History of Modern Philosophy examines the major themes and figures of 17th- and 18th-century people.
Primary text: Philosophical Classics: Modern Philosophy (3rd
ed., 1999) ed. Walter Kaufmann & Forrest Baird [MP].
Secondary texts: A History of Philosophy, vols. 4-6 by Frederick
Copleston [C].
| Jan. 19 | Introduction | MP v-vi [C 4: 1-15] |
| Jan. 21 | Bacon | MP 1-10 |
| Jan. 24 | Descartes: Meditations I-II | MP 22-30 [C 4: 85-97] |
| Jan. 26 | Descartes: Meditations III | MP 30-38 [C 4: 97-110] |
| Jan. 28 | Descartes: Meditations IV-V | MP 38-46 [C 4: 110-15] |
| Jan. 31 | Descartes: Meditations VI, Letters | MP 46-59 [C 4: 116-23] |
| Feb. 2 | Hobbes: Leviathan | MP 60-70 [C 5: 1-21] |
| Feb. 4 | Hobbes: Leviathan | MP 70-75, 80-84 [C 5: 27-37] |
| Feb. 7 | Hobbes: Leviathan | MP 88-91, 96-101 [C 5: 38-47] |
| Feb. 9 | Pascal: Pensées | MP 102-14 [C 4: 153-73] |
| Feb. 11 | Malebranche | C 4: 180-93 |
| Feb. 14 | Malebranche | C 4: 193-203 |
| Feb. 16 | Test 1 | |
| Feb. 18 | Spinoza: Ethics | MP 115-24 (1P13) [C 4: 210-17] |
| Feb. 21 | Spinoza: Ethics | MP 124-33 (1P29) [C 4: 214-17] |
| Feb. 23 | Spinoza: Ethics | MP 133-40 (1App) [C 4: 219-22, 225-29] |
| Feb. 25 | Spinoza: Ethics | MP 140-47 (2P13) [C 4: 222-25] |
| Feb. 28 | Spinoza: Ethics | MP 159-68 [C 4: 230-37] |
| Mar. 1 | Locke: Essay | MP 169-73, 177-81, & 186-90
[C 5: 71-78, 86-90] |
| Mar. 3 | Locke: Essay | MP 204-9, 228-36 [C 5: 90-94, 108-18] |
| Mar. 6 | Leibniz: Discourse | MP 242-51 [C 4: 273-82] |
| Mar. 8 | Leibniz: Discourse | MP 251-57 (§16), 263-6 (§27) [C 4: 282-90] |
| Mar. 10 | Leibniz: Discourse | MP 266-73 [C 4: 307-19] |
| Mar. 20 | Leibniz: Monadology | MP 280-88 [C 4: 295-303] |
| Mar. 22 | Berkeley: Principles | MP 289-301 [C 5: 213-18] |
| Mar. 24 | Berkeley: Principles | MP 301-9 (§33) [C 5: 218-24] |
| Mar. 27 | Berkeley: Principles | MP 309 (§34)-321 (§79) [C 5: 224-34] |
| Mar. 29 | Berkeley: Principles | MP 321 (§80)-325 (§95), 336 (§135)-341
[C 5: 239-47] |
| Mar. 31 | Test 2 | |
| Apr. 3 | Hume: Enquiry | MP 342-4, 351-62 [C 5: 263-9] |
| Apr. 5 | Hume: Enquiry | MP 362-71 [C 5: 273-7] |
| Apr. 7 | Hume: Enquiry | MP 371-80 [C 5: 278-88] |
| Apr. 10 | Hume: Enquiry | MP 381-92 [C 5: 324-6] |
| Apr. 12 | Hume: Enquiry | MP 406-13 [C 5: 305-11] |
| Apr. 14 | Hume: Enquiry | MP 413-21 [C 5: 311-17] |
| Apr. 17 | Kant: Critique of Pure Reason | MP 487-99 [C 6: 211-19] |
| Apr. 19 | Kant: Critique of Pure Reason | MP 499-508 [C 6: 219-34] |
| (Apr. 21) | (No classes) | |
| Apr. 24 | Kant: Critique of Pure Reason | MP 509-16 [C 6: 235-47] |
| Apr. 26 | Kant: Critique of Pure Reason | MP 516-22, 558-66 [C 6: 247-52, 266-72] |
| Apr. 28 | Kant: Critique of Pure Reason | MP 523-32 [C 6: 252-56] |
| May 1 | Kant: Critique of Pure Reason | MP 571-84 [C 6: 277-304] |
| May 2 (Tuesday) | Kant: Critique of Pure Reason | MP 584-92 [C 6: 304-7] |
| May 10 (Wednesday) | Final Exam 10:30-12:30 |
Grades/Tests:
Grades are based on two (essay type) tests and the final exam (1/3 each). Extra credit is available for reading summaries (see below). If you miss a test, contact me before the next class meeting to take a make-up test. Class attendance significantly affects how your exams or summaries are graded, but there is no specific grade for attendance as such.
Reading Summaries:
You can get extra credit for writing brief (two typed-page) summaries of the material covered in any of our 39 classes. Summaries are to be submitted at the beginning of the class the day we discuss the material; after that class, you should work on another reading. The decision about which readings to write on is up to you, and you can write as many summaries as you want to improve your final grade or perhaps even be exempted from the final exam.
Here is how to be exempted from the final exam. Everyone must take the two in-class tests (which count for 2/3 of the final grade). The remaining 1/3 is determined by the final exam plus points from the optional reading summaries. For summaries you receive extra grade points: 1½ points for an A, 1 for a B, and ½ for a C (+ or – grades do not make a difference). Let's say you make a 90 on both tests (2/3 of your final grade=60 points) and submit 20 A– summaries (=30 points). That gives you 90 total points (A for the course) without having to take the final.
Even if you don't collect enough points to exempt the final, you can improve your possibilities for getting an A in the course by doing the extra work of the summaries. Suppose you get an 81 on each of the tests and the final exam. If you had turned in nine B summaries (9 points), you get an A for the course without ever getting a grade higher than a B for any assignment. It is important, then, to turn in summaries as often as possible to improve your grade and understand the material better.
Guidelines for the Summaries:
The summaries should address the question: What are the main points and arguments discussed in the assigned readings? Give yourself some time to work through the reading to get a sense of what is going on. To help you out on this, it is very useful to refer to secondary sources that often provide information about other works by the author that clarify and expand on the issues addressed. Copleston's History of Philosophy (volumes 4-6) is a good place to begin such secondary work, and that is why I have ordered it as recommended reading.
You should refer to Copleston in your summary whenever it is helpful to explain a particular topic in the reading. For example, suppose you are summarizing Descartes' argument for the existence of God in Meditations III and need to explain his distinction between objective and formal reality. You can refer to the distinction and the discussion in Copleston easily and quickly by saying something like, "According to Descartes, even though my ideas (e.g., of infinite being) are all modifications or 'forms' of my mind that depend on my thinking them, their content or 'objective reality' does not depend on me (Copleston, 4: 99-102)." In this way, you clarify a topic that is not explained by Descartes in the primary reading by parenthetically referring to your secondary source. Of course, you should not rely excessively on secondary sources; otherwise, you will be plagiarizing and will not receive any credit for your work.
Summaries should be limited solely to the points raised in the readings
and should cover all of the assigned pages. They are intended to
highlight the issues and arguments discussed in the reading and are not
intended as opportunities for you to indicate whether you agree or disagree
with the author. Do not include historical or biographical information
in the summary and avoid empty statements like "For centuries philosophers
have debated ..." Finally, to receive full credit, be sure to cover
all of the assigned pages and to balance your discussion to correspond
to the coverage of topics in the reading.
| Office | Bolton 302-B |
| Office hours | Monday 1:45-5:30, Wednesday 1:45-3:45 |
| Phone | 845-5619 (office), 846-4649 (home) |
| sdaniel@unix.tamu.edu | |
| Website | people.tamu.edu/~sdaniel/413sy00.html |
Go to Dr. Daniel's Home Page
Send Dr. Daniel a message: sdaniel@unix.tamu.edu
Go to the Texas A&M Philosophy Home Page