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| time & place |
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Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 8:00 - 8:50 am
Douglass Hall, Room 110
Office Hours: Wednesday 10-11 am and by appointment |
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| description |
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In this course we will examine the ways in which the scientific and political innovations of 16th, 17th, and 18th century Europe both influenced and were influenced by the rationalist and empiricist philosophical traditions that competed and flourished during this period. We will study the works of several philosophers working within these two traditions as they struggled to make sense of the scientific and social revolutions sweeping through their world; and we will see how their work would, in turn, help shape these revolutions, even as they continue to evolve today. One focus of the course, then, will be to examine the ways in which these philosophical traditions have maintained their relevance and influence in our own millennium as 21st century science struggles with its most difficult questions yet.
Our survey will entail a careful reading and critique of the metaphysical and epistemological schemes developed by key philosophers of the early modern period, beginning with the work of Bacon, Galileo, and Descartes and concluding with Kant and his revolutionary synthesis of the rationalist and empiricist worldviews.
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| requirements |
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Our work will primarily be lecture and discussion, so both careful attention to the readings and class participation will be crucial for a lively course. Please bring your text to class.
There will be two examinations--one take-home mid-term paper and one in-class final--as well as several homework assignments and unannounced short answer quizzes on the readings. All written work must comply with Philosophy Department guidelines, which can be found here. The departmental grading policy for written work can be found here. |
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| text |
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Modern Philosophy: An Anthology of Primary Sources, edited by Roger Ariew and Eric Watkins, Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company (1998): ISBN: 0872204405
This is available at the university bookstore. Other readings will be made available for viewing or download here. |
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| grading |
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| Class
participation: |
15% |
(2 unexcused absences results in 0%) |
| HW & Quizzes :
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25% |
(Homework and pop quizzes on the reading assignments) |
| Mid-term
exam: |
25% |
(4-6 page take-home exam/paper) |
| Final
exam: |
35% |
(In-class final exam) |
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| lecture schedule |
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Week 1
1/28 |
General introduction and background: the Early Modern Period in the history of philosophy; the Aristotelian world-view; Renaissance Humanism and the Scientific Revolution; Bacon , New Organon (4-8); Galileo, The Assayer (8-11); Descartes, Discourse on the Metehod, Part 1, 2 & 5: (12-21) |
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Week 2
2/04 |
Descartes , Mediations, Letter of Dedication, Preface and Meditation I (22-30) |
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Week 3
2/11 |
Meditations II and III (30-40) |
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Week 4
2/18 |
Meditations VI (pp. 48-55): Wrap up of Descartes |
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Week 5
2/25 |
Spinoza : Ethics Book I, Propositions 1-14 & Appendix (129-134, 145-149) |
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Week 6
3/03 |
Spinoza, Ethics , Book I, Propositions 15-36 (134-145) |
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Week 7
3/10 |
Mechanistic materialism:Boyle, Of the Excellency and Grounds of the Corpuscular or Mechanical Philosophy (262-269); Locke , Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Book I, Chapters 1-2; Book II, Chapters 1-14 (270-301) |
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Week 8
3/17 |
Locke, Essay, Book IV, Chapters 1-4 (329-358)
MIDTERM EXAM DISTRIBUTED FRIDAY 3/21 |
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Week 9
3/24 |
Leibniz, Discourse on Metaphysics (184-207)
MIDTERM EXAM COLLECTED FRIDAY 3/28 |
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SPRING
BREAK |
March 31-April 6 |
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Week 10
4/07 |
Early Modern Cosmology: Space & Time: Newton, Scholium to Definition VIII in the Principia (pp. 244-248); Hume, An Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding, sections I-IV (491-506) |
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Week 11
4/14 |
Hume, Inquiry, sections V-VII (506-522) |
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Week 12
4/21 |
Hume, Inquiry, sections VIII, XI-XII (522-532; 543-557) |
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Week 13
4/28 |
Kant, Prolegomena, Preface (579-590); Critique of Pure Reason, Prefaces (634-640); Analytic and synthetic judgments, Critique of Pure Reason, Introduction (641-646) |
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Week 14
5/05 |
Kant, Prolegomena, §§6-21 (590-601); §§27-35 (604-608) Critique of Pure Reason, Transcendental Aesthetic (649-653) |
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Week 15
5/12 |
Kant, Prolegomena, §§40-56 (612-623); Critique of Pure Reason, Third Antinomy (713-715, and 726-734) |
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Mendocino
Hall
