Skip to content

Part 3 · Course

PY380 20TH CENTURY PHILOSOPHY

Law & Philosophy · 4 versions

Offerings are listed from 2027-1 Fall through 2031-1 Fall.

PY380 20TH CENTURY PHILOSOPHY

  • 3.0 credit hours
  • (BS=0.0, ET=0.0, MA=0.0)
  • Version 2025-2
  • In effect
Scope
This course will introduce cadets to a representative sample major of figures and topics which have set the stage for understanding contemporary Philosophy in the so-called Analytic Tradition. Major figures include Frege, Russell, Wittgenstein, Moore, the philosophers of the Vienna Circle, and American philosophers such as Quine, Putnam, Davidson and Kripke. Topics include the ideal of a logically perfect language, meaning and reference, the nature of truth, the distinction between analytic and synthetic statements, the common sense analysis of metaphysical concepts, and the rule-centered social nature of language. As appropriate, leading figures and ideas drawn from Continental Philosophy will be introduced.
Lessons
40 @ 55 min (2.500 Att/wk)
Labs
0 @ 0 min
Special requirements
None
Corequisites
one of
PY380 version 2025-2 offerings
Term Sections Section size Capacity Enrolled Wait list Seats Closed Details
2027-2 Spring 1 18 18 9 0 9 Yes Hours for 2027-2 Spring
2029-2 Spring 1 18 18 3 0 15 Yes Hours for 2029-2 Spring

PY380 20TH CENTURY PHILOSOPHY

  • 3.0 credit hours
  • (BS=0.0, ET=0.0, MA=0.0)
  • Version 2023-2
  • Archived
Scope
This course will introduce cadets to a representative sample major of figures and topics which have set the stage for understanding contemporary Philosophy in the so-called Analytic Tradition. Major figures include Frege, Russell, Wittgenstein, Moore, the philosophers of the Vienna Circle, and American philosophers such as Quine, Putnam, Davidson and Kripke. Topics include the ideal of a logically perfect language, meaning and reference, the nature of truth, the distinction between analytic and synthetic statements, the common sense analysis of metaphysical concepts, and the rule-centered social nature of language. As appropriate, leading figures and ideas drawn from Continental Philosophy will be introduced.
Lessons
40 @ 55 min (2.500 Att/wk)
Labs
0 @ 0 min
Special requirements
None
Corequisites
one of

PY380 20TH CENTURY PHILOSOPHY

  • 3.0 credit hours
  • (BS=0.0, ET=0.0, MA=0.0)
  • Version 2019-2
  • Archived
Scope
This course will introduce cadets to a representative sample major of figures and topics which have set the stage for understanding contemporary Philosophy in the so-called Analytic Tradition. Major figures include Frege, Russell, Wittgenstein, Moore, the philosophers of the Vienna Circle, and American philosophers such as Quine, Putnam, Davidson and Kripke. Topics include the ideal of a logically perfect language, meaning and reference, the nature of truth, the distinction between analytic and synthetic statements, the common sense analysis of metaphysical concepts, and the rule-centered social nature of language. As appropriate, leading figures and ideas drawn from Continental Philosophy will be introduced.
Lessons
40 @ 55 min (2.500 Att/wk)
Labs
0 @ 0 min
Special requirements
None
Corequisites
one of
Disqualifiers
one of

PY380 EASTERN THOUGHT

  • 3.0 credit hours
  • (BS=0.0, ET=0.0, MA=0.0)
  • Version 2016-2
  • Archived
Scope
This course examines primary sources in its quest for an understanding of the many, often bewildering varieties of Eastern thought. The Analects, the works of Mencius and Chuang Tzu, the Bhagavadgita, Tao Te Ching, and Digha Nikaya, I Ching, Zen writings in Zen Flesh, Zen Bones, The Tale of Genji, Chushingura, Essays in Idleness, The Narrow Road to Oku, and Code of the Samurai-all of those works challenge and enlighten a serious student seeking knowledge about a major part of our planet's population.
Lessons
40 @ 55 min (2.500 Att/wk)
Labs
0 @ 0 min
Special requirements
A few essays of moderate length.
Corequisites
PY201