Elliot Paul (B.A. Toronto , Ph.D. Yale) works mainly in early modern philosophy and epistemology.  He also has interests in cognitive science and philosophy of mind, with ongoing projects on the unconscious mind and on philosophical issues surrounding creativity.

Dr. Paul will be on leave until Fall 2011 while he serves as Assistant Professor/Bersoff Faculty Fellow at NYU.  Columbia graduate students are still very welcome to enroll in or audit his courses during that time.  He is offering the following graduate seminar this fall (2009):

G83.2320-002
History of Philosophy: Seminar on Descartes's Epistemology
Time: Wednesday 11-1
Place: 3^rd floor seminar room, 5 Washington Pl., NYU Philosophy Dept.

René Descartes is said to be “the father of modern philosophy” largely because his treatment of skepticism made epistemological concerns central to philosophy in a new way, and set the terms of the debate in epistemology ever since.

In this seminar we will examine some of the central themes, concepts, and problems in Descartes’s epistemology:
I.The Method of Doubt       
II.Intuition & Deduction
III.The Cogito
IV.Intentionality & Objective Being
V.Error, Freedom & Theodicy
VI.The Cartesian Circle
VII.Clear & Distinct Perception  
VIII.Certainty & Doubt
IX. Conceivability, Possibility & the “Real Distinction” In addition to Descartes’s most celebrated work, the Meditations, we will also engage in close readings of the Rules, the Discourse, the Principles, the Search for Truth, and selections from Descartes’s correspondence.

While our aim will be primarily to understand Descartes’s philosophy in its own right, we will also consider how contemporary epistemology may shed light on what Descartes was up to – and how insights from Descartes may still be relevant today.