PHL 210Y
17th- and 18th-Century Philosophy

This course provides an introduction to the history of early modern philosophy, a period spanning the 17th and 18th centuries. Many of the questions that define contemporary debates, such as the nature of knowledge and certainty, can be traced to the writings of Descartes, Locke, Hume and Kant and other philosophers of this period. The course begins by setting the context for questioning the nature of knowledge and goes on to examine the views of both the rationalists, who believed all knowledge had its origin in innate ideas, and the empiricists, who claimed that knowledge was ultimately based on experience. We conclude with an analysis of Kant’s philosophical position which involved an attempt to synthesise rationalism and empiricism into a coherent philosophical system.

Text

Steven M. Cahn, Classics of Western Philosophy. Hackett, 2002.

Short additional readings may also be assigned; in such cases, the readings will either be provided by the instructor or can be found online.

Requirements and Expectations

Course Requirements

First Term Test 25%

Second Term Test 25%

First Term Essay 15%

Second Term Essay25%

Tutorial Participation 10%

Lateness Penalty for Essays 2% per day of lateness, unless otherwise stated.

Reading and Thinking This course is built around the reading, discussion, and analysis of some of the great works of early modern philosophy in the West. It is absolutely essential for students to keep up with the reading. It should also be noted that the reading skills required to read philosophy well are not the same as those required to read the morning newspaper. Part of the purpose of this course is to help you to develop these necessary reading skills; however, this requires that you put more effort (in terms of critical thought and reflection) into your reading that you otherwise might. The philosophical texts we will be looking are full of interesting ideas and arguments by some of history's most brilliant people. Reading them is always rewarding; but they require commitments of time and critical thought.

Academic Offenses Please take the time to read the relevant information on Plagiarism and Other Academic Offenses.

Approximate Schedule for First Term

[Note: After each class I post the readings for next class on the main page. I will sometimes also include optional supplementary readings, for those who are interested.]

Preliminaries for Course.

Early Modern Background.

Descartes, Meditations 1 & 2.

Descartes, Meditations 3 & 4.

Descartes, Meditations 5 & 6.

Spinoza. (Ethics, Part I)

Malebranche. (Reading TBA)

Leibniz, Discourse 1-7. (Essay Due = November 8)

Leibniz, Discourse 8-22.

Leibniz, Discourse 23-37.

Leibniz, Monadology.

Exam. (December 6 = last day of class)