Course Description

The purpose of the proseminar is to initiate you into the world of professional academic philosophy. The course is restricted to incoming graduate students in order to promote an open, collegial atmosphere without the intimidation of more experienced students.

Every philosophy paper we read will be assigned to one student who will write a 2000-2500 word explanation and criticism/discussion of the paper targeted to a graduate student audience. For any reading assigned to you, your paper needs to be turned in by the end of the Sunday previous to the class discussion, so that you have one full day to concentrate on your presentation and any handouts or overheads. In class, you will deliver a roughly 10 minute presentation that explains one argument in the paper that seems to a key issue using any needed philosophical background or contrasts. The entire class will then discuss the material. The goal in presentation is to practice your ability to present an argument efficiently. The goal of discussion is to develop critical skills: listening, reappraising arguments, developing clear examples on the fly, being diplomatic about disagreements, resisting intimidation by brow-beating know-it-alls, avoiding tangents, etc.

You are required to attend every department colloquium. During the following class, we will discuss the mechanics of the speaker’s presentation, how questions were answered and how questions were asked. Make notes of things that occur to you during the colloquium that are worth mentioning: When did you fall asleep? When did you give up and see the talk as pointless or trivial or ill-motivated? Was the main idea clear to you after the talk? What key idea did you remember later? Which diagrams were useful and which confusing?

You are also required to write one new paper, approx. 6000-7000 words, on a topic of your choice. We will all review and criticize the submission twice, and you will rewrite the paper to improve clarity aiming to have it suitable for submission to a journal.