Philosophy 345/Economics 319
The Philosophy and Methodology of Economics
Timetable & Weekly Assignments
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The work for the class consists of three types:
- DEFAULT ASSIGNMENTS: students are assigned to two groups: Group A (Tuesday) or Group B (Thursday). Unless otherwise specified (see Timetable below), each each student should submit a
- Short Essay -- Group A due on Tuesdays; Group B due on Thursdays
- 1 Discussion Questions for Discussion -- Group A due on Thursdays; Group B to on Tuesdays.
For further details, see Content of Work below.
All Short Essays and Discussion Questions are due in my email box by 9:00 AM on the due date and counts as late otherwise (see Submission Instructions and Rules for Late or Missed Assignments).
- ANALYTICAL PAPERS: three longer analytical papers:
- Due Friday 4 March 2022 (prompts will be posted on the course website by Friday 11 February 2022)
- Due Friday 1 April 2022 by 11:59 PM (prompts will be posted on the course website by18 March 2022).
- Due 26 April 2022 in lieu of a final examination by 11:59 PM (prompts will be posted by 15 April 2022)
For further details, see Content of Work below.
All Analytical Papers are due in my email box by Noon on the due date and counts as late otherwise (see Submission Instructions and Rules for Late or Missed Assignments).
- ATYPICAL ASSIGNMENTS: assignments for some weeks will depart from the default (marked in red in the Timetable below):
- 11 January 2020: both groups should write a short essay (less than 1,000 words) to answer the question: Should the national minimum wage be raised to $15 per hour? Why or why not? No discussion questions are due on this day.
- On the following days, no essays or discussion questions due: 18 January 2022; 18 February 2022
- On the following days both groups submit only 2 Discussion Questions and no Short Essay: 24 February 2022; 15, 24, 29, 31 March 2022
- 11 January 2020: both groups should write a short essay (less than 1,000 words) to answer the question: Should the national minimum wage be raised to $15 per hour? Why or why not? No discussion questions are due on this day.
last updated 12 April 2022
(subject to change to suit course requirements)
Key: blue = default assignment
red = assignment varying from the default
green = information
Week 1
Thursday 1/6/22
Topic 0. Introduction to the Philosophy and Methodology of Economics
Week 2
Tuesday 1/11/22
Topic 1.a: A Real Economic Problem: Discussion of your minimum-wage essays.
Essays due for both groups; no discussion questions..
Thursday 1/13/22
Topic 1.b: A Real Economic Problem: Readings
Group A questions; Group B essays.
Week 3
Tuesday 1/18/22
Topic 2: Lecture on the Positive and Normative Distinction
No essays or questions for either group.
Thursday 1/20/22
Topic 2.a: Values in Economics: Readings A. (i) & (ii)
Group A questions; Group B essays.
Week 4
Tuesday 1/25/22
Topic 2.b: Values in Economics: Reading B
Group A essays; Group B questions.
Thursday1/27/22
Topic 3.a: Economic Rationality: Reading A
Group A questions; Group B essays.
Week 5
Tuesday 2/1/22
Topic 3.b: Economic Rationality: Reading B
Group A essays; Group B questions.
Thursday 2/3/22 Topic 3.c: Economic Rationality: Reading C
Group A questions; Group B essays.
Week 6
Tuesday 2/8/22
.Topic 4: Lecture on Logic
No essays or questions for either group.
Thursday 2/10/22
Topic 5.a: Economic Models: Readings A. (i) & (ii)
Group A questions; Group B essays.
Week 7
Tuesday 2/15/22
Topic 5.b: Economic Models: Reading B
Group A questions; Group B essays.
Thursday 2/17/22 Topic 5.c: Economic Models: Reading C
Group A essays; Group B questions.
Week 8
Tuesday 2/22/22
Topic 6.a: Economic Explanation: Readings A. (i) & (ii)
Group A essays; Group B questions.
Thursday 2/24/22
Topic 6.b: Economic Explanation: Readings B. (i) & (ii)
Group A questions; Group B essays
Week 9
Tuesday 3/1/22
Topic 6.c: Economic Explanation: Reading C
Group A essays; Group B questions.
Thursday 3/3/22
Topic 6.d: Economic Explanation: Reading D
Both Groups: questions only.
Friday3/4/22
First Analytical Paper Due
Tuesday 3/8/22
NO CLASS SPRING BREAK
Thursday 3/10/22
NO CLASS SPRING BREAK
Week 10
Tuesday 3/15/22
Topic 7.a: Experiments in Economics: Readings A
Both Groups: questions only.
Thursday 3/17/22
Topic 7.b: Experiments in Economics: Readings B
Group A questions; Group B essays.
Week 11
Tuesday 3/22/22
Topic 7.c: Experiments in Economics: Readings C
Group A essays; Group B questions.
Thursday 3/24/22
Topic 8.a: Lecture on Econometrics
Readings A
Both Groups: questions only.
Week 12
Tuesday 3/29/22
Topic 8.b: Lecture on Econometrics
Readings B
Both Groups: questions only
Thursday 3/31/22
Topic 8.c: Lecture on Econometrics
Readings C. (i) & (ii)
Both Groups: questions only.
Friday 4/1/22
Second Analytical Paper due
Week 13
Tuesday 4/5/22
Topic 9.a: What is Economics? Reading A
Group A essays; Group B questions.
Thursday 4/7/22
Topic 9.b: What is Economics? Reading B
Group A questions; Group B essays.
Week 14
Tuesday 4/12/22
Topic 9.c: What is Economics? Reading C
Group A essays; Group B questions.
Thursday 4/14/22
Topic10.a: Understanding Friedman: Readings A
Group A questions; Group B essays.
Week 15
Tuesday 4/19/22
Topic 10.b: Understanding Friedman: Readings B (i) & (ii)
Group A essays; Group B questions.
Thursday 4/28/22
Final Paper Due
- Submit your weekly assignment as a Word document attached to an e-mail to me at kd.hoover@duke.edu (Do not submit pdf's.)
- Include the phrase "philosophy-economics" and the week's topic number in the subject line. For example, for the first assignment, your subject line would read: philosophy-economics Topic 1 It is important that you address emails exactly as instructed (spelled correctly without extra spaces or omitted hyphen) or else they are likely to go astray and not be counted as submitted.
- Prepare work according to the forms on the General Writing Instructions link.
- Weekly essays and questions are due by 9 AM on the day of the class. Analytical Essays are due by 11:59 PM on the due date stated in the timetable. The timeliness of work will be judged by the date and time stamp on the email with which you submit the work. See the Rules for Late or Missed Assignments for information on that topic.
Short Essays.
- Short Essays should use no more than 1,000 words They use shorter if the point can be adequately addressed in fewer words. However, be careful; if your essay is very short, it may mean that you have not engaged deeply enough.
- Unless instructed otherwise in class, your weekly Short Essay is on a subject of your own choosing, so long as it is related to the reading for that class. It should be philosophically engaged. For example, you might try to distill the structure of a complex argument in the reading or provide a counterargument to something maintained or relate the issues in one reading to those in another. Early in the semester (or when imagination utterly fails you), you may simply want to précis one of the readings. The object, however, is to focus your mind on the readings and over time to develop a facility with philosophical argument; so, moving beyond précis is essential.
- Short Essays aim to make sure that everyone is intellectually engaged with the reading for the week before discussion begins. They are also a place to develop your analytical skills as a philosopher. Hence, they will not be graded on a weekly basis. Instead, I will mark them with comments and suggestions from which I hope that you learn how to be better thinkers (often these comments are of the nature of an intellectual debate with the student, which makes them entertaining for me and I hope engaging for you; but they may also include corrections or guidance on writing and style). I will return the marked papers to you weekly. The papers will be graded as a semester-long set on the basis of how seriously informed and engaged in the reading that they show you to be: a good grade results from a pattern of improving philosophical analysis and argument over the semester. The short assignments are a learning opportunity, so do not be afraid to use them as a chance to experiment and think on paper. And try to learn from them in order to write better analytical papers. Consult Writing Hints link for some suggestions for better writing on philosophical topics.
Discussion Questions.
Each student should think of two questions. At least one question should be philosophically interesting -- that is, it should raise some important issue in the reading that might prompt active discussions in class. Students may also pose questions of clarification about the reading -- either as one of the two required questions or in addition to them. Please state your questions succinctly, but feel free to add a short commentary (a few lines at most) on what prompted the question or why you regard it as important.
Analytical Essays.
- Papers should be no more than 3,000 words (and may be less if the topic can be adequately addressed in fewer words).
- The title for you paper should be the main question or proposition of the prompt.
- These papers are meant to be analytical. In other words, I expect you not simply to report on the views of others (though that may be part of what you need to do), but to take a position on the question posed and argue for it logically in light of your understanding of the issues discussed in class and in the readings (both those specifically mentioned in particular paper topics and more generally).
- These are not research papers. In general, you are expected to draw on the materials studied in the class and your own philosophical analysis. You may, of course, draw on outside materials and general knowledge. If you quote or cite material that we studied in class, you should indicate the author, title, and page number. If you quote or cite material from outside of class material, you must give complete citations as you would for any research paper (see Academic Honesty link for details).
- Please pay attention to good writing; see Writing Hints.