Request for a New Course Approval

Request for a New Course Approval

Faculty of Arts

Course Name: History of German Idealism

Course Number: 320

Number of Credits: 6 credits

Prerequisites: Philosophy 100 or permission of instructor or senior standing

Calendar Description: In the 19th century, the dominant movement of German philosophy found expression in the idealistic movement. Such philosophers as Kant, Fichte, Schelling, Hegel, and Schopenhauer were united in the belief that the structure of reality and the basic categories that we use to understand it had a common origin and development. Out of this belief came new conceptions of science, history, theology and politics. This course will study the development and consequences of these ideas through the study of the major representatives of this movement.

Concise Statement of Course Content: A historical survey of the thought of the major philosophical figures of German Idealism. Selections from the works of Kant, Fichte, Schelling, Hegel, and Schopenhauer will be studied. Rationale for Adding the Course to the Curriculum: Justification: A course in German idealism would fill a gap in the history of philosophy courses now being taught in the Department of Philosophy. Currently, we offer courses in Ancient, Mediaeval, and Modem Philosophy (Descartes through Hume, with an introduction to Kant). The proposed course, with its focus on the 19th century, would pick up this sequence. It would also lay the groundwork for their work in 20th century philosophy, preparing students for our 400 level seminars. Thus, contemporary AngloAmerican philosophy, covered in Philosophy 420, began in part as a reaction to the excesses of the idealistic tradition. The tradition of existentialism and phenomenology , covered in Philosophy 410, has similar roots. Viewed in its own terms, the course would give students a knowledge of the development, flowering, and limits of classical German idealism; it would also introduce them to a number of important philosophical concepts that received extensive development in this tradition. Chief among these are: freedom, subjectivity, and historicism. For those students planning to go on to graduate studies, an acquaintance with the authors of this tradition would provide what most graduate schools consider an important part of undergraduate philosophical training. It would, thus, help them be better prepared for graduate school and increase their chances of success in applying for admission.

List of Suggested course Materials:

Kant, Fichte, Schelling, Hegel, and Schopenhauer would be the philosophers considered. A list of possible readings would be drawn from the following:

Kant: Prolegomena to any Future Metaphysics,Groundwork for the Metaphysics,of Morals,Critique of Pure Reason(selections)

Fichte: The Science of Knowledge

Schelling: Of Human Freedom

Hegel: ThePhilosophyofHistory.Lectures on Religion andPhilosophy(selections), The Phenomenology of Mind,

Schopenhauer, The World as Will and Idea

Not all of these works could be covered in any one year. Typically, a representative sample of them would be studied. A year's course could, for example, consist of Kant's GroundworkfortheMetaphysicsofMorals_,selections from Fichte's The Science of,Knowledge,Schelling's Of Human Freedom, and Hegel's ThePhenomenologyofMind,the study of the latter taking up most of the second term.

Nature of the course (e.g., lecture, laboratory, seminar): Lecture, discussion. Proposed Evaluation Procedures [note Calendar and Senate requirements]: Class participation (attendance, participating in discussions, passing unannounced quizzes on the day's reading, etc.): 20%

Paper (9-12 pages, one paper each term, the subject to be drawn from a list of paper topics provided by the instructor): 30%

Exams (at the end of each term): 50%

Manner in which course fits into Department or Programme's curriculum:

It fills the lacunae in the Department's history of philosophy sequence of courses.

Manner in which course relates to courses in other Departments or Programmes:

(a) Is there any overlap with other courses in this or other Departments or Programmes? No.

(b) Is the course of potential interest to students in other Departments or Programmes? Yes.

(c) Are there possible cross-listing(s) with other Departments or Programmes? No.

Is there a Service Learning component for the course? No

Is there a laboratory associated with this course? No

Are there any restrictions on who many receive credit for the course [i.e., not available to a student who has a related or similar course in another Department or Programme]? No

Who will take the course?

(a) Type of student: open to all students who meet the minimum prerequisites (b) Is the course optional or required? optional

Predicted enrollment? 10-15

Limits on enrollment? No

Members of the Department or Programme qualified to teach this course:Steven Baldner, Laura Byrne, Douglas McDermid, James Mensch, William Sweet Resources required:

(a) Library resources:

No additional journal subscriptions are required for this course, since the Department's current subscription list includes a number of journals that focus on the history of philosophy. In the future, a subscription to Idealistic Studies might be considered. In terms of monographs, our library resources also are quite adequate. Currently, we hold a substantial number of acquisitions which would be relevant to the proposed course.

(b) outline of resources, material and human, required:

The faculty to teach the course are currently available. The secondary sources required are present in our library holdings. Jean Hypolite's Genesis and Structure,of Hegel's Phenomenologv of Spirit,Alexandre Kojeve's Introduction to the,Reading of Hegel, and Emil Fackenheim's TheReligiousDimensioninHegel'sThought should, however, be added to our library holdings on Hegel. They are available at a reasonable price. Student texts for the course are readily available in relatively inexpensive paperback editions. Harper Torchbooks, for example, has an inexpensive reprint of Hegel's Lectures on Religion and Philosophy;Dover issues Hegel's The Philosophy of History,for a reasonable price; Open Court Classics offers Schelling's Of Human Freedom and Kant's Prolegomena to a y Future,Metaphysics, both inexpensively priced. Fichte's The Science of Knowledgeis available at a modest sum from Cambridge University Press. Multiple publishers offer paperback editions of Kant's Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals,the

CritiqueofPureReason. Hegel's, ThePhenomenolozvof Mind and Schopenhauer's, The World as Will and Idea.

(d) If there is a lab component in the course, what resources--space, equipment, lab supervisor--will be required before it could be offered? Not applicable