PHIL 4000: Problems from Hume

University of Minnesota, Morris
Spring 2011
Professor Collier
Tu Th 2:00-3:40
Imholte 202

Course Description: David Hume is widely regarded as the greatest philosopher to ever write in the English language. This course examines the problems that Hume raised concerning our theoretical beliefs about the world. Topics include: induction, causation, laws of nature, free will, and miracles, intelligent design, and evil. We will also investigate the responses that contemporary analytic philosophers have offered to each of these problems.

Course Requirements: Evaluation will be based upon class participation (30%), short "position papers" on each problem (40%), and a final paper (30%). The primary text is Hume's Enquiries Concerning Human Understanding, which is available at the campus bookstore. Additional readings are available on JSTOR or on e-reserve at Briggs library.

Course Syllabus

PROBLEM #1: INDUCTION

Induction I

Hume: Enquiry 4 and 5 §1-9, and §21-22

Induction II

Russell: “On Induction”
Edwards: “Russell's Doubts About Induction” (141-153)
Strawson: "Inductive Reasoning and Probability" (233-237 and 256-263)

Induction III

Black: “Inductive Support of Inductive Rules"
Black: "Self-Supporting Inductive Arguments" (127-134)

PROBLEM #2: CAUSATION

Causation I

Hume: Treatise, 1.3.14

Causation II

Lewis: “Causation”
Menzies: "Counterfactual Theories of Causation"

Causation III

Beebee: "Does Anything Hold the Universe Together?"

PROBLEM #3: UNIVERSALS

Universals I

Hume: "Of Abstract Ideas"
Russell: "World of Universals"

Universals II

Price: “Universals and Resemblances”

Universals III

Armstrong: "Universals as Attributes"

PROBLEM #4: LAWS OF NATURE

Laws of Nature I

Kneale: “Natural Laws and Contrary-to-Fact Conditionals”
Molnar: "Kneale's Argument Revisited"

Laws of Nature II

Armstrong: "Laws of nature as relations between universals" (Sec. 1-4, 7) loux book

Laws of Nature III

Lewis: Selections from Counterfactuals (pp. 73-77)
Beebee, "The Non-Governing Conception of Laws of Nature"

PROBLEM #5: FREE WILL

Free Will I

Hume: An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Section 8.
Ayer: "Freedom and Necessity"

Free Will II

Van Inwagen: "The Incompatibility of Free Will and Determinism" (185-194)
Lewis: "Are We Free to Break the Laws?"

Free Will III

Strawson: "Freedom and Resentment"
Russell: TBA

PROBLEM #6: MIRACLES

Miracles I

Hume: An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding , Section 10.

Miracles II

Richard Price: "On the Importance of Christianity and the Nature of Historical Evidence, and Miracles"

Miracles III

Earman: Hume's Abject Failure (Selections)

PROBLEM #7: INTELLIGENT DESIGN

Intelligent Design I

Hume: An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Section 11.

Intelligent Design II

Swinburne: “The Argument from Design”
Gaskin: “The Design Argument: Hume's Critique of Poor Reason”

Intelligent Design III

Collins: “The Fine-Tuning Design Argument: A Scientific Argument for the Existence of God”
Sober: “The Design Argument”

PROBLEM #8: EVIL

Evil I

Hume: Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, Sections 10 and 11.

Evil II

Rowe: “The Problem of Evil and Some Varieties of Atheism”
Wykstra: “The Humean Obstacle to Evidential Arguments from Evil”

Evil III

Alston: “The Inductive Argument from Evil and the Human Cognitive Condition”
Rowe: "Friendly Atheism, Skeptical Theism, and the Problem of Evil"