Syllabus for PHIL 413.500: History of Modern Philosophy

 Spring 2007; Dr. Stephen H. Daniel
Tuesday and Thursday 12:45 – 2:00; Bolton 003

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History of Modern Philosophy examines the major themes and figures of the classical modern period (the 17th and 18th Centuries).

Textbook:  The Longman Standard History of Modern Philosophy by Daniel Kolak and Garrett Thomson (Pearson Longman, 2006). Click on amazon.com to order the book for about $36.00.

Recommended secondary source: A History of Philosophy by Frederick Copleston, vols. 4-6. These three volumes of Copleston's nine-volume History cover Descartes to Leibniz (vol. 4), Hobbes to Hume (vol. 5), and the French Enlightenment (e.g., Voltaire/Rousseau) to Kant. In early editions, volumes 5 and 6 each had two parts and were published as separate books, so if you buy individual volumes on-line, make sure you get complete volumes or both parts of each volume. In the late 1980s, the three volumes were bound together and sold as Book Two of Copleston's History. Book Two is no longer available from the publisher, but it is available on-line used (sometimes in very good shape). So if you want a good overview of 17th and 18th century philosophy, just get the three volumes in one book for about $7.00 at amazon.com or half.com. Get it at the same time you order your textbook to save on shipping costs.

• Pages listed below should be read before each class.
• While you are reading the selections, you should consider writing answers to the sets of questions provided as guides for each reading. Those questions are in lists that are linked below. At least 1/3 of your grade is based on answers to reading questions.
• You must turn in your answers at the beginning of the class in which the readings are discussed. You must also turn in at least three sets of answers prior to mid-semester.

Class meeting	Topic	Assigned Reading	Reading Questions
Jan. 16	Introduction: Galileo, Bacon, Newton	1-6, 17-29, 180-203	Sample questions & answers*
Jan. 18	Descartes: Meditations I & II	38-49	Questions on Descartes: Meditations I & II
Jan. 23	Descartes: Meditations III & IV	49-61	Questions on Descartes: Meditations III & IV
Jan. 25	Descartes: Meditations V & VI	61-71, 99-101	Questions on Descartes: Meditations V & VI
Jan. 30	Descartes: Objections and Replies	72-95	Questions on Descartes: Objections & Replies
Feb. 1	Hobbes: metaphysics/epistemology	203-10, 221	Questions on Hobbes: Metaphysics/epistemology
Feb. 6	Hobbes & Locke: political phil	210-220, 269-78	Questions on Hobbes & Locke: political philosophy
Feb. 8	Spinoza: God	106-117	Questions on Spinoza: God
Feb. 13	Spinoza: mind-body	117-30	Questions on Spinoza: mind-body
Feb. 15	Spinoza: emotions/freedom	130-44	Questions on Spinoza: emotions/freedom
Feb. 20	Leibniz: Letters, Truths	144-54	Questions on Leibniz: Letters, Truths
Feb. 22	Leibniz: Discourse on Metaphysics	155-68	Questions on Leibniz: Discourse on Metaphysics
Feb. 27	Leibniz: Monadology, Letters	168-77	Questions on Leibniz: Monadology, Letters
Mar. 1	Mid-semester Exam
Mar. 6	Locke: ideas	222-36	Questions on Locke: ideas
Mar. 8	Locke: cause, substance	236-55	Questions on Locke: cause, substance
Mar. 20	Locke: language, knowledge	255-68	Questions on Locke: language, knowledge
Mar. 22	Berkeley: abstract ideas, existence	278-94 (sec. 21)	Questions on Berkeley: abstract ideas, existence
Mar. 27	Berkeley: matter, spirit	294 (sec. 22)-305	Questions on Berkeley: matter, spirit
Mar. 29	Berkeley: nature	305 (sec. 97)-320	Questions on Berkeley: nature
Apr. 3	Hume: association of ideas	321-35	Questions on Hume: association of ideas
Apr. 5	Hume: natural belief	335-50	Questions on Hume: natural belief
Apr. 10	Hume: liberty, self	350-57, 361-71	Questions on Hume: liberty, self
Apr. 12	Kant: synthetic a priori judgments	389-402	Questions on Kant: synthetic a priori judgments
Apr. 17	Kant: space, time, categories	402-417	Questions on Kant: space, time, categories
Apr. 19	Kant: analogies, transcendental ideas	420-35 (skip 417-20)	Questions on Kant: analogies, transcendental ideas
Apr. 24	Kant: paralogisms, antinomies	435-52	Questions on Kant: paralogisms, antinomies
Apr. 26	Kant: metaphysics	452-63, 487-89	Questions on Kant: metaphysics
May 9 (Wednesday)	Final Exam  8 a.m.

*No reading questions are assigned for the first day of class.

Office: Bolton 302 B
Office hours: Tuesday 2:15 - 5:00 p.m., Thursday 2:15 - 3:30 p.m.
Phone: 845-5619 (office), 846-4649 (home)
Email:   sdaniel@people.tamu.edu
Website: http://people.tamu.edu/~sdaniel/413sy07a.html

Grades/Tests

• The course grade is based on the total grades for the mid-semester and final (in-class essay) exams (each of which is worth 100 points), and the total number of points for answers to questions on the readings. These questions (which are listed at the links above) are each worth 1 point. There are 270 questions, so the more questions for which you receive full credit, the more you improve your overall course grade. To get an A for the course, you need a total of 260 points, a B 230 points, a C 200, a D 170.
• Some of the reading questions have several parts, so to receive full credit for a question, you must answer all parts correctly. (Note: these questions are not the questions listed as Study Questions in the book.) On some days, there are fewer questions than others. You must turn in your answers at the beginning of the class in which the readings are discussed. You must also turn in at least three sets of answers prior to mid-semester. For every set of answers you fail to turn in by then, you will lose 4 points.
• There is no grade for attendance, but if you miss classes, it affects how I grade your answers on tests and reading questions. If you miss the mid-semester exam, you must arrange to take the make-up exam before the next class meeting (within four days).

University Policies

• Students with disabilities are guaranteed a learning environment that provides for reasonable accommodation of their needs. If you believe you have a disability requiring accommodation, please contact the Department of Student Life, Disability Services, Cain Hall B118, or call 845-1637.

• Students are bound by the Aggie honor code not to cheat. Submitting work from another source (e.g., a book, article, the Internet, or another student), using notes or copying from another student during a test, or modifying a previously graded test to improve one's grade are acts of scholastic dishonesty. Information on cheating and plagiarism can be found at http://www.tamu.edu/aggiehonor/acadmisconduct.htm.

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