Dr. Andrew Gleeson, University of Adelaide

Ajankohta: 11-15.12.2006 .
Monday 11 Dec, 10-11.30 aud. Nikander, 12-13.30 aud. Parnassos
Tuesday 12 Dec. 10-11.30 and 12-13.30 aud. Parnassos
Wednesday 13 Dec. 10-11.30 aud. Nikander, 12-13.30 aud. Parnassos
Thursday 14 Dec. 10-11.30 aud. Nikander, 12-13.30 aud. Parnassos
Friday 15 Dec. 10-11.30 and 12-13.30 aud. Westermarck.
Place: Arken (Humanities bldg), Ã…bo Akademi, Tehtaankatu 2, Turku.

Course text: D. Z. Phillips, The problem of evil and the problem of God, essays by other authors. Texts available as pdf-files from prof. Lars Herzberg.

Course description: The problem of evil is conventionally construed as a logical conundrum: how reconcile the existence of an all-good and all-powerful God with the existence of physical and moral evil? Solutions to the problem - theodicies - typically appeal to reasons God may have to allow evil, either to respect human free-will, or to obtain 'greater goods', or both. This course will be less concerned with examining these solutions on their own terms, as it will with scrutinising many of the philosophical assumptions that go to create the problem and the standard solutions to it. These include assumptions about the nature of God, the meaningfulness of religious language, and the nature of good and evil. The course will be structured round a close reading of D. Z. Phillips' book The Problem of Evil and the Problem of God (Fortress Press, 2005), which each student should purchase a paperback copy of. Other reading will be supplied in photocopy or pdf form.

Classes will be conducted in 'reading group' format. Each day there will be a chapter from Phillips, and a shorter, connected, piece by another author. All students should try and do the Phillips' reading before class. I will introduce the first day's readings. Each student will be allocated a reading to introduce on one of the subsequent days. The introduction is just 5-10 minutes explanation of the piece, to kick-off discussion.

The following is a rough daily schedule (subject to change!). All the readings have been supplied as pdf documents.

Monday 11 December: Phillips chapter one, perhaps some material of my own.

Tuesday 12 December: Phillips chapter two, Gaita on Oedipus

Wednesday 13 December: Phillips chapter three, Williams' 'Redeeming Sorrows'

Thursday 14 December: Phillips chapter three (contd), Holland's "For Ever".

Friday 15 December: Phillips chapters five and six, Gleeson's "My Kingdom is not of This World"

TRUTH AND LOGIC

Prof. Gabriel Sandu, Directeur de recherche, Paris
Ajankohta: 4-12.12.2007

Paikka: sali S20A, sh 303:
ti 5.12. klo 14-16,
to 7.12. klo 14-18,
pe 8.12. klo 14-16,
ma 11.12. klo 14-16 ja
ti 12.12. klo 14-18.

Topics include:
1. Truth and slingshot arguments
2. Theories of truth before Tarski: Carnap
3. Tarski's theory of truth
4. Properties of Tarski's theories of truth
5. A comparison between Tarskian and deflationist theories of truth: conservativity, implicit definability, etc
6. Kripke's theory of truth
7. Inductive definitions
8. The revision theory of truth

REFERENCE

Professor Michael Devitt (Philosophy Program, The Graduate Center, CUNY)
Ajankohta: 18-21.4.2006. 

Pekka Väyrynen, University of California, Davis
Ajankohta: 29.5-2.6.2006 - each day from 12 to 16.
5 credits (op) / 3 study weeks (ov)

MORAL DILEMMAS

Dr. .Jens Timmerman
Ajankohta : 28.8.-2.9.2006. 
Ennakkoilmoittautuminen 21.8. mennessä osoitteeseen anu.kuusela@helsinki.fi .