The main book for the class is:
Lewis, David K. Philosophical Papers. Vol. II. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1987. ISBN: 9780195036466.
Readings by Session
Unless otherwise noted, the readings are from the book listed above.
| SES # | TOPICS | READINGS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Introduction | "Introduction." |
| 2 | Counterfactuals | Chapter 16, "Counterfactuals and Comparative Possibility." |
| 3-4 | Time's arrow | Chapter 17, "Counterfactual Dependence and Time's Arrow." |
| 5-6 | Causation (I) | Chapter 21, "Causation" (including appendices). |
| 7-8 | Causation (II) | Lewis, David K. "Causation as Influence." The Journal of Philosophy 97, no. 4 (April 2000): 182-197. |
| 9-10 | Explanation | Chapter 22, "Causal Explanation." |
| 11-12 | Chance | Chapter 19, "A Subjectivist's Guide to Objective Chance." |
| 13-14 | Humean supervenience | Lewis, David K. "Humean Supervenience Debugged." Mind (new series) 103, no. 412 (October 1994): 473-490. |
| 15 | Time travel |
Heinlein, Robert A. "All You Zombies." In The Fantasies of Robert A. Heinlein. New York, NY: Tor, 2002, pp. 341-350. ISBN: 9780312875572. |
| 16 | Elusive knowledge | Lewis, David K. "Elusive Knowledge." Australasian Journal of Philosophy 74, no. 4 (1996): 549-567. ( PDF) |
| 17-18 | Newcomb's problem | Chapter 26, "Prisoners' Dilemma is a Newcomb Problem." |
| 19-21 | Causal decision theory | Chapter 27, "Causal Decision Theory." |
| 22-23 | Free will |
Chapter 25, "Are We Free to Break the Laws?" Recommended readingvan Inwagen, Peter. "The Incompatibility of Free Will and Determinism." Philosophical Studies 27, no. 3 (March 1975): 185-199. |
| 24-25 | Possible worlds |
Lewis, David K. On the Plurality of Worlds. Oxford, UK: Blackwell, 2001, section 1.1 (recommended readings: sections 1.2, 1.4, and 1.9). ISBN: 9780631224266. |