“Please upload your first paper here in WORD Format. The word count is 3000 words +/- 10%. You may choose your topic freely from the texts we read. If you go outside of these readings for your central topic, then please consult me first. For other sources, you must use peer-reviewed texts only (articles, books). Make sure that you reference all quotes and paraphrases to the exact page number of the edition you list in your bibliography. There is one exception: you may use the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (SEP), but note that this is strictly a secondary source that is useful for the purpose of elucidation only. Always make sure to account for the choice of your sources: why is this a source you picked?”
So this essay is for my intermediate-level philosophy course called “20th-century theoretical philosophy”. We mostly deal with significant analytical and continental texts from the 20th century covering language, mind, self and related themes.
The major concern for this essay would be Quine’s article “The Two Dogmas of Empiricism”. I would start with A. J. Ayer’s “The Elimination of Metaphysics” introduces the basic idea of modern thoughts of empiricism that will be critiqued by Quine. Most of the essay would be spent analyzing Quine’s paper and arguments and showing the train of thought that leads there. Then for some broader context, I would introduce major arguments from “In Defense of Dogma” by H.P. Grice and P.F. Strawson to see whether Quine really destroyed empiricism or not. The essay would mostly stick to these 3 primary sources, including a lot of quotations. If applicable other sources may be used but it is not necessary: these 3 articles are sufficient as well.
Attached is our reader for the course in which all mentioned articles are found.