Early Modern Philosophy (AP2140C)

Content

Descartes’ Meditations is one of the most significant texts in Western thought. It marks the beginning of a focus on the natural sciences as the paradigm for knowledge and certainty. It incorporates conceptualizations of God, human nature, knowledge and reality that continue to influence contemporary thought. This unit begins with a selective reading of the Meditations. It then examines excerpts from major texts by other significant philosophers of the period, who may include Hobbes, Spinoza, Cudworth, More, Locke, Newton, Clarke, Hume, and Kant. The unit focuses on themes such as the relation of body and soul, the question of certain knowledge and the relationship between scientific, theological and common-sense world views. In addition, attention is given to the dispute between those philosophers engaged in sceptical or atheistic attacks on religion, and those philosophers engaged with producing religion-conducive systems or defending religion.

Learning outcomes

Unit sequence

36 points of philosophy at first level

Pedagogy

Lectures, seminars, tutorials. When taught online asynchronously, the tutorial/seminar component may be replaced by guided reading exercises.

Indicative Bibliography

• Ariew, Roger, and Eric Watkins, eds. Modern Philosophy: An Anthology of Primary Sources. 3^rd ed. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, 2019.
• Biffle, Christopher. A Guided Tour of René Descartes’ “Meditations on First Philosophy.” 2^nd ed. With a complete translation of the Meditations by Ronald Rubin. Mountain View: Mayfield, 1996.
• Copleston, Frederick C. A History of Philosophy. Vols. 4–6. London: Burns and Oates, 1959–60.
• Cottingham, John, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Descartes. Cambridge Companions to Philosophy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992.
• Emmanuel, Steven M., ed. The Blackwell Guide to the Modern Philosophers: From Descartes to Nietzsche. Blackwell Philosophy Guides. Oxford: Blackwell, 2000.
• Guyer, Paul, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Kant and Modern Philosophy. Cambridge Companions to Philosophy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006.
• Martinich, Aloysius, Fritz Allhoff, and Anand Jayprakash Vaidya, eds. Early Modern Philosophy: Essential Readings with Commentary. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2007.
• Nadler, Steven M., ed. A Companion to Early Modern Philosophy. Blackwell Companions to Philosophy. Oxford: Blackwell, 2002.
• Trusted, Jennifer. An Introduction to the Philosophy of Knowledge. 2^nd ed. London: Macmillan, 1997.
• Williams, Bernard. Descartes: The Project of Pure Enquiry. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1978.

Assessment