(Philosophy 122)
Philosophy may be born in wonder, but it is kept alive by dissatisfaction, by the feeling that our predecessors and contemporaries have not got things straight, and that some better answer can be found to the questions which perplex us. To understand a philosopher it is essential to find out what his questions were and why he was dissatisfied with existing answers to them.
Edwin Curley
| Text | Modern Philosophy, 4th edition, Forrest Baird and Walter Kaufmann (eds.) |
| References | The Routledge
Encyclopedia of Philosophy (R 103 R86) The Encyclopedia of Philosophy (R 103 E56) The Oxford Companion to Philosophy (R 103 O98h) The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy (R 103 C17d) |
| Requirements | Each student will
write a brief (4 or 5 sentences) analytic summary of each reading assignment. These should
be about half of a double-spaced typed page in length—not more than one hand-written
page. They are due at the beginning of each class meeting and will not be accepted
later. They may be sent to class or put in my mail box if you cannot make it to
class. They are to be done only as the result of the student’s own reading of
the assigned texts. Each student will write a term paper (8-12 double-spaced pages) on a topic selected by the student in consultation with the teacher. Suggested topics will be given on February 2, and the paper will be due no later than 4 p.m. April 23. |
| Exams | The first exam, covering Descartes, Spinoza, and Leibniz, will be on February 18. The second, covering Locke and Berkeley will be on March 30. The final exam will cover Hume and Kant. |
| Grades | Analytic Summaries: 1/5 Three Exams: 1/5 each Term Paper 1/5 |
| Attendance | Each absence beyond two will lower the course grade by 1.5 points on a standard 100-point scale. Being late three times will count as one absence. |
| Office | PS 307 1:30-3:30 MWF, 10:30-11:30 TTh, and by appointment |
Reading Assignments
| Date | Author | Reading | Pages |
| Jan. 19 | Descartes | Meditation I | 19-22 |
| Jan. 21 | Descartes | Meditations II and III | 23-38 |
| Jan. 26 | Descartes | Meditations IV and VI | 38-43, 47-57 |
| Jan. 28 | Spinoza | Definitions, Axioms, Prop. 1-15 | 118-126(line 1:…attributes.) |
| Feb. 02 | Spinoza | Propositions 16-36 | 127-137 |
| Feb. 04 | Spinoza | Appendix and Letters | 137-141 and photocopies |
| Feb. 09 | Leibniz | Discourse: Sections 1-9 | 249-255 |
| Feb. 11 | Leibniz | Sections 13-16, 19-22 | 257-261, 263-265 |
| Feb. 16 | Leibniz | Sections 26-37 | 269-277 |
| Feb. 18 | First Exam | ||
| Feb. 23 | Locke | Intro; Book II: Ch 1,8 | 173-174, 178-180, 187-190 |
| Feb. 25 | Locke | Bk II: Ch 21, 23 | 196(7)-200(25), 204-207(30) |
| Mar. 02 | Locke | Bk IV: Ch 1-2 | 221-222(7), 224-225(7), 226(14) |
| Mar. 04 | Locke | Bk IV: Ch 10, 18 | 228-230, 235-240 |
| Spring Break | |||
| Mar. 16 | Berkeley | Preface, Intro, Sect. 1-15 | 295-297(5), 305-309 |
| Mar. 18 | Berkeley | Sections 16-40 | 309-315 |
| Mar. 23 | Berkeley | Sections 85-96, 135-149 | 326-329, 340-343 |
| Mar. 25 | Hume | Enquiry: Sect. 1, 4(2¶'s) | 349-355, 359 |
| Mar. 30 | Hume | Sections 4-5(Part I) | 360-370 |
| April 01 | Hume | Section 8 | 385-396 |
| April 06 | Second Exam | ||
| April 08 | Hume | Section 10 | 398-409 |
| April 13 | Hume | Sections 11, 12(Part III) | 410-417, 423-425 |
| April 15 | Hume | Dialogues: Parts 2, 4-5 | 433-439, 442-448 |
| April 20 | Hume | Part 10 | 460-465 |
| April 22 | Kant | Prolegomena: Intro, 1-2 | 532-541 |
| April 27 | Kant | 5-11, Remark II, 14-17 | 543-547, 550-551, 553-555 |
| April 29 | Kant | Sections 57-59 | 584-591 |