Philosophy (PHIL) 342

Overview

Philosophy 342: Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Philosophy explores the ideas and arguments developed by a group of very influential Western thinkers in the Modern Era. The course focuses on the metaphysical and epistemological views of figures including Rene Descartes, John Locke, Baruch Spinoza and Immanuel Kant. Metaphysical questions concern the nature of reality. What is real? How can we tell the difference between reality and illusion? Are minds and brains made of different “stuff” or are they essentially the same things? Epistemological questions concern human knowledge. What is it for information to count as knowledge? How do we come to know things?

Philosophy 342 also looks at some pressing moral questions of the seventeenth and eighteenth century through the thoughts of, for example, David Hume and Immanuel Kant. Is there a difference between what is good and what is right? And from Thomas Hobbes and John Locke, questions about the best sort of society for human beings are explored. In the process of considering challenging material original to the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the student will also be guided in the development of basic philosophical skills of critical analysis and synthesis.

Outline

The course consists of the following:

Unit 1: Introduction to Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Philosophy: Metaphysics and Epistemology in the Modern Era

Unit 2: René Descartes and Thomas Hobbes: The Geometrical Method

Unit 3: John Locke and Baruch Spinoza on `The Mind'

Unit 4: George Berkeley and Gottfried Leibniz: Idealists

Unit 5: David Hume and the Skeptical Challenge to Metaphysics

Unit 6: Immanuel Kant and the Rescue of Metaphysics

Evaluation

To receive credit for PHIL 342, you must complete all assignments, write a final examination, and obtain a composite course grade of at least “D” (50 percent). The weighting of the composite grade is as follows:

To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University's online Calendar.