Last updated 11/14/2023 — accessed:
NOTE: THIS VERSION OF THE SYLLABUS IS TENTATIVE AND WILL NOT BE FINALIZED UNTIL THE END OF THE FIRST FULL WEEK OF CLASSES.
| Meets 11:00-12:15 Tu/Th ELLSN 2626 (+ extra hour for 250D) |
|---|
|
(Prof.) Colin Allen
<colinallen@ucsb.edu> |
Course Description
Illusion demonstrated by Prof. Akiyoshi KITAOKA
Learning Objectives
By the end of the course you should be able to explain why color perception raises particular problems for a realist understanding of properties that our minds seem to present as "out there" in the world. You will work on developing a clear thesis of your own about the nature of color and color perception, and you will develop arguments to support your thesis.
Required Materials
The book for the course is Mazviita Chirimuuta's Outside Color: Perceptual Science and the Puzzle of Color in Philosophy which is available online through UCSB library. [Note: reaching the chapters requires (a) that you are either on campus or using the campus VPN, and (b) selecting the PDF icons once you reach the MIT Press site (not the DOI links which are broken).]
The book is available in paperback from Amazon for $29.99 and from MIT Press and Barnes & Noble for one cent more.
The reading schedule will be updated below as we work through it at whatever pace is appropriate. Additional readings may occasionally be assigned and supplied as PDFs through Canvas.
Grading Basis
Undergraduates: A midterm on Nov 7, a 5-7 page paper due Dec 5 (optional but recommended draft due by Nov 27), and a final exam on Wed Dec 13 (12-3pm), each worth 30% of your grade, and class participation worth 10%.
Graduate students: An annotated bibliography of supplemental reading, a term paper due Dec 12, attendance and engaegment in class, as well as attendance of an additional section (to be scheduled). Paper proposals due by beginning of November and a draft that is shareable with your peers is due by Dec 7.
Course Format, Assessments, and Attendance
Classes will be primarily discussion-based. I will occasionally use presentation slides for class, but mostly not — some material lends itself better to more structured presentation, some lends itself to a more free-flowing Q&A-driven classroom style. When I do use slides, they will be made available through the class Canvas site after class, but they will not reflect the full content of the class that day. So, you may use them for later study, but they are not a substitute for attendance, and taking your own notes if that's your style. Concerning note-taking and studying, you are advised to read the following two articles from the cognitive science of learning:
Attendance will not be formally monitored but some in-class activities will be collected for the purpose of determining participation scores, and will not be available for outside of class except in cases of excused absence. Lecture slides will be used intermittently during the semester and will only be made available after class, if they are used.
Schedule of Readings, Topics, and Major Assignments
The reading schedule is approximate. We will work through the book at a pace that ensures proper comprehension. Graduate students will also be expected to read a selection of relevant papers of their choosing beyond the book and report on these via the annotated bibliography and during the supplemental meetings.
| Date | Topic | Readings / Assignments |
|---|---|---|
| Week 0.5 | ||
| Thu Sep 28 | Intro to the course | Locke's porphyry argument in Bk 2 Chapter 8 of Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding (Locke's original words or paragraph 19 Jonathan Bennett's modern rendition). |
| Week 1.5 | ||
| Tue Oct 03 | Color and its Questions | Ch1 |
| Thu Oct 05 | ^^continued | |
| Week 2.5 | ||
| Tue Oct 10 | What Everyone Thinks about Color and Why | Ch2 |
| Thu Oct 12 | ^^continued | |
| Week 3.5 | ||
| Tue Oct 17 | Realism, Antirealism, Relationism | Ch3 |
| Thu Oct 19 | ^^continued | |
| Week 4.5 | ||
| Tue Oct 24 | Coloring In, and Coloring For | Ch4 |
| Thu Oct 26 | ^^continued | |
| Week 5.5 | ||
| Tue Oct 31 | Review/catchup | |
| Thu Nov 02 | Review | |
| Week 6.5 | ||
| Tue Nov 07 | Midterm | |
| Thu Nov 09 | Perceptual Pragmatism | Ch5 |
| Week 7.5 | ||
| Tue Nov 14 | ^^continued | |
| Thu Nov 16 | Active Color | Ch6 |
| Week 8 | ||
| Tue Nov 21 | True Colors | Ch7 |
| Thu Nov 23 | THANKSGIVING DAY No meeting | |
| Week 9 | ||
| Tue Nov 28 | True Colors continued | |
| Thu Nov 30 | Outerness without Ontological Commitment | Ch8 |
| Week 10 | ||
| Tue Dec 05 | ^^continued | |
| Thu Dec 07 | Review | |
| Finals Week | ||
| Wed Dec 13 | Final Exam for 150D students 12-3 pm in ELLSN 2626 | |
Still Relatively New to Philosophy Courses?
You may find my concise guides to reading philosophy and writing philosophy helpful. You may find them useful even if you are not so new to philosophy.
Missed Assignments
Statement about Academic Misconduct
Students in this course are obliged to comply with UCSB's Academic Integrity Policies. Any student suspected of violating this obligation for any reason during the quarter will be referred via the Academic Integrity procedures detailed at the above link. When you submit assignments with your name on them in this course, you are signifying that the work contained therein is all yours, unless otherwise cited or referenced. Any ideas or materials taken from another source for either written or oral use must be fully acknowledged. If you are unsure about the expectations for completing an assignment or taking a test or exam, be sure to seek clarification beforehand. Use of ChatGPT or similar generative AI products will be discussed in class, and may not be used unless you are explicitly given permission to do so, and never without explicit acknowledgment of its use.
Diversity and Inclusion
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal anti-discrimination statute that provides comprehensive civil rights protection for persons with disabilities. Among other things, this legislation requires that all students with disabilities be guaranteed a learning environment that provides for reasonable accommodation of their disabilities. If you have a disability for which you are or may be requesting an accommodation, you are encouraged to contact both your instructor and UCSB's Disabled Students Program for information about accomodations and services.
The University of California, in accordance with applicable federal and state laws and University policy, prohibits discrimination against or harassment of any person at the University on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity, pregnancy, physical or mental disability, medical condition (cancer-related or genetic characteristics), ancestry, marital status, sexual orientation, citizenship, or age. For more information see https://eodp.ucsb.edu/resources/policies.
I ask that everyone in the class strive to help ensure that other members of this class can learn in a supportive and respectful environment. If there are instances of the aforementioned issues, you may contact the Title IX Office, by calling 805-893-2701 or visiting https://titleix.ucsb.edu/. You may also choose to report this to a faculty/staff member; they may also be required to communicate about such issues to the University’s Office of Diversity and Incusion. If you wish to maintain complete confidentiality, you may also contact University Counseling & Psychological Services .
Statement on Classroom Recording
To ensure the free and open discussion of ideas, students may not record classroom lectures, discussion and/or activities without the advance written permission of the instructor, and any such recording properly approved in advance can be used solely for the student’s own private use.
Materials provided for the course may be protected by copyright. United States copyright law, 17 USC section 101, et seq., in addition to University policy and procedures, prohibit unauthorized duplication or retransmission of course materials. See Library of Congress Copyright Office and the University Copyright Policy.