CSUN Spring 2018
Professor Robin Muller
Phil 497: Senior Seminar
CSUN Spring 2018
Professor Robin Muller
1. Project Categories (Mix-and-Match*):
a. Problem-based: Concerns a problem in a philosophical sub-discipline.
Examples: The hard problem of consciousness in philosophy of mind; the moral permissibility of abortion; the problem of epistemic justification in the epistemology of perception.
b. Historical: Situates a philosopher or problem in an historical context, with an emphasis on the philosophical consequences of that contextualization.
Examples: How were Spinoza’s politics impacted by the religious culture of his time? How are we to evaluate Kant’s principle of the equality of reason, given the colonial projects of Western Europe at the time?
c. Exegetical: Concerns how to read a text, or a part of a text.
Examples: What is the relationship of epistemology and metaphysics in Descartes’ Meditations? Is the ‘pragmatic’ reading of Heidegger’s Being and Time consistent with what Heidegger intends to do in that text?
d. Conceptual: Analyzes a concept central to a philosopher, a text, a philosophical problem, or a disciplinary area.
Examples: What is non-ideal political theory? What does Foucault mean by the “will to truth”?
* Note that the more categories you combine, the more specific your topic will be. Here’s an example:
Problem-based question: Is abortion morally permissible?
Problem-based/historical question: Have views about the moral permissibility of abortion changed as science has become increasingly precise in its study of pre-natal life?
Problem-based/exegetical question: What would Kant say about the moral permissibility of abortion, given the framework of Kantian ethics outlined in the Groundwork?
Problem-based/historical/exegetical question: In what way, if at all, is the presumed Kantian answer to the moral permissibility of abortion informed by Kant’s own understanding of the science or religion of his time?
Problem-based/historical/exegetical/conceptual question: The concept of Life is discussed very differently by the German idealists (for instance, in Hegel’s Philosophy of Right) than by contemporary philosophers of biology. How might this difference inform discussion about the moral permissibility of abortion?
2. Argument Strategies (Pick One):
- Resolve a debate. “Here is a philosophical problem. Some people think X and others think Y. I think Y, and here are my considered reasons.”
- Referee a debate: “Here is a philosophical problem. Philosopher X thinks A and Philosopher Y thinks B. Philosopher X has the more compelling argument. Here’s why.”
- Intervene in a debate: “Here is a philosophical problem. Most people have dealt with this problem in one of X ways. I propose a different way.”
- Dissolve the debate. “Here is a philosophical problem. Philosophers have tended to argue X or Y. They are actually saying the same thing. Therefore, clarifying their concepts would reveal that the problem is not a problem” or “Here is a philosophical problem. Philosophers have tended to argue for one of X incompatible positions. But if we adjust our thinking on Y issue, those positions are no longer incompatible.”
- Provoke a debate: “Most people assume X. But evidence suggests not-X.”
- Diagnose a problem. “Conversations in X subject have tended to presume that Y. But Y in fact causes a problem for other premises assumed in X subject.”
- Moderate a debate or a problem. “Here is a philosophical problem. That problem largely arose because philosopher A misread philosopher B” or “Philosopher A criticizes Philosopher B for X argument. Philosopher B responds by saying Y. Here is the right way to think about their disagreement.”
- Get clear on what contribution X philosopher or text makes to a debate. “X is a difficult philosophical text (or passage) that is nevertheless central to debates in Y. Here is what I think that text (or passage) says” or “People interested in topic X should read philosopher (or text) Y. Here’s why it would help.”
