Philosophy 735 The Nature of Epistemic Norms: Virtues, Duties, and Goals

Fall 2009 Thursdays 1pm-3:30pm Ram Neta neta@email.unc.edu Oce Hours Thursday 11am-1pm, Caldwell Hall 215C (919) 962-3314 Matt Kotzen kotzen@email.unc.edu Oce Hours Tuesday 3pm-5pm, Caldwell Hall 214A (919) 962-3316
In this seminar, we will explore some recent developments in virtue epistemology, epistemic deontology, and epistemic consequentialism. We will discuss what each of these projects in epistemology amounts to, the sense (if any) in which they are in conict with each other and with more traditional epistemological programs, and possible parallels between the applications of these views in epistemology and in ethics. Texts for the course are Knowledge, Truth, and Duty (KTD), ed. Matthias Steup, and Intellectual Virtue (IV), ed. Michael DePaul and Linda Zagzebski. Both are available at the bookstore. Additional readings will be posted on the course BlackBoard site (BB). All of these additional readings will be drawn from Virtue Epistemology: Essays on Epistemic Virtue and Responsibility, ed. Abrol Fairweather and Linda Zagzebski, should you wish to purchase a copy. Requirements for the course are as follows: attendance at and participation in weekly seminar meetings; at least one in-class presentation on assigned reading; and a nal paper of 7,00010,000 words, due 12/10.

Deontology
8/27: The Ethics of Belief Reconsidered by Susan Haack (KTD) 1

 9/3: Epistemic and Moral Duty by Bruce Russell (KTD); Epistemic Justication and Normativity by Richard Fumerton (KTD) 9/10: Deciding to Believe by Carl Ginet (KTD); Voluntary Belief and Epistemic Evaluation by Richard Feldman (KTD) 9/17: Internalism Exposed by Alvin Goldman (KTD); Epistemic Duty, Evidence, and Internality by Matthias Steup (KTD)

Consequentialism
9/24: Truth as the Epistemic Goal by Marian David (KTD); Value Monism in Epistemology by Michael DePaul (KTD) 10/1: The Place of Truth in Epistemology by Ernest Sosa (IV); Intellectual Motivation and the Good of Truth by Linda Zagzebski (IV) 10/8: Catch-up, no new reading.

Virtue
10/15: Reective Knowledge in the Best Circles by Ernest Sosa (KTD); Knowledge as Credit for True Belief by John Greco (IV) 10/29: The Unity of the Epistemic Virtues by Alvin Goldman (BB); For the Love of Truth? by Ernest Sosa (BB) 11/5: Virtues and Rules in Epistemology by John Greco (BB); Epistemic Virtue and Justied Belief by Robert Audi (BB) 11/12: The Virtue of Knowledge by Keith Lehrer (BB); Thin Concepts to the Rescue: Thinning the Concepts of Epistemic Justication and Intellectual Virtue by Heather Battaly (BB) 11/19: How to Be a Virtue Epistemologist by Christopher Hookway (IV); Understanding Virtue and the Virtue of Understanding by Wayne Riggs (IV) 12/3: Catch-up, no new reading.