| Course: | LPS/Phil 240 |
| Name: | Recent Work on Carnap |
| Description: | There has recently
been a great revival of interest in Carnap, both at the level of issues
in philosophy of logic and in his work on the reconstruction of the
language of science. Much new light has been cast on the nature of his
achievements and on the connection of his work with subsequent
developments. In large measure this process was inspired by the work of
the late Alberto Coffa, but it has continued apace as is evident from
the newly assembled Cambridge Companion to Carnap. I would like
to focus on topics raised by several of the essays in this volume,
using them as a guide to our reading of the original papers of Carnap
and his historically important critical commentators. The course will be a combination of lectures and student presentations. It will begin with my lectures on the evolution of Carnap's conception of rational reconstruction, one the most distinctive aspects of his approach to philosophy of science. We will continue with discussions of his contributions to metalogic, the philosophy of mathematics and the assessment of philosophical doctrines. I hope also to reach an understanding and assessment of some of his differences with Quine. |