Compiled December 2000
These handouts were used by Prof. Jordan during the part of the class which he was primarily responsible for (Oct 4 - Nov 18). They are available in a box in 24 Kent Way, just outside the offices of the philosophy department. The date refers to the date that the handout was distributed. Sometimes it was not discussed until a class or two after that.
Hume and the Rationality of Miracle Reports; flip-side A Critique of Hume's Argument of Enquiry X 10/4
Chance ; flip-side Inference to the Best Explanation (adequacy, simplicity, and fruitfulness) 10/6
Laws of Nature; flip-side What is a Miracle 10/6
Mill and the Second Condition (includes the Explanatory Filter); flip-side Detecting Design 10/6
Chance (same as 10/6, side 1) 10/9
Detecting Design II 10/11
Divine Providence; flip-side Methodological Naturalism 10/13
Davis and Prior Beliefs; flip-side examples of Bayesian Reasoning 10/13
Hume, Mill, Davis, and Bayes' Theorem 10/16
Test Preparation
Darwin's Doubt; flip-side Methodological Naturalism 10/23
Scientism; flip-side Reductionism 10/23
Cognitive Reliability and Naturalism 10/25
Free Will (includes definitions of determinism, compatibilism, etc. and the little table of consistency checks between determinism, compatibilism, libertarianism, hard and soft determinism); flip-side some arguments for incompatibilism, libertarianism, and determinism 10/25
Determinism and Reductionism: an Illustration 10/27
Moral Responsibility 10/30
The Chinese Room Argument; flip-side "Some Objections to Searle's Chinese Room Argument" 11/1
AI: Weak and Strong 11/1
Programs and Persons: an argument against strong AI 11/3
Another Version of an Argument Against Strong AI 11/6
A Godelian Argument Contra Strong AI 11/6
The Drake Equation 11/8
Von Neumann Machines; flip-side Two Old Theological Arguments for ETI's 11/8
"An Argument Against there Being Intelligent Nonhuman Life in the Universe," also known as the "Fermi" or "Where Are TheY" or "WAY" argument; flip-side some objections to the WAY argument 11/15
The Problem of Many Religions; flip-side An Objection to Other World Incarnatins 11/15
Two Problems With Pluralism 11/15
A Pascalian Argument in Support of SETI 11/17
A Plea for Tolerance 11/17