Course Texts:
     Required:  Philosophic Classics, Vol. III: Modern Philosophy (4th ed.), Baird and Kaufmann, eds.

     On Reserve: Anthony Weston, A Rulebook for Arguments, 2nd ed.
                        A.P. Martinich, Philosophical Writing: An Introduction
                        Graybosch, Scott, & Garrison, The Philosophy Student Writer's Manual

Course Description:
This is a course in the history of western philosophy from Descartes to Kant (roughly 1600-1800).  It is primarily designed to introduce you to some of the major philosophical works and problems in the period known as modern philosophy.  Our readings will be exclusively from primary sources and will focus largely on problems in metaphysics and the theory of knowledge, although we will also have occasion to discuss these philosophers’ ideas on ethics and political philosophy.
The course will be divided (more or less equally) between Continental Rationalism and British Empiricism and will come to a grand conclusion with Kant’s synthesis of these two views.    In addition to discussing the standard, canonical philosophers and works of this period, we will also read and discuss various women authors who participated in the lively philosophical dialogue of this time period.
The primary goal of the course, then, is to provide you with an understanding of some of the principle philosophical dialogues of one of the most fruitful time periods in Western philosophy and to give you an opportunity to evaluate the worth of those ideas.

Course Requirements:
Regular class attendance and careful preparation of assigned readings are essential to doing well in this course.  I expect you to be prepared, present, and attentive at all class sessions. I also encourage class discussion of the material.
Since philosophical writing tends to be rather dense, the reading assignments in this course will be both shorter and more difficult than you are probably accustomed.  Because the readings for this course are difficult, you will need to read the assigned pages at least twice prior to class.
 

Course Grading: (the essay portion of each exam may be take home or in-class; all short answer questions
   will be in-class and closed book)
      Homework (15%):  one-page essays on an essay topic assigned every Thurs (due every Tues)
                                        No late essays will be accepted, but I will drop several grades.
     First Exam  (10%): short answer and essay questions over Descartes
    *Second Exam (20%): short answer and essay questions concerning Spinoza and Leibniz
    *Third Exam (20%): short answer and essay over Locke and Berkeley
    *Fourth Exam (35%): short answer and essay questions over Hume and Kant
                      The last exam will be on Tuesday, April 25 and will be in lieu of a final exam.

            *Given the nature of modern philosophy, each of these exams builds on the previous material, and so
                they will require you to be able to intelligently discuss all the material we have already covered in class.
 

Course Outline:  (Specific reading assignments and due dates will be announced in class.)

     Descartes,  Meditations on First Philosophy, pp. 19-57
          Princess Elizabeth of Bohemia, pp. 57-61
                        First Exam
    Spinoza,  Ethics (Part I), pp. 118-137
    Leibniz,  Discourse on Metaphysics, pp. 249-260
                  Monadology, pp. 284-292
                  Theodicy, pp. 277-283
                        Second Exam
    Locke,  An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, pp. 173-235
    Berkeley,  A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge,  pp. 295-323
                        Third Exam
    Hume,  An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding,   pp. 349-384; 398-409
    Kant,  Critique of Pure Reason, pp. 507-531
                        Fourth Exam (Tuesday, April 25, in class)

Miscellaneous Information:

Class attendance and participation is strongly advised.  The material we will cover in this course can be quite difficult, and as a result, I will not assume that you will come to class with a full understanding of the material.  However, I do expect you to have informed questions, and this requires having carefully read the assigned material prior to coming to class.  Reading philosophy can be difficult and quite demanding.  Most likely, you will need to read each selection at least twice and to take notes on what you read.

I strongly discourage make-up exams.  Excluding extraordinary circumstances, you should make such requests before the day of the exam. Normally, serious illness is the only acceptable rationale.  Similarly, late papers will be downgraded.

Academic misconduct (plagiarism, cheating, etc.) will result in no credit for the assignment in question.  I may also refer cases of academic misconduct to the University Judicial Board.

Any student who has a disability that prevents the fullest expression of abilities should contact me as soon as possible so we can discuss class requirements.

UAH is committed to the fundamental values of preserving academic honesty as defined in the Student Handbook (7.III.A). The instructor reserves the right to utilize electronic means to help prevent plagiarism. Students agree that by taking this course all assignments are subject to submission for textual similarity review to Turnitin.com.
Assignments submitted to Turnitin.com will be included as source documents in Turnitin.com's restricted access database solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism in such documents. The terms that apply to the University's use of the Turnitin.com service, as well as additional information about the company, are described at www.uah.edu/library/turnitin.
 

Hints for reading philosophy:

One purpose of this course is to strengthen your ability to understand and evaluate what you read.  Since philosophical literature tends to be more dense, and hence more difficult to read, than most other types of literature, you will find that preparing notes will assist you in understanding and evaluating the readings.  When preparing notes you should focus on: (1) basic terms and definitions, (2) fundamental thesis(es), (3) evidence, argument, or justification for the view the author is proposing, (4) basic transitions in the exposition (from one theme to another, from argument to conclusion, introductions and summaries).  In order to evaluate what you have read and outlined, you may want to record your responses to what you read (questions, comments, evaluation or elaboration of ideas, comparison to other authors).  You may also wish to indicate what assumptions the author is making.  Keep in mind that the purpose of taking notes is to guide you in mastering the material and critically assessing the author's views.