwards, the students were asked which is more

probable:

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Linda is a bank teller

Linda is a bank teller and is active in the feminist movement.

Even though a) is correct by the sole structure of both answers, and we

do not need to refer to our knowledge about the external world to find

it out, 90% of respondents picked the second option!

It turns out that in everyday reasoning we tend to make a lot of such

thinking errors. Some of them are of logical nature – we draw

conclusions from premises improperly, other consist in, e.g., not

paying enough attention to premises one accepts.

During the course we will systematically track and classify different

kinds of fallacies committed in everyday reasoning, and will learn how

to avoid them.

Assessment scheme 2 courseworks, each one consisting of a set of logical problems to

solve

Lecturer Michał Zawidzki


[email protected]

USOS code

Literature K. Ajdukiewicz, Pragmatic Logic, Reidel 1974.

D. Kahneman, Thinking Fast and Slow, Farrar, Straus and Giroux

2012.

A. Schopenhauer, The Art of Always Being Right, Gibson Square

Books 2009.

Field of study/

programme

Philosophy

Course title 27. Science Fiction and Philosophy

Form Tutorial



ECTS 6

Language of

instruction

English

No. of hours 30

Course content One of the distinctive features of XX and XXI century philosophy is

its extensive use of thought experiments. Some of these experiments

take form of short stories similar to those found in science fiction

literature. But what about existing stories – couldn’t we use science

fiction literature and film as a source and inspiration for philosophical

arguments? This is exactly the question we are going to ask during the



23

course.

Assessment scheme Short summaries of main arguments from the literature



www.pawelgrabarczyk.net

USOS code

Literature Stanislaw Lem, Solaris

Stanislaw Lem, His Master Voice

Philip K. Dick, Ubik

Susan Schneider, Science Fiction and Philosophy: From Time Travel

to Superintelligence

Julian Baggini, The Pig That Wants to Be Eaten: 100 Experiments for

the Armchair Philosopher

Field of study/

programme

Philosophy

Course title 28. Speech Act Theory

Form Tutorial



ECTS 6

Language of

instruction

English

No. of hours 30

Course content Performative sentences. Locutionary, perlocutionary and illocutionary

acts due to Austin.

Illocutionary force according to Searle. A taxonomy of illocutionary

acts.

Illocutionary logic of Vanderveken.


Lecturer Marek Nowak


USOS code

Literature J. L. Austin, How to Do Things with Words, Clarendon Press

1962

J. R. Searle, Speech acts, Cambridge 1969

J. R. Searle, D. Vanderveken, Foundations of illocutionary

logic, Cambridge 1985

D. Vanderveken, Meaning and Speech Acts, Cambridge 1990-

91


http://www.pawelgrabarczyk.net/


24

Field of study/

programme

Philosophy

Course title 29. Theories of Metaphor

Form Tutorial



ECTS 6

Language of

instruction

English

No. of hours 30

Course content 1. What is metaphor?

2. Metaphor as a problem of philosophy of language, philology

and rhetorics

3. Metaphor versus other figures of speech (metonymy, irony,

allusion)

4. Traditional approches to metaphor

5. Theory of metaphorical communication (P. Grice, J. Searle, and

A. P. Martinich)

6. M. Black and theory of metaphorical meaning (nteraction

theory of metaphor)

7. Causal theory of metaphor (D. Davidson and R. Rorty)

8. Conceptual metaphor theory and its applications

9. Extralinguistic metaphors

Assessment scheme Class attendance, active participation, presentation or essay.



USOS code

Literature 1. Davidson, D. 1978 What Metaphors Mean. „Critical Inquiry”

5, 31 - 47. Przedruk w: Inquiries into Truth and Interpretation.

Oxford: Clerendon Press., 2001: 245 – 64.

2. Kövecses, Z. 2010 Metaphor. A Practical Introduction. Oxford

University Press.

3. Lakoff, G. i M. Johnson 1980 Metaphors We Live By. Chicago:

Chicago University Press.

4. Martinich, A. P. 1984 A Theory of Metaphor. „Journal of

Literary Semantics”, 13, 35 – 56. Przedruk w: Martinich The

Philosophy of Language. New York: Oxford University Press,

2001: 447 – 58

5. Searle, J. R. 1979 Metaphor. W: Expression and Meaning:

Studies in the Theory of Speech Acts. Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press, 76 – 116.


25

Field of study/

programme

Philosophy

Course title 30. Vegetarianism. Social and Cultural Aspects

Form Tutorial



ECTS 6

Language of

instruction

English

No. of hours 30

Course content The outline programme of the class will cover following topics:

1. Vegetarianism. A General Overview (Philosophy and Diet)

2. History of Vegetarianism

3. Philosophy of Vegetarianism

4. Vegetarianism and Ecology

Assessment scheme Marked paper

Lecturer Janusz Ciuciura


USOS code

Literature Tristram Stuart, The Bloodless Revolution: A Cultural History of

Vegetarianism from 1600 to Modern Times, W. W. Norton & Co.,

2007

Colin Spencer, Vegetarianism: A History, Da Capo Press, 2004

Andrew Linzey, Animal Theology, University of Illinois Press,

1995

Peter Singer, Animal Liberation, Pimlico, 1975

Field of study/

programme

Philosophy


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