WBMA3041: Topics in Philosophy of Social Science

“AGENCY AND SOCIAL PRACTICES”

Periode 3, 2006; Mondays 7-10 pm; Ruppertgebouw 134

Joel Anderson Bestuursgebouw 172; 253-2874. Joel.Anderson@phil.uu.nl

THEME FOR THE COURSE: This advanced seminar will focus on a family of approaches to the nature of human agency in which the concept of social practices plays a pivotal role. According to this view, what distinguishes agents from other entities is that they are not simply causes of events but that they can make a “move” in a social practice, the way one can make a move in a game of chess, but only in virtue of an entitlement that is earned by meeting the normative expectations constitutive of the practice.

REQUIRED TEXTS FOR THE COURSE:

· John Searle, The Construction of Social Reality New York: Free Press 1995

· Robert Brandom, Articulating Reasons: An Introduction to Inferentialism. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2000.

· Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations.

· Packet of readings (some available electronically)

Requirements for the course

Final written examination (25%). At the start of the last meeting (March 27), there will be a written examination, lasting approximately 45 minutes. The exam will be designed to determine the extent to which you have read and understood the texts. Students who keep up with the reading should have no difficulty with this.
Final paper (75%). This is due on Tuesday, April 11 at noon and should be 3000-4000 words in length. It will be evaluated on the basis of quality of argument, strength of counterarguments addressed, understanding of the relevant texts, clarity of writing, and independence of thought. Your paper should address as a research problem in the area of the course; I will provide suggested topics. It may be in Dutch or English. Late papers will have their grade reduced by one half-point per day of lateness, beginning at noon (thus, 4 pm on April 12 would mean a full point reduction).
Regular, active, and well-prepared participation. I expect you to come to class having read the text carefully and having thought about which issues that it will be important for us to discuss in class (not simply which points you want to make). If your participation is satisfactory, then your final grade for the course will be rounded up to the next “half-grade”. (For example, if you have a “7” for the paper and a “6” for the exam, that would be a “6.75” and would become a “7” for the final grade.) If you have more than one unexcused absence or are not well enough prepared to participate actively in the discussions, then your grade will be rounded down (to a 6.5 in the previous case). In preparing for the discussions, please consider three sorts of questions:

· What are the most important insights contained in the text(s)?

· What are some problematic implications of the text(s)?

· What are some pivotal points where the authors are unclear?

These questions will also structure our seminar discussions.

SCHEDULE OF READINGS

Feb. 6	John Rawls, “Two Concepts of Rules”

Feb. 13	Searle, ch. 1-3; Wittgenstein, ¶1-24, 143-154, 185-242

Feb. 20	Searle, ch. 4-6

Feb. 27	(1) Laurent Thévenot, “Pragmatic regimes governing the engagement with the world,” in Theodore R. Schatzki, Karin Knorr Cetina and Eike von Savigny (eds.), The Practice Turn in Contemporary Theory (London: Routledge, 2001), p. 56-73. (2) Joseph Rouse, “Two concepts of practice” in Schatzki et al, pp. 189-98. (3) Giddens, excerpt from The Constitution of Society

Mar. 6	Brandom, Introduction and ch. 1.

Mar. 13	(1) Margaret Gilbert, “Introduction: Sociality and Plural Subject Theory” en “What Is It for Us to Intend?” in Sociality and Responsibility: New Essays in Plural Subject Theory (Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2000), pp. 1-36. (2) Barry Barnes, “Practice as Collective Action,” in Schatzki et al, pp. 17-28.
*4-6 pm*	*Preceded by a Zeno Lecture by Prof. Gilbert: “Three Dogmas about Promising”*
Mar. 28	Brandom, ch. 2 and 5. (Suggestion: read sections 1-2 of Habermas’s paper on Brandom before you start.)

Mar. 27	Brandom, ch. 6 Jürgen Habermas, “From Kant to Hegel: On Robert Brandom’s Pragmatic Philosophy of Language” and Robert Brandom, “Facts, Norms, and Normative Facts: A Reply to Habermas” in European Journal of Philosophy 8:3 (2000), pp. 322-55, 356-74.

April 11	Paper due at noon
April 21	Marked papers returned