Philosophical Writing and Argumentation (Gr. 6 Hipólito)

The goal of this course is to help students improve their philosophical writing in English, especially the presentation and discussion of arguments.  The primary focus of the course is on improving specifically philosophical writing, so that students who are already comfortable writing in English are welcome.  But students with B2-level English are very welcome even if they do not yet feel wholly comfortable writing in English: this course is an opportunity to improve the skill of writing in English as well as the skill of writing philosophy.  It also aims to be a relatively painless way to improve those skills, in part by requiring short (but frequent) written work.  Thus the course is excellent preparation for students who intend to continue to an MA, or to study abroad in English.

Readings for the course will be thematically diverse, and are planned include an argument that we are all (philosophical) zombies, two paradoxes (Sorites & Newcomb's), one cure for weakness of will, one tension between moral and environmental values, the argument from queerness for moral error theory & a "companions in guilt" reply, an argument that your mind sometimes extends to your smartphone, and an argument that this extended mind hypothesis entails that our smartphones sometimes count - ethically and legally - not as our property but as parts of ourselves.