PHIL. 302 HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY II

Spring 2010 TT 1:002:15

Bryant Hall 207

Dr. William F. Lawhead

Link to the web site for the course: www.olemiss.edu/~wlawhead

Email:

Phone: 9157345

Office: Bryant Hall 100 (in the Philosophy and Religion departmental office)

Office Hours: MTuW 3:004:00

For students with disabilities, please see the University's policy at

http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/sds/

Course Description

This course is a survey of the significant thinkers, movements, and ideas in Western philosophy from the early modern period up to the 19th century. Attention is given to the historical unfolding of significant issues in philosophical investigation.

Aims and Goals

The approach that this course will take is multileveled. At one level, we will systematically study the positions and frameworks of the leading philosophers of this time period. However, because this is not simply a history course, we will also be concerned with the strengths, the weaknesses, and the implications of a philosopher's position. Furthermore, this will not be merely a study of isolated systems, nor their chronological enumeration. We will try to get a feel for the life of ideas: to understand how they are born, develop, and are transformed. We will be concerned to find out: "What is philosophy?" "What is the relationship between philosophy and other aspects of culture?" "What is history?" and "Is there philosophical progress?"

Finally, we will treat each philosopher as our contemporary, rather than as a historical museum piece. In dialogue with each one, we will consider the alternatives that are offered and their consequences for our own thought. Hopefully, besides acquiring a working knowledge of many significant philosophers, each student will develop further the skills of philosophical criticism and scholarly research. The students will be encouraged to deal with original sources, to exegete and criticize philosophical texts, as well as to creatively utilize and incorporate the insights of various philosophers in the development of their own thought.

In summary, this course is designed to help you to:

  1. Systematically understand the major philosophical problems and alternatives of this period.
  2. Understand the origins and development of Western philosophy and through this, to gain an understanding of the early roots of our contemporary culture.

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  1. Learn how to critically analyze philosophical texts and to deal constructively with philosophical problems.
  2. Discover materials, perspectives, alternatives, and stimuli for the development of your own philosophical thought.

Text

William Lawhead, The Modern Voyage, 2nd Edition (Wadsworth, 2002). ISBN 0534561586

This paperback is a section from a larger work titled The Voyage of Discovery: A Historical Introduction to Philosophy. If you have this book (any edition), the readings for this class will be in it. However, you only need the short paperback for this class.

Note: The readings in this book will be given in terms of chapter numbers and occasionally specific page numbers. When there are blank dates without any assignment, that means that the discussion of the most recent topic and the reading assignments will be distributed over those dates.

Evaluation

  1. Textbook Readings Careful reading of all the assigned material prior to class is required. While this is primarily a lecture course, class participation is anticipated and encouraged.
  1. Primary Source Readings Most weeks there will be short primary source readings that will either be handed out or posted on the web. These will contain questions that will help you get the most benefit from the readings. These readings will sometimes be the basis for the weekly quizzes and will be referred to on the tests.

3. Tests There will be 2 onehour tests and a comprehensive final. Makeup tests will be given at the discretion of the professor and only for the very best of reasons (for example, if you had an emergency brain transplant).

4. Research Paper A 1012 page research paper on a topic of the student's choice will be required. More information will be handed out on this in class. Plan ahead. I do not anticipate that I will be allowing any incompletes in this course. I certainly cannot give an incomplete because you did not have time to finish the paper. A late paper will be penalized one letter grade. There are 5 deadlines in the schedule concerning the paper. Each deadline is worth 2 points and your total score on these deadlines (max. of 10 points) will count as one quiz grade.

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  1. Quizzes In the neverending battle against idleness and sloth or the lack of preparation for class, and in the interest of your own intellectual progress and character development, there will be a short quiz at the beginning of class each Thursday. The quizzes will cover the material assigned up to and including the day of the quiz. They will be based either on the "Questions for Understanding" at the end of each chapter or on the primary source readings for that week. Some quizzes will be objective and some may be essay. Occasionally, a takehome assignment will constitute the weekly quiz and will be due on Thursday. As explained in (4), your score on the five deadlines will count as one quiz. There will be 14 quiz grades and I will only count your 10 best products. Since there are four drop grades, a quiz that is missed (for even the best of reasons) will count as your drop grade, unless there are extraordinary circumstances. You can also replace missed or mediocre quiz grades by doing a forum paper. However, you cannot replace a take-home writing assignment with a forum paper. In other words, a zero or a mediocre grade on a take-home assignment is final. Details about the forum papers are below.
  1. Forums (optional) There will be several PhilosophyReligion Forums this semester. These will be announced in class and also may be found on the events link on the course web page. A quiz replacement grade (but not for writing assignments) will be given for each meeting of the Ole Miss PhilosophyReligion Forum which you attend and about which you write a one to two page response. The response should include a brief evaluation of the ideas presented. These will be due no later than the beginning of the next Tuesday after the talk. If all of your quiz grades are A, you can still get a modest amount of extra credit for doing a forum paper. On any work that is turned in, I will not accept paper that has been torn from a spiral notebook. This creates a paperconfettiNewYear'sEvestyle mess in my office. Also, to receive credit, your papers must be stapled. Do get a preview of the forum events, go to the departmental website at http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/philosophy/index.html

and scroll down to the calendar at the bottom. Only those events labeled “Philosophy Forum” or “Religious Studies Forum” will count for extra credit.

  1. Class participation (helpful questions and comments; attendance; bright, alert faces and winning smiles) may play a role in the case of borderline grades.
  1. Attendance is expected so that you can both benefit from the class and contribute to it. Missing 6 classes is excessive, for it consists of three weeks of work or close to 22% of the course. Missing this many classes will lower your course grade by one letter. Missing 8 classes is close to 30% of the course and will earn a failing grade. Any exceptions to this rule will be considered only in extreme and dire circumstances. Only absences for official University business which are documented with a letter from an administrator or staff member will be excused.
  1. Course Grade The course grade will be calculated as follows:

Exam A = 20%

Exam B = 20%

Final = 20%

Quizzes = 20%

Paper = 20%

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  1. Legal Stuff No matter what your class average, you will not pass the course if you do not take the two exams and the final, and do the research paper. The optional Forum papers must be turned in on the date due or they will not count. Finally, any form of academic dishonesty will be punished severely. Depending on the seriousness of the offense, the penalty can range from an F on the assignment, to an F in the course (with no possibility of invoking the forgiveness policy), to suspension. Academic dishonesty includes cheating on a test or turning in work (even optional work) that is not your own or knowingly assisting someone to cheat.

Philosophy Department Location

The Department of Philosophy and Religion Office is located on the main floor of Bryant Hall (the building where our class is located). The secretary's phone is 9157020. My office is in the departmental suite and my office phone is 9157345. I can usually be found there at the following times:

MTuW 3:004:00

However, the best procedure is to make an appointment with me in class or call before you come to make sure I am there. Other times can be arranged if you have conflicts with these office hours. My email address is in the heading of this syllabus and that is an excellent way to contact me.

Course Schedule and Assignments

The schedule shows the dates on which a chapter will be introduced. You should distribute your reading over that date and all the days that follow until a new assignment is indicated. For example, read Chap. 15 on Descartes for the classes on Jan. 28 and Feb. 2. Specific page assignments will be made in class when necessary. It will be impossible to do very well at all in this course if the reading assignments are not regularly and conscientiously completed. When the schedule indicates a reading on a particular philosopher, these will either be passed out in class or posted on a web site. Occasionally, further readings may be assigned using handouts.

Note: if this is your first philosophy course, you need to read “Lawhead’s Introduction to Philosophy” during the first few weeks to gain essential background. This may be found on the course web page through the link for “Primary Source Readings.”

January

21 Introduction to the course

26 "Introduction to the Modern Voyage," pp. ixxxxi

The Renaissance to the Age of Reason Chap. 13, esp. pp. 206211

Bacon & Hobbes Chap. 14

28 Descartes Chap. 15 (Quiz 1)

February

2 Descartes (cont.)

4 Descartes reading; (Quiz 2Take Home)

9 Spinoza Chap. 16;

11 Spinoza reading; (Quiz 3BTake Home)

16 Leibniz Chap. 17; *** Paper Topic Due ***

18 Leibniz reading; (Quiz 4Take Home)

23 EXAM A

25 The Enlightenment Chap. 18; (Quiz 5)

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March

2 Locke Chap. 19; *** Initial Bibliography Due ***

(Mar. 2 Last Drop)

4 Locke reading; (Quiz 6)

9 Berkeley Chap. 20; Berkeley reading;

11 Hume Chap. 21; (Quiz 7)

16 Spring BreakSpend time thinking about the Cosmos.

18 Spring BreakSpend time thinking about the human condition.

23 Hume reading

25 Kant Chap. 22; (Quiz 8)

30 Kant reading; *** Detailed Outline Due ***

April

1 The Nineteenth Century Chap. 23; (Quiz 9)

6 EXAM B

8 Hegel chap. 24 (Quiz 10)

13 Hegel reading

15 Marx Chap. 25; (Quiz 11)

20 Marx reading; *** First Draft Due *** (Note: at the end of your draft, indicate what improvements you intend to make.)

22 Kierkegaard Chap. 26; Kierkegaard reading; (Quiz 12)

27 Nietzsche Chap 27; Nietzsche reading

29 Nineteenth Century Empiricism Chap. 28; (Quiz 13)

Final Exam Tuesday, May 4, 4:00 PM

Research Paper Due by Wednesday, May 5, 5:00 PM

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