Course

Knowledge, Reason & Experience

Faculty
Humanities & Social Sciences
Department
Philosophy
Course Code
PHIL 1103
Credits
3.00
Semester Length
15 Weeks
Max Class Size
35
Method(s) Of Instruction
Lecture
Seminar
Course Designation
Certificate in Global Competency
Industry Designation
None
Typically Offered
To be determined

Overview

Course Description
This course is an introduction to epistemology, that is, the study of knowledge. The course will focus on what knowledge is, where knowledge comes from, and whether knowledge is attainable at all. Topics may include skepticism, the nature of truth, the nature of justification, trust and testimony, and knowledge of the self. These topics may be covered with an historical and/or contemporary focus. PHIL 1103 will serve as a foundation for further work in philosophy and is highly recommended as an elective for students in all other areas.
Course Content

The course will comprise a survey of historical and/or contemporary perspectives on a range of epistemological topics such as:

1.  the nature of reason (e.g., teleological, instrumental, or communicative conceptions);
2.  rationalist and empiricist approaches to knowledge, perception, and belief;
3.  different theories of epistemic justification (e.g., coherentism, foundationalism internalist and externalist, and virtue theory);
4.  different theories of truth (e.g., correspondence, coherence, pragmatic, and semantic);
5.  metaphysical, scientific, existential, phenomenological, religious, moral, personal, and other possible approaches to truth, knowledge, and belief;

6. skeptical issues such as the problem of the external world, the problem of other minds, and the problem of induction;

7. problems of testimony such as trust, trustworthiness, epistemologies of ignorance, and epistemic injustice;

8. specific authors such as Plato, Aristotle, Sextus Empiricus, Descartes, Locke, Bayle, Berkeley, Hume, Kant, Peirce, James, Moore, Russell, Wittgenstein, Tarski, Austin, Gettier, Dretske, Code, Mills, Fricker.

Learning Activities

The course will employ a variety of instructional methods to accomplish its objectives, including some of the following:

 

A combination of lecture and seminar; group discussions, student presentations, and projects; use of audio-visual material; analysis of case studies.

Means of Assessment

Evaluation will be based on course objectives and will be carried out in accordance with the Douglas College Evaluation Policy. The instructor will provide a written course outline with specific criteria during the first week of classes.

Assessment will be any possible combination of the following totalling 100%, with no evaluation to exceed 40%:

         

Tests, quizzes and/or exams  20% - 60%

Essays and/or long written assignments and presentations   

 20% - 60%
Instructor's general evaluation (e.g., course contribution and attendance)   0% - 20%
Learning Outcomes

At the conclusion of the course, successful students will be able to:

 

  1. reason and reflect upon historical and contemporary philosophical viewpoints about topics covered;
  2. explain the basic philosophical problems related to the nature of reason, truth, knowledge, belief, perception, and experience;
  3. contrast and compare philosophcal perspectives on specific topics covered in the course.
Textbook Materials

 

Texts will be updated periodically. Required readings may include primary sources in translation. Typical examples of textbooks are:

Bailey, Andrew and Robert M. Martin, eds. First philosophy: Fundamental problems and readings in philosophy. Vol. 2: Knowledge and reality. 2nd edition. Peterborough: Broadview Press 2011.

Sosa, Ernest. Epistemology. Princeton: Princeton University Press 2018.

Goldman, Alvin and Matthew McGrath. Epistemology: A contemporary introduction. Oxford: OUP 2014.

Cutler, Darcy, ed. Epistemology: An historical approach. New Westminster: Braz-n-ketz Press 2018.

Pritchard, Duncan. What is this thing called knowledge? 4th edition. New York: Routledge 2018.

 

 

Requisites

Prerequisites

NONE

Corequisites

No corequisite courses.

Equivalencies

No equivalent courses.

Course Guidelines

Course Guidelines for previous years are viewable by selecting the version desired. If you took this course and do not see a listing for the starting semester / year of the course, consider the previous version as the applicable version.

Course Transfers

These are for current course guidelines only. For a full list of archived courses please see https://www.bctransferguide.ca

Institution Transfer Details for PHIL 1103
Athabasca University (AU) AU PHIL 2XX (3)
Capilano University (CAPU) CAPU PHIL 102 (3)
College of the Rockies (COTR) COTR PHIL 102 (3)
Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) KPU PHIL 1100 (3)
Langara College (LANG) LANG PHIL 1101 (3)
North Island College (NIC) NIC PHI 1XX (3)
Okanagan College (OC) OC PHIL 222 (3)
Simon Fraser University (SFU) DOUG PHIL 1103 (3) & DOUG PHIL 1152 (3) = SFU PHIL 100 (3) & SFU PHIL 203 (3)
Simon Fraser University (SFU) SFU PHIL 100 (3)
Thompson Rivers University (TRU) TRU PHIL 2140 (3)
University of British Columbia - Okanagan (UBCO) DOUG PHIL 1102 (3) & DOUG PHIL 1103 (3) = UBCO PHIL_O 111 (3) & UBCO PHIL_O 121 (3)
University of British Columbia - Okanagan (UBCO) DOUG PHIL 1103 (3) & DOUG PHIL 1151 (3) = UBCO PHIL_O 111 (3) & UBCO PHIL_O 121 (3)
University of British Columbia - Vancouver (UBCV) Any 2 of DOUG PHIL 1102 (3) or DOUG PHIL 1103 (3) or DOUG PHIL 1151 (3) or DOUG PHIL 1152 (3) or DOUG PHIL 2250 (3) or DOUG PHIL 3300 (3) = UBCV PHIL_V 100 (6)
University of Northern BC (UNBC) UNBC PHIL 1XX (3)
University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) UFV PHIL 120 (3)
University of Victoria (UVIC) UVIC PHIL 1XX (1.5)
Vancouver Island University (VIU) VIU PHIL 111 (3)

Course Offerings

Summer 2024

CRN
Days
Dates
Start Date
End Date
Instructor
Status
CRN
22217
Thu
Start Date
-
End Date
Start Date
End Date
Instructor Last Name
Sandlin
Instructor First Name
Richard
Course Status
Waitlist
Max
Enrolled
Remaining
Waitlist
Max Seats Count
35
Actual Seats Count
35
0
Actual Wait Count
13
Days
Building
Room
Time
Thu
Building
New Westminster - North Bldg.
Room
N3419
Start Time
12:30
-
End Time
15:20