Calendar of Readings
PHIL 272: History of
Modern Western Philosophy
Dr. McWhorter
Spring, 2004
These texts are available in the campus bookstore: Ariew & Watkins, Modern Philosophy: An Anthology of Primary Sources and Hegel, Texts and Commentary
Some course texts, as well as some supplementary material, are available on-line, as indicated in the syllabus below.
January 12:
Introduction to the Course and to Descartes; no reading
assignment. You can learn more about Galileo
and his work on the web. You may also want to read the first two
parts of Descartes' Discourse on Method, where he describes
the process he went through as he attempted to develop his philosophical
views; this material is available in Ariew & Watkins, pp.
12-19.
January 14:
Descartes, Meditations
(Ariew & Watkins, 22-30). This text is also available (in
the Haldane translation) on-line. Students of Latin or French
can read the Latin
and French versions on-line. The main issue for today's discussion
is Descartes' Method of Doubt.
January 16:
Descartes, Meditation
II and Objections and Replies to Meditation II (Ariew
& Watkins, 30-34 and 63-66). Descartes' text on-line is also
the Haldane translation. The two main issues for today's discussion
are: (1) Descartes' conclusions about the nature of knowledge
as he contemplates the ball of wax and (2) the logic of Descartes'
move from the existence of the thinking thing to the existence
of God.
January 19:
Descartes, Meditations
III and Objections and Replies to Meditation III (Ariew
& Watkins, 34-41 and 66-70). For discussion: Descartes' method
of classification of ideas and the move beyond solipsism.
January 21:
Descartes, Meditations
IV and V (Ariew & Watkins, 41-48). For discussion:
Descartes' account of error and his ontological proof for the
existence of God.
January 23:
Descartes, Meditation
VI and Spinoza, Descartes' Principles of Philosophy
(Ariew & Watkins, 48-55 and 81-85). For discussion: Does
Descartes succeed in establishing that we have knowledge of the
"external world"? What are the ramifications of mind/body
dualism? (For more on the subsequent
history of mind/body dualism in philosophy, psychology, and
neuroscience, visit Bryn Mawr's website on the subject.)
January 26:
QUIZ!!!!!!!
January 28:
Introduction to Spinoza (Ariew & Watkins, 97-99).
Topics for discussion include the conditions for Jews in Europe
in the sixteenth century and the political policies of the government
of the Netherlands. The text of Spinoza's
excommunication order is on-line.
January 30:
Spinoza, Ethics (Ariew & Watkins, 129-149).
The entire text of the Ethics
is available online. Today's topic is Spinoza's conception of
substance in contrast to Descartes' conception.
February 2:
Spinoza, Ethics
(Ariew & Watkins, 149-162 through Proposition 31). The
question for today is: If there is only one substance, and it
is God, then what is the world around us?
February 4:
Spinoza, Ethics
(Ariew & Watkins, 162-172). What is it to know?
February 6:
Spinoza, Ethics
(Ariew & Watkins, 172-180). Our special guest speaker is Dr.
Gary Shapiro. For some interesting exercises
in Spinozistic thinking, check out the webpage of a modern-day
spinozan, Joseph Yesselman.
February 9:
Introduction to Leibniz (Ariew & Watkins, 181-183) and the
Monadology
(Ariew & Watkins, 235-243). For more about Enlightenment
science, visit this U. Penn site. For more on Leibniz
and the history of mathematics, check out this essay by W.W.
Rouse Ball.
February 11:
Leibniz, Discourse on Metaphysics, sections 1-13
(Ariew & Watkins, 184-192). Leibniz rejects both Descartes'
and Spinoza's accounts of substance, but the one he offers seems
to threaten the notion of freedom of the will.
February 13:
Leibniz, Discourse on Metaphysics, sections 14-25
(Ariew & Watkins, 192-200). You can participate in Leibniz
discussions on-line. Maybe there you can determine whether
this really is the best of all possible worlds.
February 16:
Leibniz, Discourse on Metaphysics, sections 26-37
(Ariew & Watkins, 200-207) and "Letter to Arnauld (Ariew
& Watkins, 208-214). Today's discussion will be on Leibniz's
conception of bodies and matter and his argument against Newton's
principles of absolute time and space.
February 18:
Introduction to Locke (Ariew & Watkins, 259-261).
Today's discussion will concern Locke's relationships with the
First Earl of Shaftesbury and William of Orange and his role in
Monmouth's Rebellion and the Glorious Revolution.
February 20:
Locke, An
Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Book I (Ariew &
Watkins, 270-276). Locke develops a new philosophical approach
to the acquisition of knowledge and tries to distance himself
from the Cartesians by attacking the presumption that some of
our ideas are innate. But is he successful?
February 23:
Locke, An
Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Book II, chapters
1-6, 12 (Ariew & Watkins, 276-284, 293-295). Today's discussion
will focus on Locke's account of the mind and of learning.
February 25:
Locke, An
Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Book II, chapters
23 (Ariew & Watkins, 312-320). Today we will continue our
discussion of Locke's theory of knowledge.
February 27:
NO CLASS: Mellon Fellowships Interviews in Washington,
D.C.
March 1:
Locke, An
Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Book IV, chapters
1-2, 10-11 (Ariew & Watkins, 339-345, 358-367). Today we will
examine Locke's attempt to prove the existence of God.
March 3:
EXAM!
SPRING BREAK!
March 15:
Introduction to Hume; An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding,
sections 1 & 2 (Ariew & Watkins, 483, 491-498). You can
read Hume's
own brief account of his life, written in 1776, on-line.
March 17:
Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding,
sections 4 - 5(i) (Ariew & Watkins, 499-509). Today's topic
for discussion is Hume's account of the order of our ideas; does
the order come from God, from material substance, or from someplace
else?
March 19:
Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding,
section 7 (Ariew & Watkins, 514-522). Today's topic is Hume's
critique of inductive reasoning and his argument against the empirical
reality of cause and effect. This is the material that changed
Western philosophy forever by jolting Kant out of his "dogmatic
slumber."
March 22:
Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding,
section 10-11 (Ariew & Watkins, 534-550). The topic of discussion
for today is Hume's analysis of miracles and his arguments against
the traditional proofs for the existence of God.
March 24:
Introduction to Kant; Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics
(Ariew & Watkins, 573-577, 579-583).
March 26:
Kant, Prolegomena (Ariew & Watkins, 583-592
through paragraph 11; 597-602, stop at paragraph 23). Today's
topic is synthetic and analytic judgments.
March 29:
Kant, Prolegomena (Ariew & Watkins, 602-612).
Today's topic is Kant's analysis of the structures of the human
mind, including the forms of the intuition and the categories
of the understanding.
March 31:
Kant, Prolegomena (Ariew & Watkins, 617-630);
discussion of Hume and Kant
Essay.
April 2-7:
NO CLASS: Professorial speaking engagement, UT-Austin;
students are to work on their Hume
and Kant Essay.
April 9:
Kant, Critique
of Pure Reason, (Ariew & Watkins, 734-749). Today
we will examine Kant's argument against all traditional proofs
for the existence of God and his claim that no one has justification
for claiming to know that God exists. We will also examine his
argument for belief in God in the absence of knowledge.
April 12:
Introduction to Hegel. For a wide variety of information about
Hegel, check out the Hegel
Society of America site. You can see portraits
of Hegel online. Hume
and Kant Essay Due!
April 14:
Hegel, Texts and Commentary, 6-39. Our textbook consists
of the Preface to The Phenomenology of Mind plus some commentary
by Walter Kaufmann, a noted Hegel scholar. You can read both the
preface and the entirety of The
Phenomenology of Mind online.
April 16:
Hegel, Texts and Commentary, 40-74.
April 19:
Hegel, Texts and Commentary, 74-110.
April 21:
Wrap-up Day on Hegel.
April 23:
Wrap-up Day for Course.
April 2x:
Comprehensive Final
Exam!
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