English to Polish Translation Class

general courses
translation courses

This course aims at honing the practical skill of reading philosophy in English. The focus is on the adequate understanding of the contents and on finding the most accurate Polish equivalents for certain troublesome terms and phrases.

This course aims at honing the practical skill of reading philosophy in English (without the help of chatbots etc.). The focus is on the adequate understanding of the contents and on finding the most accurate Polish equivalents for some troublesome terms and phrases. Students take turns reading and translating single sentences from a given text (having prepared the vocabulary at home). After each class, students record a working translation in a google document where the instructor adds further suggestions. In the academic year 2023/2024, we are going to start by reading one chapter from Simon Blackburn’s On Truth, Oxford 2018. Next, the participants will vote for other readings from the following list. We’ll devote around a month (four or five classes) to a given text and then move on to the next one.

- Simon Blackburn, On Truth, Oxford 2018 (one chapter).

- John MacFarlane, “Future Contingents and Relative Truth”, The Philosophical Quarterly 53.212 (2003), 321-336.

- Galen Strawson, “The Impossibility of Moral Responsibility”, Philosophical Studies 75.1/2 (1994), 5-24.

- John Martin Fischer, “Introduction: A Framework for Moral Responsibility”, in My Way, Oxford 2006, fragments.

- Edward J. Watts, Hypatia: The Life and Legend of an Ancient Philosopher, Oxford 2007, chapter 3, “The School of Hypatia”.

- Christopher J. Martin, “The Development of Logic in the Twelfth Century”, in R. Pasnau (ed.), The Cambridge History of Medieval Philosophy, Cambridge 2010, 129-145.

- Derek Parfit, Reasons and Persons, Part 3, “Personal Identity”, Oxford 1984 (one chapter).

- David Edmonds, Parfit: A Philosopher and His Mission to Save Morality, Princeton 2023.

- Bernard Williams, “The Makropulos Case: Reflections on the Tedium of Immortality”, in Problems of the Self, Philosophical Papers 1956–1972, Cambridge 1972, 82-100.

- Harry Deutsch, “Relative Identity”, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, without section 1.

- Harold W. Noonan, “Indeterminate Identity, Contingent Identity and Abelardian Predicates”, Mind, New Series 102.405 (1993), 133-146.

- Simon Blackburn, On Truth, Oxford 2018.

- John MacFarlane, “Future Contingents and Relative Truth”, The Philosophical Quarterly 53.212 (2003), 321-336.

- Galen Strawson, “The Impossibility of Moral Responsibility”, Philosophical Studies 75.1/2 (1994), 5-24.

- John Martin Fischer, “Introduction: A Framework for Moral Responsibility”, in My Way, Oxford 2006.

- Edward J. Watts, Hypatia: The Life and Legend of an Ancient Philosopher, Oxford 2007.

- Christopher J. Martin, “The Development of Logic in the Twelfth Century”, in R. Pasnau (ed.), The Cambridge History of Medieval Philosophy, Cambridge 2010, 129-145.

- Derek Parfit, Reasons and Persons, Part 3, “Personal Identity”, Oxford 1984

- David Edmonds, Parfit: A Philosopher and His Mission to Save Morality, Princeton 2023.

- Bernard Williams, “The Makropulos Case: Reflections on the Tedium of Immortality”, in Problems of the Self, Philosophical Papers 1956–1972, Cambridge 1972, 82-100.

- Harry Deutsch, “Relative Identity”, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

- Harold W. Noonan, “Indeterminate Identity, Contingent Identity and Abelardian Predicates”, Mind, New Series 102.405 (1993), 133-146.

Knowledge:

- the student knows the basic philosophical terminology in English;

- the student knows the basic philosophical terminology in Polish;

- the student understands the complex nature of language and the historical variability of its meanings;

Skills:

- the student can translate intermediate English texts into Polish without the help from the teacher;

- the student is able to employ the philosophical terms learned during the classes;

- the student can analyze and evaluate information from written and electronic sources, search-engines, and dictionaries.

Social competence:

- the student is ready to make use of the knowledge acquired during the classes regarding the culture of the English-speaking region;

- the student is prepared to participate in actions that promote the philosophical heritage;

- the student is prepared to identify the deficiencies in her/his knowledge or skills, and to look for possible ways of remedying them;

- the student is ready to organize and control her/his work in an efficient way.

1) systematic participation in classes, including previous preparation (vocabulary); 2) recording your translations in the google doc after the class.

Attendance limit: 2 per semester