Early Modern Philosophy

EARLY MODERN PHILOSOPHY 301-01 (Course ID# 000136)

Winona State University Fall 2009

T H 12:30-1:50 PM Minne 102

Instructor: Ed Slowik

Office: 325 Minne Hall Phone: 457-5663

Office hours: M 3:30-4:30 PM, and T 6:30-7:30 PM, and by appointment.

Required Texts:

R. Ariew & E. Watkins, eds., Modern Philosophy (Hackett)

G. Thomson, Bacon to Kant: An Introduction to Modern Philosophy (Waveland)

Course Description:

The Early Modern period of philosophy has its origins in the 16th and 17th centuries, and reaches its high point in the works of late 18th-century thinkers. We will examine in detail a few seminal philosophical works of this period: some from the “Continental Rationalists”, namely Descartes, Spinoza, and Leibniz; and some from the “British Empiricists”, such as Locke, Berkeley, and Hume. We will also examine Kant, who many believe was the last great Early Modern philosopher. Our aim will be not only to understand the specific points these philosophers were trying to make, but also to see how their views have profoundly influenced ours on a variety of issues, particularly those problems concerning the nature of reality, mind and matter, and science and knowledge.

Requirements:

Two short papers (5-7 pages, double-spaced) on a topic provided by the instructor (20% each), a term paper (30%), an in-class midterm (20%), and participation and attendance (10%). The paper is 10-15 pages double-spaced, on a topic checked with the instructor. The due dates of the exams and paper are provided below. Although not required, I strongly encourage that you give me rough drafts of your paper, since it will greatly increase the chances of getting a good grade. People who don't show up for class will fair poorly on that 10% of the overall grade devoted to class attendance and participation. The mid-term will be of the short-answer and essay type, and their will be a review on the day before the exam.

Web Page:

Class notes, and other information on the course, will be posted on a web page. The information will pertain to: syllabus, class notes, term paper assignment, and tips for writing a philosophy paper. The address is: http://course1.winona.edu/eslowik

Phil 301 satisfies both the General Education and University Studies requirements in the Humanities category. Students can review the University Studies criteria satisfied by this course either by checking the WSU main web page or by stopping in the Philosophy Department (Minne 329).

Class Schedule:

The primary readings will be fairly extensive, and the material difficult, but the Thomson book should help greatly. The class notes/discussion will be a great resource for helping to elucidate this material. (Below, "A&W" refers to Ariew and Watkins.)

Week 1: (Aug. 25, 27)—Introduction (Tues.), overview of philosophy before the Early Modern period. A&W, chap. 1: Bacon, Galileo (Thurs.); Thomson, chap. 10.

Week 2: (Sept. 1, 3)—Begin Descartes. A&W, chap. 1: Descartes' Meditations(Tues., Meditations I and II; Thurs., Meditations III and IV); Thomson, chap. 1-3.

Week 3: (Sept. 8, 10)—Descartes continued (Tues., Meditations V and VI; Thurs., Objections and Replies, III and IV). First short-paper assignment handed out (Sep. 8).

Week 4: (Sept. 15, 17)—Descartes continued, Hobbes (Tues., Spinoza, Descartes' Principles of Philosophy; Leibniz, "On Descartes"; Thurs., Hobbes, Leviathan, A&W, chap. 2).

Week 5: (Sept. 22, 24)—Spinoza, A&W, chap. 2 (Tues.; Letters to Oldenberg, Ethics I; Thurs., Ethics II, V); Thomson, chap. 4-6.

Week 6: (Sept. 29. Oct. 1)—Leibniz, A&W, chap. 3 (Tues., Leibniz, Discourse on Metaphysics, 1-20; Thurs., Discourse on Metaphysics, 20-37); Thomson, chap. 7-9. First short-paper assignment due (Sept. 29). No class on Oct. 1.

Week 7: (Oct. 6, 8)—Leibniz continued (Tues., Letters to Arnauld, Primary Truths; Thurs., New System of Nature, Monadology). Mid-term: Oct. 8.

Week 8: (Oct. 13, 15)—Locke, A&W, chap. 4 (Tues., An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Bk. I, Bk. II chap. 1; Thurs., Essay..., Bk. II, chap. 2, 8); Thomson, chap. 13-15.

Week 9: (Oct. 20, 22)—Locke continued (Tues., Essay..., Bk. II, chap. 11, 12, 23; Thurs., Essay..., Bk. IV, chap. 3, 4, 10, 11, 15; Leibniz, New Essays). Second short-paper assignment handed out (Oct. 20).

Week 10: (Oct. 27, 29)—Berkeley, A&W, chap. 5 (Tues., Malebranche, Search after Truth; Thurs., Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous, First Dialogue); Thompson, chap. 16-17.

Week 11: (Nov. 3, 5)—Berkeley continued (Tues., Three Dialogues..., Second Dialogue; Thurs., Three Dialogues..., Third Dialogue; Principles of Human Knowledge).

Week 12: (Nov. 10, 12)—Hume, A&W, chap. 6 (Tues., An Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Sections I-IV; Thurs., Inquiry..., Sections V-VII; A Treatise on Human Nature, various sections); Thompson, chap. 18-20. Second short-essay due (Nov. 10).

Week 13: (Nov. 17, 19)—Kant, A&W, chap. 7 (Tues., Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics, pp. 579-597; Thurs., Prolegomena..., pp. 597-633); Thompson, chap. 21-24.

Week 14: (Nov. 24) NO CLASS on T, Nov. 24.

Week 15: (Dec. 1, 3)—Kant continued, and the aftermath; (Tues., Critique of Pure Reason ; Thurs., class-handout)

Papers are due at the scheduled time of final exams: Monday, Dec. 7, 10:30 AM-12:30 PM

Paper Assignment #1 (5-7 pages; Due date:)

Paper Assignment #2 (5-7 pages; Due Date:)

Term Paper

Early Modern Philosophy/PHIL 301/WSU

The papers should be typed, double spaced, and from 10 to 15 pages in length (10 pages minimum, no maximum length). The papers are due on the day of the final exam.

There are many ways to write a philosophy paper. But, you will need to accomplish the following: (1) Choose a specific philosophical problem or issue; (2) discuss in great detail both sides of the debate (what they believe and why); (3) offer any problems or criticisms that you can think of (or have researched) for both sides of this debate--this is important: you must spend time critically examining both sides of the dispute; (4) you may want to offer your own views (that is, which side you favor), but this is not required; however, make sure you explain why you favor a particular theory or viewpoint, if you do say what you personally believe. People are free to write on most subjects. Yet, I want all students to check their topics with me. Also, I encourage all students to submit rough drafts of their papers for critical comments. Students who work with me on their papers usually receive the best grades.

1) Pick an issue from the material that we are not going to cover in class and examine both sides of the issue (or as many viewpoints as are represented). That is, you will need to critically examine the issue in detail and offer any problems and counter-replies that you can think of during your discussion.

2) You can pick an issue from the material that we have already discussed in class, but did not have time to cover in depth. However, only pick this option if you have something original to say. I don't want people merely repeating what they have in their notes or what Thompson states in his books--I want you to examine aspects of the debate that we haven't discussed, or have barely discussed, and from your personal perspective.

3) You can pick a topic of interest that relates to the early modern philosophers that we are covering, but which involves a comparison of one of our early modern thinkers with a thinker, or school of thought, from a different era (e.g., compare and contrast Descartes and twentieth century positivism, etc.). Also, you can show how the work of the early modern thinkers influenced, relates to, etc., the work of other philosophers or areas of human endeavor (arts, sciences, etc.).