Theory of Knowledge I

Pre-requisites: None

Course objectives: Students get acquainted, through skeptical challenges, with one of the most influential traditional approaches to the theory of knowledge as a philosophical discipline primarily engaged in an inquiry of the possibilities and limits of human knowledge.

Course description: The theoretical part of the course includes a number of topics related to skepticism: Descartes' formulation of skeptical arguments and the method of doubt, philosophical suppositions of skepticism, the logical structure and conclusions of skeptical arguments, the basic traditional and contemporary philosophical attempts to respond to the skeptical challenge. Exercises involve analysis, through student presentations and discussions of the texts relevant to the topics previously covered by lectures..

Learning Outcomes: Familiarity with skepticism as a philosophical standpoint, the issues that it raises, its arguments and philosophical responses to them.

Literature/Reading:

• Knjazev-Adamović, S., “Skeptički argumenti i odredjivanje predmeta teorije saznanja”, Theoria, 2 (1994), str. 7-19. Ejer, A., Problem saznanja, Beograd: Nolit, 1963, str. 73-88, 101-107.
• Ejer, A., Problem saznanja, Beograd: Nolit, 1963.
• Dekart, R., Meditacije o prvoj filozofiji
• Vilijams, B., “Projekat čistog istraživanja”, Theoria, 4 (1996), str. 185-214. Straud, B., “Filozofija i svakodnevni život”, Theoria, 3 (1996), str. 125-157.
• Lazović, Ž., “Kartezijanski skepticizam”, Theoria, 4 (1996), str. 25-58.
• Lazović, Ž., “Izmedju obične i filozofske sumnje”, Filozofski godišnjak 13, 2000.
• Dekart, R., Meditacije o prvoj filozofiji, 2. i 6. glava Mur, Dž. E., “Dokaz postojanja spoljašnjeg sveta”, Ideje, 5 (1979).
• Lok, Dž., Ogled o ljudskom razumu, knj. 4, pogl. 11. Hjum, D., Istraživanja o ljudskom razumu, odelj. 7. Grahek, N., “Ejerova odbrana teorije čulnih utisaka”, Filozofski godišnjak, 1 (1988), str. 159-181.
• Hjum, D., Istraživanja o ljudskom razumu, odelj. 13. Vitgenštajn, L., O izvesnosti (delovi)
• Barkli, Dž., Rasprava o principima ljudskog znanja, odelj. 1-60, 87-91. Ejer, A., Problem saznanja, odeljak o fenomenalizmu, str. 132-140.
• Kant, I., Kritika čistog uma, Predgovor drugom izdanju – napomena, str. 33-35; Pobijanje idealizma – str. 215-219; Četvrti paralogizam: idealiteta – str. 656-665.
• Karnap, R., “Empirizam, semantika i ontologija” – fotokopija.
• Drecke, F., “Pragmatička dimenzija znanja”, Theoria, 1 (1997).
• Skeptički priručnik 2 - Savremeni skepticizam, priredili Mašan Bogdanovski i Živan Lazović, Institut za filozofiju filozofskog fakulteta u Beogradu i Plato, Beograd, 2007.