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JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "PH 240"
COURSE NAME: "Modern Philosophy"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Fall 2014
SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Tom Bailey
EMAIL: [email protected]
 HOURS: TTH 11:30 AM 12:45 PM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 45
CREDITS:
PREREQUISITES:
OFFICE HOURS: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9-10 am and 4.30-6 pm, or by appointment
COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This course introduces you to modern philosophers’ revolutionary understandings of human beings’ place in the world. For, unlike their predecessors, these philosophers place the human mind, self and society at the center of their answers to the philosophical questions, ‘what is real?’, ‘what should I do?’ and ‘how do I know?’. We will begin with Kant’s fascinating account of the mind’s essential framework for understanding the world and how he employs it to rethink morality, history and religion. We will then explore how two crucial ‘traditions’, the Hegelian and the Nietzschean, have developed in response to Kant’s ideas, by studying their originators, Hegel and Nietzsche, and two contemporary representatives, Habermas and Žižek. In particular, with Hegel’s ‘dialectical’ approach and Habermas’s theory of communication, we will focus on how our senses of reality and ethics are determined by society. And with Nietzsche’s ‘perspectival’ approach and Žižek’s theory of the imagination, we will consider whether – and if so, how – a sense of the ‘self’ can be defended in the face of such insights. By reading extracts from these philosophers’ writings, supported by some secondary readings, and discussing them extensively in class, online and in written assignments, we will develop your familiarity with the ideas and arguments involved and your ability to discuss, reflect on and defend your own views of these fascinating questions and ideas.
SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:

Please see the course aims above.
LEARNING OUTCOMES:

By the end of the course, you will be able to:

• glean philosophical meaning from canonical texts in modern philosophy;

• explain the metaphysical positions and arguments involved;

• discuss the interpretation and evaluation of these positions and arguments;

• develop your own reasoned views of the issues raised;

• make appropriate use of secondary academic resources and do guided research work;

• do all this in appropriately academic oral and written forms and in individual and group contexts.
TEXTBOOK:
NONE
REQUIRED RESERVED READING:
NONE

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:
NONE
GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:
AssignmentGuidelinesWeight
Class participation I will give you a percentage grade for each class, and the average of these grades will constitute your final participation grade. Your grades will be based on how sophisticated an understanding and analysis of the relevant materials you display, how clearly and attentively you respond to what I and others say and how critically and thoroughly you show that you reflect on the issues raised. So, if you show that you have analyzed the materials well before class, contribute to class activities in thoughtful, relevant and collaborative ways and develop your own ideas about the issues raised, then you will receive an ‘A’ grade for the class. If you show some understanding and analysis of the materials, contribute actively to class activities and attend reflectively to the issues raised, then you will receive a ‘B’ grade. You will receive a ‘C’ grade if you show an understanding only of the basics of the materials, while contributing rarely or only when called upon and providing little thoughtful analysis.20%
Forum postsSince the class forum is intended to allow for free discussion, I will not assess the content of your posts. Your grade for this assessment will be simply the percentage of times that you post on time, out of the possible total posts. You may also miss up to two posts unexcused without this affecting your grade – I will just reduce the number of possible total posts accordingly when calculating your grade. 10%
Three written assignments You will prepare a written assignment of 1500-1700 words at the end of each of the three main parts of the course. In each case, I will give you a set of questions from which to choose in the penultimate week of the relevant part of the course and the assignment will be due a week later, after the review class. The grade for each assignment will be based on how well you explain the relevant ideas and arguments, how thoughtfully you discuss them and how clearly and logically you present your answer to the question. So, an assignment that accurately and thoroughly explains the relevant ideas and arguments, discusses them in reflective and analytical ways and presents all of this precisely and as part of a clear answer to the question will receive an ‘A’ grade. If the assignment explains some of the relevant ideas and arguments accurately, provides some thoughtful discussion and is generally clearly expressed and organized, it will receive a ‘B’ grade. A ‘C’ grade assignment will be one that attempts to answer the question and provides some account of some relevant ideas and arguments, but fails to explain others, gives little discussion and/or is unclearly expressed and organized.20%, 25% and 25%, respectively

-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
AWork of this quality directly addresses the question or problem raised and provides a coherent argument displaying an extensive knowledge of relevant information or content. This type of work demonstrates the ability to critically evaluate concepts and theory and has an element of novelty and originality. There is clear evidence of a significant amount of reading beyond that required for the course.
BThis is highly competent level of performance and directly addresses the question or problem raised.There is a demonstration of some ability to critically evaluatetheory and concepts and relate them to practice. Discussions reflect the student’s own arguments and are not simply a repetition of standard lecture andreference material. The work does not suffer from any major errors or omissions and provides evidence of reading beyond the required assignments.
CThis is an acceptable level of performance and provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings.
DThis level of performances demonstrates that the student lacks a coherent grasp of the material.Important information is omitted and irrelevant points included.In effect, the student has barely done enough to persuade the instructor that s/he should not fail.
FThis work fails to show any knowledge or understanding of the issues raised in the question. Most of the material in the answer is irrelevant.
-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:

A maximum of two unexcused absences from class will be accepted. Beyond this, a zero grade will be given for each unexcused absence, bringing down your average grade for class participation. It is your responsibility to inform me if you miss or cannot participate fully in a class for a good reason. Good reasons include illness, unavoidable appointments and transport strikes, but not trips, guests and malfunctioning alarm clocks. Note that arriving late to class, leaving for lengthy ‘toilet breaks’ and using a laptop or mobile phone in class also count as ‘unexcused absences’.
ACADEMIC HONESTY
As stated in the university catalog, any student who commits an act of academic dishonesty will receive a failing grade on the work in which the dishonesty occurred. In addition, acts of academic dishonesty, irrespective of the weight of the assignment, may result in the student receiving a failing grade in the course. Instances of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Academic Affairs. A student who is reported twice for academic dishonesty is subject to summary dismissal from the University. In such a case, the Academic Council will then make a recommendation to the President, who will make the final decision.
STUDENTS WITH LEARNING OR OTHER DISABILITIES
John Cabot University does not discriminate on the basis of disability or handicap. Students with approved accommodations must inform their professors at the beginning of the term. Please see the website for the complete policy.
SCHEDULE

Week 1: Introduction to the course

I. The Self and its Laws: Kant

Exploring the mind: Kant’s transcendental idealism

Week 2:                                

Tuesday: The Copernican revolution                    

Thursday: Necessary concepts

Week 3:

Tuesday: Substances and causes               

Thursday: The limits of knowledge? Freedom and God

Principles and progress: Kant’s ethics

Week 4:                     

Tuesday: Autonomy and the formulas of duty                            

Thursday: Community, conflict, and corruption

Week 5:                     

Tuesday: Does humanity progress?

Thursday: Evil and religion

Week 6:

Preparation of first assignment

II. The Social Construction of Reality: Hegel and Habermas 

Hegel’s dialectics

Week 7:                                                                                                    

Tuesday: Phenomenology and dialectics                                                

Thursday: Masters, slaves and the self 

Week 8:

Tuesday: Skepticism and God

Habermas on the lifeworld 

Thursday: Communication vs. systems     

Week 9:                     

Tuesday: Moral learning and translation              

Thursday: Post-metaphysical life?

Week 10:       

Preparation of second assignment

III. The Social Destruction of the Self: Nietzsche and Žižek

‘God is dead’: Nietzsche and nihilism 

Week 11:                                                               

Tuesday: ‘How the “true world” became a fable’           

Thursday: Masters and slaves

Week 12:                   

Tuesday: Nietzsche’s self 

Žižek’s mirror

Thursday: The imaginary self 

Week 13:       

Tuesday: Ethics of irresponsibility

Thursday: Christianity as ‘the religion of atheism’

Week 14:       

Preparation of final assignment

Basic bibliography

Below are the primary texts and extracts that we will study, arranged by week. There will be no course reader; all readings will be provided on the class website. Further materials will be provided on the  site and in class, and full bibliographical details will also be given on the site.

Weeks 2-5.    

Immanuel Kant, Critique of Pure Reason, trans. Bennett, B1-6, 10-14, 19-24, 37-52, A92-110, B224-238, 131-136, 294-299, 310-315, 472-479, 560-569, 620-630

_, Groundwork for the Metaphysic of Morals, trans. Bennett, pp. 14-30 and 41-42

_, ‘Toward Perpetual Peace’, trans. Bennett, Supplements and Appendix

_, ‘An Answer to the Question: What is Enlightenment?’, trans. Kleingeld

_, ‘Conjectural Beginning of Human History’, trans. Kleingeld

_, Religion within the Boundaries of Mere Reason, trans. Wood and Di Giovanni, pp. 74-85 

Weeks 7-8.    

G.W.F. Hegel, Phenomenology of Spirit, trans. Pinkard, §§ 73-89, 178-199, 202-211 and 225-230

_, Lectures on the Philosophy of Religion, trans. Brown, Hodgson and Stewart, ‘Introduction’, ‘The Idea of God In and For Itself’ and ‘Community, Spirit’

Weeks 8-9.    

Jürgen Habermas, ‘Communicative Action and the Detranscendentalized “Use of Reason”’, trans. Cronin, pp. 28-36, 41-45

_, ‘Moral Consciousness and Communicative Action’, trans. Lenhardt and Nicholsen, § I

_, Post-Metaphysical Thinking, trans. Hohengarten, pp. 28-53, 124-128

Weeks 11-12.

Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra, trans. Del Caro, ‘Zarathustra’s Prologue’ § 3, ‘On the Three Metamorphoses’, ‘Of Redemption’, and ‘Of the Vision and the Riddle’

_, On the Genealogy of Morality, trans. Diethe, I §§ 12 and 13 and III § 12        

_, Twilight of the Idols, trans. Norman, chs. IV and VI

_, Ecce Homo: How to Become What You Are, trans. Norman, ‘Why I Am So Clever’ § 9 

Weeks 12-13.           

Slavoj Žižek, Tarrying with the Negative, pp. 1-21, 33-39

_, ‘The Unconscious Law’

_, The Puppet and the Dwarf: The Perverse Core of Christianity, pp. 5-8, 145-152 and 156-171