Instructor: Prof. Shane Drefcinski
Office: 339 Gardner Hall
Office Hours: MWF 12-2; TR 1-2
Office Phone: 342-1828
FAX: 608-342-1427
E-Mail: Drefcins@uwplatt.edu

Course Description: This course is a survey of the principal thinkers and movements of Western Philosophy from the Renaissance to the 20th century.  Particular emphasis is given to Rene Descartes, John Locke, David Hume, and Immanuel Kant.

Student Learning Objectives:
Students who successfully complete this course will:
• Acquire a basic understanding of the history of modern Western philosophy, from its origins in the 16th century through the 20th century.
• Demonstrate an ability to think critically through a careful examination of difficult philosophical texts.
• Demonstrate an ability to present their ideas and arguments effectively, both orally and in writing.

Required Texts:
Both of these textbooks are available in the Textbook Center
• Philosophical Classics, Vol. III: Modern Philosophy, 4th ed., ed. Forrest Baird and Walter Kaufmann, (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 2003).
• Philosophical Classics, Vol. IV: 19th Century Philosophy, 3rd ed., ed. Forrest Baird and Walter Kaufmann, (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 2003).
Other readings will be provided.

Grading:
     Grades will be based on four factors: (1) two exams, (2) five short quizzes, (3) a paper and (4) class participation.  The exams are “take-home” and are each worth 100 points.  The four short quizzes are worth a total of 50 points.  The paper, which is to be 5-7 pages in length, is worth 100 points.  Finally, class participation is worth 50 points.

Policy on Quizzes, Late Papers and Incompletes: Students who miss a quiz will not be allowed to take it later.  However, if the student anticipates missing a quiz, arrangements can be made to take the quiz early.  Late papers and late exams will be penalized.   Incompletes will not be routinely assigned for unfinished course work.  In order to receive an incomplete the student must consult with me before the week of final exams and provide an acceptable reason why the course work cannot be completed. Finally, any student who may need an accommodation due to a disability should see me. A VISA from Services for Students with Disabilities authorizing your accommodations will be needed.
 
 

January 18             Introduction: The Beginning of the Modern Era
January 20             Realpolitik: Niccoló Machiavelli (1469-1527), The Prince and The Discourses (handout);
                             Skepticism: Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592), "Apology for Raimond Sebond" (handout).

January 25            Early Modern Science: Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), The Assayer (handout);
                             Francis Bacon (1561-1626), The Great Instauration of  Human Control Over the Universe (Baird, Modern Philosophy, pp. 1-8).
                            Rationalism: Rene Descartes (1596-1650), Meditations on First Philosophy, Meditation I (Baird, pp. 9-22).
January 27            Rene Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy, Meditations II-III (Baird, pp. 23-38).

February 1           Rene Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy, Meditations IV-VI (Baird, pp. 38-57);
                            Correspondence with Princess Elizabeth (Baird, pp. 57-61).
February 3          Materialism: Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), Leviathan, Part I, chapters 1-3, 6, 9 (Baird, pp. 62-78).

February 8          Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan, Part I, chapters 12-15; Part II, chapters 17-18, 21 (Baird, pp. 78-103).
February 10        Proto-Existentialism: Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), Pensées (Baird, pp. 104-115).

February 15        Rationalism: Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677), Ethics I (Baird, pp. 116-141); selections from Ethics IV-V (handout).
February 17         Gottfried Leibniz (1646-1716), Theodicy, Monadology (Baird, pp. 246-249, 277-292).

February 22        Empiricism: John Locke (1632-1704), An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, selections from Books I-II (Baird, pp. 170-214).
February 24        John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, selections from Books III-IV,
                           selections from Second Treatise on Government (Baird, pp. 215-245).

March 1            George Berkeley (1685-1753), A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge (Baird, pp. 293-313).
                          David Hume (1711-1776), An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, sections I-IV (Baird, pp. 346-366).
March 3             David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, sections V-VII (Baird, pp. 366-384).

March 8            David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, sections VIII-XII (Baird, pp. 385-425).
March 10          Thomas Reid (1710-1796), Essays on the Intellectual Powers of Man (Baird, pp. 480-490).  Exam #1 due.

March 15        Romantic Naturalism: Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778), Discourse on the Origins of Inequality (handout;
                        The Social Contract (Baird, pp. 491-502).

March 17         Transcendental Idealism: Immanuel Kant (1724-1804), Critique of Pure Reason, Preface, Introduction (Baird, pp. 503-524).

March 29         Immanuel Kant, Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics, Introduction and Part I (Baird, pp. 532-553).
March 31         Immanuel Kant, Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics, Part II (Baird, pp. 553-571).

April 5             Immanuel Kant, Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics, Part III (Baird, pp. 571-603).
April 7             Immanuel Kant, Foundations for the Metaphysics of Morals, Part I (Baird, pp. 607-614).

April 12         Classical Feminism: Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797), A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, (Baird, Nineteenth-Century Philosophy, pp. 14-20).
                      Absolute Idealism: Georg Friedrich Wilhelm Hegel (1770-1831), Phenomenology of Spirit (Independence and Dependence of
                        Self-Consciousness), Reason in History (Baird, pp. 39-48, 61-92).
April 14         “Metaphysical Pessimism”:Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860), The World as Will and Idea (Baird, pp. 97-124).

April 19         Positivism: Auguste Comte (1798-1857), Introduction to Positive Philosophy (Baird, pp. 125-138). Paper Due.
                     Dialectical Materialism: Karl Marx (1818-1883), Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844 (Baird, pp. 308-340).
April 21         Libertarianism: John Stuart Mill (1806-1873), On Liberty, chapters 1, 4 (Baird, pp. 148-151, 190-199, 233-244).

April 26         Existentialism: Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855), Fear and Trembling, Concluding Unscientific Postscript,
                     The Present Age (Baird, pp. 263-307).
April 28          Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), The Birth of Tragedy, The Genealogy of Morals (Baird, pp. 447-476).

May 3         Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Twilight of the Idols, The Anti-Christ (Baird, pp. 476-498).
May  5        Concluding remarks.

Final Exam due on Tuesday, May 10.