| René Descartes (1596 - 1650) | John Locke (1632-1704) | Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677) | Gottfried Leibniz (1646-1716) | George Berkeley (1685-1753) | David Hume (1711-1776) | Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) |
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Professor Eric Sean
Nelson
Email: esnel at yahoo.com
Office: Olney
101b
Telephone: 978-934-3996
Spring Office Hours: MW 2:30-4:30pm and by appointment
Homepage:
http://faculty.uml.edu/enelson/index.html
Course Description
We will examine some of the central figures and questions of early modern European philosophy in this course, including its origins in the scientific revolution, and its cultural, religious and scientific contexts. We will explore movements such as the Mechanical Philosophy, Rationalism, Empiricism, and Transcendental/Critical Philosophy. Topics will include issues significant to philosophy, religion, and scientific inquiry such as the possibility and character of knowledge and scientific explanation, the nature of the human mind and personal identity, the possibility of a philosophical understanding of God and the self, and the debate between faith and reason.
The primary goals of this course are for students to:
(1) become familiar
with major themes and figures in early modern philosophy,
(2) develop skills in applying philosophical reflection to concrete problems,
(3) become proficient at writing essays and other assignments,
(4) detect and address weaknesses in arguments,
(5) collaborate with other students, and
(6) learn how to present and support ideas in public.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. Attendance, participation, in-class (individual or group) assignments: 20% of final grade.
Note that missing classes and not participating in class and group discussions will result in a lower final grade; attending and participating in classes will improve your final grade. There will be oral and written, individual and group, in-class assignments and take-home assignments based on the readings and class-discussion.
2. Four Exams: 80% of final grade.
Exams will be in-class or take-home. Grading will be based on (1) knowing the texts, my analysis and our discussions of them; (2) being able to make your own arguments and interpretations.
Need help? Feel free to talk with me after class, during office hours, or by arrangement. Also check out the following resource: Guide to the Study of Philosophy, http://www.philosophypages.com/sy.htm
Required Texts
1. MP: Roger Ariew and Eric Watkins (editors), Modern Philosophy: An Anthology of Primary Sources (Hackett; 0872204405)
SCHEDULE
1. Jan 24, 2007: Introduction to Early Modern Europe and to the Course
2. Jan 26: The Emergence of the New Sciences. Bacon and Galileo, Read MP, pages 4-11. Also see a general outline of the Scientific Revolution in the 17th Century at http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/SCIREV.html and Galileo Resources at http://galileo.rice.edu/
I. Doubt and Reason
3. Jan 29: Reason versus Religion? Read MP, (1-3); Descartes, 22-27
4. Jan 31: Universal Doubt. Read MP, Descartes, 27-34
5. Feb 2: From self to God. Read MP, Descartes, 34-41
6. Feb 5: From God to the World. Read MP, Descartes, 41-48
7. Feb 7: Mind, Body, and the Material World. Read MP, Descartes, 48-55. (Take-Home) Exam I due on Feb. 12.
Feb 9: No Class today, work on (Take-Home) Exam 1.
II. The Mechanical Philosophy and early Empiricism
8. Feb. 12: Boyle and the Corpuscular Philosophy. (Take-Home) Exam I due and read Boyle, MP, 262-269.
9. Feb. 14: University Closed because of Weather...
10. Feb. 16: Introduction to Locke, Empiricism, and Innate Ideas. Read Locke, MP, (259-260), 270-276
11. Feb 20 (Tuesday with Monday schedule): Simple and Complex Ideas. Read Locke, MP, 276-282
12. Feb. 21: Primary and Secondary Qualities. Read Locke, MP, 285-290
13. Feb. 23: Identity and Difference. Read Locke, MP, 320-329
III. God, Nature, and Freedom
14-15. Feb 26 and 28: Introduction to Spinoza and Spinoza's God. Read MP, (97-99); Spinoza, 129-140
16. March 2: Spinoza's God Continued, Read MP, 140-149
17. March 5: Mind and Freedom; Read MP, 169-175
18. March 7: Freedom and Eternity. Read Spinoza, MP, 175-180
19. March 9: (In-Class) Exam II
March 10-18: Spring Break (No classes)
IV. Reason and World: Leibniz, Newton, and Berkeley
20-21. March 19 and 21: Introduction to Leibniz and Discourse on Metaphysics. Read MP, (181-183); Leibniz, 184-193
22-23. March 23 and 26: Discourse Continued. Read Leibniz, MP, 195-201 (skip section 17) and In-Class Assignment
24. March 28: Discourse concluded. Read Leibniz, MP, 201-207
25. March 30: Monadology. Read Leibniz, MP, 235-243
26. April 2: Introduction to Berkeley and Newton and Berkeley on Motion. Read MP, Newton, 244-248; (386-388); Berkeley, 478-482
27. April 4: Motion continued and Principles of Human Knowledge. Read Berkeley, MP, 462-469.
28-29. April 6 and April 9: Principles Part I. Read Berkeley, MP, 470-477. Take-Home Exam III
V. Experience and Doubt
30. April 11: Introduction to Hume and Skeptical Empiricism. Read MP, (483-485); Hume, 491-499. Take-Home Exam III Due today in-class!
31. April 13: Ideas and Understanding. Read Hume, MP, 496-502
32. April 18: Understanding and Skeptical Solutions. Read Hume, MP, 502-512
April 16: Monday, Patriot's Day (University Closed)
33. April 20: Necessary Connection. Read Hume, MP, 514-522
34-35. April 23 and 25: Liberty and Necessity. Read Hume, MP, 522-532
April 27: Friday, University Day (No Classes)
VI. Beyond Rationalism and Empiricism? Kant's Copernican Revolution and Critical Philosophy
36. April 30: Introduction to Kant and Kant's Prefaces to the Critique of Pure Reason. Read MP, (573-577); Kant, 634-641
37. May 2: Introduction to the Critique of Pure Reason. Read Kant, MP, 641-647
38. May 4: No class today
39. May 7: Space and Time; The Transcendental Aesthetic. Read Kant, MP, 647-653
40. May 9: The Third Antimony. Read Kant, MP, 713-715 Course Evaluations and Exam IV distributed.
41. May 16: (Take-Home) Exam IV Due!