Winter 2003 Philosophy 18 (11 hour)

Contemporary Continental Philosophy: The Thought of the Outside

Rex Gilliland

Classroom: 212 Dartmouth Hall

Office: Thornton 208B

Phone: 646-9390

Office Hours: MW 3-4 pm and by appointment

Course Description: To what extent is it possible to articulate that which lies outside of thought? This course will provide an introduction to the central ideas of philosophers such as Heidegger, Levinas, Derrida, Deleuze, and Bergson by examining the various ways they attempt to answer this question, as seen in notions such as the open future, the alterity of the other person, the im-possible, and the virtual. Although these philosophers share the view that thought is constituted by its relation to something that exceeds it and that this makes possible the unexpected novelty of thought and experience, they differ on the relative significance they grant to intuition and conceptual understanding. We will explore the consequences for their respective theories of language and will evaluate their success in avoiding the paradoxes that confront the attempt to ‘think the unthinkable’.

Texts: (Available at Wheelock Books)

1. Martin Heidegger, Poetry, Language, Thought (New York: Harper and Row, 1971)

2. Martin Heidegger, On the Way to Language (New York: Harper and Row, 1982)

3. Emmanuel Levinas, Totality and Infinity (Pittsburgh: Duquesne University Press, 1969)

4. Emmanuel Levinas, Basic Philosophical Writings (Bloomington: Indiana Univ. Press, 1996)

5. Jacques Derrida, Margins of Philosophy (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1982)

6. Jacques Derrida, On Cosmopolitanism and Forgiveness (London: Routledge, 2001)

7. Henri Bergson, Matter and Memory (New York: Zone, 1991)

8. Henri Bergson, An Introduction to Metaphysics (Indianapolis: Hackett, 1999)

9. Course Reader

Requirements and Grading:

1. Regular attendance, participation in class discussions, and completing the assigned reading before class.

2. Two short papers (5-6 pages each) and one term paper (10-12 pages). Your grade will be based on the short papers (25% each) and the term paper (50%).

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.

Philosophy Paper Guidelines

Schedule

M 1/6 Introduction to the course

Heidegger and his Critics Heidegger Links

W 1/8 Selection from Introduction to Metaphysics (Reader)

Topics: Ontological difference, Dasein, the critique of presence

F 1/10 Levinas, “Is Ontology Fundamental?” (BPW)

Topics: The relative priority of ontology and ethics

M 1/13 Derrida, “The Ends of Man” (MP)

Topics: The residue of presence and the human in Heidegger

W 1/15 “Language” (PLT)

Topics: Unity and difference

F 1/17 “The Nature of Language” (WL)

Topics: The open, nearness and distance

M 1/20 Holiday – Moved to x hour

T 1/21 “The Nature of Language” cont.

W 1/22 “The Way to Language” (WL)

Topics: Freedom, the bind, and responsiveness

F 1/24 “The End of Philosophy and the Beginning of Thinking” (Reader)

Topics: The critique of metaphysics

M 1/27 Review Session; Paper #1 due T 1/28 Paper Guidelines and Suggested Topics

Levinas Levinas Links

W 1/29 “The Old and the New” (Reader)

Theme: Novelty

F 1/31 Selections from Totality and Infinity

Themes: Sensibility, language, enjoyment and freedom

M 2/3 Selections from Totality and Infinity

Themes: Ethics and the face

T 2/4 “Enigma and Philosophy” (BPW), handout

Themes: Derrida’s ‘critique’ of Levinas, the saying and the said

W 2/5 “Substitution” (BPW)

Themes: The shift from fecundity to being held hostage; the relation of ethics and justice

F 2/7 Carnival – Moved to x hour

Derrida Derrida Links

M 2/10 “Différance” (MP)

Themes: Difference, iterability

W 2/12 “The Politics of Friendship” (Reader)

Themes: Alterity and responsibility

F 2/14 “Deconstructions – The Im-possible” (Reader)

Theme: The logic of the aporia

M 2/17 “The Force of Law”; recommended “Hospitality, Justice, and Responsibility” (Reader)

Theme: Undecidability

T 2/18 “On Cosmopolitanism” (CF)

Theme: The ethics of hospitality

W 2/19 Review Session

F 2/21 Moved to x hour; Paper #2 due Suggested Paper Topics

Deleuze and Bergson Deleuze and Bergson Links

M 2/24 Selections from Difference and Repetition (Reader)

Themes: The virtual and the actual, difference and repetition

W 2/26 An Introduction to Metaphysics 21-49

Themes: Duration and intuition

F 2/28 Matter and Memory Ch. 2

Theme: Memory and image recognition

M 3/3 Matter and Memory Ch. 2 cont.

W 3/5 Matter and Memory Ch. 3

Theme: The recollection of images

F 3/7 Matter and Memory Ch. 3 cont.

Term Paper due Monday 3/10 at noon Suggested Paper Topics