The Age of Reason: Early Modern Philosophy

 

 

Philosophy 306

Fall 2006

TR 1:50 – 3:05 pm

 

Rex Gilliland                                                                            

Classroom: EN B220

Office: Engleman D210                                                            

Phone: 392-6783                                                                                            

Office Hours: MW 3:15 – 4:45 pm, TTh 12:45 – 1:45 pm, and by appointment.

Email: gillilandr1@southernct.edu                                                                

 

 

Course Description: The 17th and 18th centuries are arguably the defining period of European history because they contribute the basic model of science and the ideals of intellectual and political enlightenment that are still dominant today. Similarly, early modern debates in epistemology (e.g., between rationalism and empiricism) and metaphysics (about the relation of mind to body and the existence and nature of causality, substance, God, free will, and personal identity) still exert a heavy influence upon contemporary philosophical discussions. In this course, we will examine these debates and their historical development, considering the impact of the emergence of a mechanistic conception of scientific explanation, as well as their relation to seemingly unrelated developments in ethics and social/political philosophy, and the cultural, economic, and political shifts occurring during this period. The objective of the course is to develop the students’ understanding of the central figures and topics of early modern philosophy and the historical reasons why these topics emerged and became prominent, in order to provide a foundation for the students’ future studies in philosophy.

 

           

Texts:

1. Modern Philosophy: An Anthology of Primary Sources, ed. Roger Ariew and Eric Watkins (Indianapolis: Hackett, 1998), ISBN 0-87220-440-5, $36.95

2. All other readings will be available for printout on the SCSU Library Electronic Reserves.

 

 

Grading:         Attendance and                                               

     Class Participation               20%                            

                        Papers                                      80%                            

 

A+ 97-100; A 93-96; A- 90-92; B+ 87-89; B 83-86; B-80-82; C+ 77-79; C 73-76; C- 70-72; D+ 67-69; D 63-66; D- 60-62; F 0-59

 

The majority of your grade will be based on 5 or 6 papers (minimum 20 full pages in total). Topics will be chosen in consultation with the instructor, and there is a possibility of combining two of the assignments into a longer paper.

Prompt and consistent attendance and informed participation in class discussion is expected: After the second absence, your final grade will be reduced. (Tardies, leaving early, and excused absences will count as half-absences.) You are required to do the reading before class and to bring it with you to class.

All cell phones, music players, ear pieces/headphones, and other electronic devices must be turned off and put away during class time. I will consider requests to record the class or take notes on a computer (as long as the devices are only used for these purposes).

I strongly encourage students with disabilities, including invisible disabilities like chronic diseases and learning disabilities, to discuss with me after class or during my office hours appropriate accommodations that might be helpful to them.

 

 

 

Secondary Sources

 

Tips on Essay Writing

 

Key to Writing Errors and Abbreviations

 

Tentative Schedule

 

R 9/7                Introduction to Course

 

Descartes

 

T 9/12              Introduction 1-3; Bacon, New Organon 4-7; Galileo, “Corpuscularism” 8-11; Descartes, Discourse on Method 12-21

                        Topic: Mechanism and the philosophy of science

(W 9/13   Deadline for Add/Drop)

R 9/14              Meditations on First Philosophy, Introduction, 1st-2nd Meds., 22-34; Objections and Replies 56-66

                        Topic: The method of doubt, the cogito

T 9/19              3rd Med. 34-41; Objections and Replies cont. 66-80; Spinoza Descartes’ Principles of Philosophy 81-6

                        Topic: The ontological argument for God’s existence                                                                                         Handout

R 9/21              4th-6th Meds. 41-55; Leibniz “Letters” 87-93; Pascal “The Wager” 94-6

                        Topic: The argument for the existence of the external world

 

Spinoza

 

T 9/26              Introduction 97-99; Hobbes, Leviathan 100-21; Spinoza, Letters 122-8

                        Topic: Hobbes’ materialism; infinite substance

R 9/28              The Ethics Pt. I, 129-49

                        Topic: God and nature

T 10/3              The Ethics Pts. II & V, 149-80                                                                                    Descartes Paper Guidelines

                        Topic: The human mind and freedom

 

Leibniz

 

R 10/5              Introduction 181-3; Discourse on Metaphysics 184-207

                        Topic: Infinite and finite substance, i.e., God and monads

T 10/10            Letters to Arnauld 208-24; Primary Truths 225-8; New System of Nature 229-34

                        Topic: Knowledge; the necessity of particular finite substances

R 10/12            No Class

T 10/17            The Monadology 235-43; Newton, Principia 244-8; Letters to Clarke 249-58

                        Topic: Principles of reason; the debate between Leibniz and Newton on God, space, and time

 

Locke

 

R 10/19            Introduction 259-61; Boyle, Mechanical Philosophy 262-9; Locke, Essay Concerning Human Understanding Pt. I, 270-6

                        Topic: Mechanism; critique of innate ideas

T 10/24            ECHU Pt. II, Chs. I-XIV, 276-301

                        Topic: The origin of all ideas in sensation and reflection; primary and secondary qualities

R 10/26            ECHU Pt. II, Chs. XXI-XXVII, 301-329

                        Topic: Personal identity, free will, causality

T 10/31            ECHU Pt. III, & Pt. IV, Chs. I-IV, 329-58                                                                  Spinoza and Leibniz Paper Guidelines

                        Topic: Nominalism; the nature of knowledge

R 11/2              ECHU Pt. IV, Chs. X-XVI, 358-73; Leibniz, New Essays 374-85

                        Topic: The sorts of things we are capable of knowing; Leibniz’s defense of innate ideas

(F 11/3   Deadline to Withdraw)

 

Berkeley

 

T 11/7              Introduction 386-8; Malebranche, Search after Truth 389-412; Berkeley, Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous Preface & 1st Dialogue, 413-33

                        Topic: God’s central role in causation, perception, and knowledge; idealism and the critique of Locke’s notion of primary and secondary qualities

R 11/9              TDHP 2nd-3rd Dialogues, 433-61

                        Topic: How God’s perception preserves the existence of things

T 11/14            Principles of Human Knowledge 462-77; On Motion 478-82                                    Locke Paper Guidelines

                        Topic: Ideas and knowledge; the nature of motion

 

Hume

 

R 11/16            Introduction 483-5; Bayle, Dictionary 486-90; Hume, An Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding Secs. I-V, 491-512

                        Topic: Skepticism and the critique of causality

T 11/21            ICHU Secs. VI-IX, 512-534

                        Topic: Compatibilism

R 11/23            Thanksgiving

T 11/28            ICHU Secs. X-XII, 534-557

                        Topic: Critique of miracles; delimiting skepticism

R 11/30            A Treatise on Human Nature 558-72; Reid, Essays on the Intellectual Powers of Man (available on Electronic Reserve)

                        Topic: Critique of personal identity; Reid’s common-sense critique of the theory of ideas

 

Kant

           

T 12/5              Diderot, D’Alembert’s Dream (available on Electronic Reserve); Introduction 573-8;

                        Topic: The French and German Enlightenment; Kant’s transcendental idealism

R 12/7              Critique of Pure Reason 2nd edition, Preface & Introduction 640-6; Prolegomena to any Future Metaphysics Preface & Preample, 579-590

                        Topic: Knowledge and synthetic apriori judgments

T 12/12            Prolegomena Pts. I and II, 590-612                                                                            Berkeley and Hume Paper Guidelines

                        Topic: Intuitions of space and time; the categories of judgment

R 12/14            Prolegomena Pt. III, Conclusion, & Scholium, 612-633

                        Topic: The antinomies and the limits of metaphysics

 

Final Exam     T 12/19            12:45 – 2:45 pm                                                                                  Kant Paper Guidelines