PHIL 3110: Modern Philosophy

History of Modern Philosophy

Course Syllabus – Spring 2008

PHIL 3110 TR 12:30-1:45 Paff 105

Dr. Jeremiah Alberg Office Cobb 108

Office Hours: MTRF 9:00-11:00; TR 2:00-3:00 jalberg@westga.edu

Meetings by appointment are welcome

All communication will be through your “my.uwg.edu” email accounts.

Texts

v Early Modern Philosophy: Essential Readings with Commentaries, ed. Martinich, Alhoff, and Vaidya (NY: Blackwell, 2007)

v Late Modern Philosophy: Essential Readings with Commentaries, ed. Radcliffe, McCarty, Alhoff, and Vaidya (NY: Blackwell, 2007)

Course Description and Learning Outcomes

This course continues the cycle of the history of philosophy from Ancient and Medieval Philosophy. We begin with the Scientific Revolution and then will study the primary texts of the rationalists – Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz – and the empiricists – Berkeley, Locke, Hume. We will then turn to German Idealism, studying Kant and Hegel. While looking at the epistemological questions that underpin much of the period, we will also pay attention to the varied attempts to answer the problem of evil.

At the conclusion of the course the student will be able to explain the primary differences between a rationalistic, empiricist, and idealist approach to philosophical questions. They will have a grasp of the fundamental philosophical (epistemological, metaphysical, ethical) positions of the thinkers listed above. They will also be better able to handle any difficult philosophical text.

Relationship of Course Goals to Program Goals

This course plays a central role in realizing the Program’s goals of (1) grasping the “general historical development” of the discipline and of (2) being able to “discuss three major historical figures” in philosophy. It will also allow them to develop in their ability to differentiate types of philosophical questions.

Course Requirements

This course is carefully structured. It requires that you attend every class. In each class we will spend the first 35 minutes in a guided discussion of the readings for that day. A written assignment will serve as the basis of the discussion. Hence, a written assignment will be turned in for each class. There will be a total of 25 assignments. You and only you must turn in the assignment to me in the classroom. Turning in the assignment at the end of class counts as being present in the class. These assignments are essentially the notes that you should be taking as you read the text. I have given questions to help you make sure that your notes cover the important points. The assignments will be graded as pass/fail. A pass is worth 100 points and a fail worth 0 points. You can do the math, but this means that if you pass 23 out of the 25, your average will be 92, 22 and your average will be 88, 21 means an 84, 20 means 80 etc. You will be allowed to redo one failed assignment.
Examinations. There will be four (4) exams during the course of the semester. All three will be identically structured. There will be 8 short-answer questions worth 5 points each. This will be followed by one essay chosen from three questions. The essay will be worth 60 points. The student will write the exam in a blue book. The questions will presume that the student has read the material assigned AND studied the notes from class lectures. Notes from class lectures will be posted on the web.

Date
January 10	Introduction
January 15	1-54 General Introduction; Science, Skepticism, and Method; Montaigne; Bacon; Galileo
January 17	55-69 Descartes; Hobbes
January 22	70-105 Newton; Descartes
January 24	105-123 Descartes
January 29	123-150 Descartes; Hobbes; Pascal
January 31	151-179 Spinoza
February 5	No class
February 7	180-213 Spinoza
February 12	Exam #1
February 14	229-244 Leibniz
February 19	244-256 Leibniz
February 21	257-274 Leibniz
February 26	275-306 Machiavelli; Hobbes
February 28	Exam #2
March 4	1-20 Introduction
March 6	20-51 Locke
March 11	52-74 Berkeley
March 13	75-99 Hume
March 18	Spring Break
March 20	Spring Break
March 25	100-122 Hume; Leibniz
March 27	123-139 Leibniz; Clark; Reid; Exam #3
April 1	141-172 Kant
April 3	172-198 Kant; Clarke; Paley
April 8	199-215 Hume; Kant; 217-219 Political Philosophy
April 10	221-239 Locke
April 15	240-265 Rousseau; Clark
April 17	266-293 Hume
April 22	303-323 Smith; Kant
April 24	324-355 Kant; Reid; Bentham; Wollstonecraft
April 29	Review
May 8 11:00-1:00	Exam #4

Grading

Class assignments 40%

Exam #1 15%

Exam #2 15%

Exam #3 15%

Exam #4 15%

There will be no extra credit given for this course.

Plagiarism (adapted from the English Department website)

Although there are many forms and variations of plagiarism and academic dishonesty, in general, the English Department, in agreement with the State University of West Georgia's policy on academic dishonesty , defines plagiarism as using the words and/or ideas of another without properly giving credit to the source(s).

It should be noted that unintentional plagiarism is plagiarism nonetheless.

In addition to obvious methods of plagiarism such as intentionally representing someone else's words as one's own, other acts such as "making up" sources, turning in work done in fulfillment of another course, or receiving excessive assistance are all forms of academic dishonesty, and subject to the penalties for plagiarism .

The University policies for handling Academic Dishonesty are found in the following document: <http://www.westga.edu/~engdept/writing/general_policies.html>

Special Needs:

If you have a registered disability that will require accommodation, please see me at the beginning of the semester. If you have a disability that you have not yet registered through the Disabled Student Services Office, please contact Dr. Ann Phillips in 137 Parker Hall at (770) 836-6428.