Modern Philosophy

I invite you to visit me during my office hours and to talk with me via telephone or e-mail. I always welcome your comments and questions, and I am exceptionally happy to talk with you about the course material or about other philosophical or administrative matters.

Department office: ST 522

Department phone: 818.677.2757

Required Texts

· Descartes: Selected Philosophical Writings, translated by John Cottingham, Robert Stoothoff, and Dugald Murdoch (Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1988).

· Immanuel Kant, Critique of Pure Reason (abridged), translated by Werner S. Pluhar, and abridged, with introduction, by Eric Watkins (Indianapolis: Hackett, 1996).

Optional Texts

· John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, edited by Peter H. Nidditch (Oxford: Oxford UP, 1975)

· George Berkeley, A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge, edited by Jonathan Dancy (Oxford: Oxford UP, 1998)

· David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, edited by Tom L. Beauchamp (Oxford: Oxford UP, 1999)

Aims of the Course: This course features an examination of the philosophical systems of five representative thinkers of the modern period—Descartes, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, and Kant. We will turn our attention in particular to metaphysical and epistemological themes, including skepticism and our knowledge of the external world, substance and causation, mind and body, identity and individuation, and matter and its qualities. Over the course of the semester, we will read and discuss, both verbally and in writing, a number of rewarding but challenging texts. One goal of doing this is to sharpen both your ability to read and understand philosophical texts and your ability to discuss the issues addressed in those texts.

This course satisfies the “Philosophy and Religion” (C.3) section of the General Education Program. Courses in this section are designed to promote critical reflection on questions concerning the nature, meaning, and value of human existence, the world in which we live, and our relations with one another. Students should understand the sources and limits of knowledge, and they should appreciate and be able to assess different world views and moral teachings that have played central roles in human culture.

A student cannot complete a GE requirement or a major requirement using the CR/NC basis of grading.

Attendance: Since you are responsible for any and all material presented in class, and since each class represents an important opportunity to discuss the material, regular attendance is essential to doing well in the course. Furthermore, attending class will help you to do better on the exams as well as on the other assignments.

For Fall 2008, the last day to change your academic program without a formal request is Friday, September 12, 2008.

Students with Disabilities: If you have a disability, please identify yourself to me and to the University so that we can reasonably accommodate your learning and the preparation and evaluation of the work that you must do for this course. Please contact the Center on Disabilities, Student Services Building, Room 110, 818.677.2684 (Fax: 818.677.4932; E-mail: sdr@csun.edu). For more information, visit the COD’s website at the following address: http://www.csun.edu/cod.

Evaluation: Your final grade in the course will be based on the following:

Exam 1	October 23	25%
Exam 2	December 9	25%
Paper	First version, due November 13^th Second version, due December 2^nd	30%
Other	Reading quizzes	20%

Grades: I will use the plus/minus grading system. Letter grades are assigned according to the following system:

100-92% = A	86-83% = B	76-73% = C	66-63% = D
91-90% = A-	82-80% = B-	72-70% = C-	62-60% = D-
89-87% = B+	79-77% = C+	69-67% = D+	59-0% = F

Verbal participation in lectures, in office hours, by phone, or by e-mail is encouraged and can benefit you in a number of ways: such participation will help you to gain a deeper understanding of the material and will thus help you to perform better on the exams. Furthermore, if your final grade falls just short of some higher grade, the quality of your verbal participation will be considered as grounds for improving your final grade.

Cheating and Plagiarism: I consider academic dishonesty a very serious issue. If you are unclear about what constitutes academic dishonesty or about the possible repercussions of and penalties for acts of academic dishonesty, please consult the California State University, Northridge Student Conduct Code (see http://www.csun.edu/a&r/soc/studentconduct.html). Moreover, I subscribe to and will enforce CSUN’s Policies on Nondiscrimination and Student Conduct as they are stated in Appendices D and E of the California State University, Northridge University Catalog (see http://www.csun.edu/catalog/appendices.html).

Reading Quizzes: I will administer several reading quizzes over the course of the semester.

Exams: The exams are designed to determine whether you understand the lectures and the texts. I anticipate that the exams will consist entirely of multiple-choice questions, but I do reserve the right to administer exams with a different format (e.g., short-answer or essay questions). You may take a make-up exam only if either (a) you have received, prior to the scheduled date of the exam, my permission to do so, or (b) you miss the exam due to a documented medical or family emergency.

Paper: The paper assignment will require you to write an essay, which will be expository, for the most part, of 1400-1800 words (or about 4-5 pages). The first version of your paper is due on November 13^th. I will take a look at this version and return it to you. You will then revise your paper and submit a second version no later than 4:00 p.m., 2 December 2008. I will accept no paper submitted later than this. In general, I will evaluate your paper on the basis of the quality of your exposition, and on how well you demonstrate your ability to clearly and critically consider a serious philosophical issue. More specifically, your paper (a) must be well organized and readable, (b) must demonstrate your ability to provide charitable and reasonable interpretations of the philosophical arguments we encounter, and (c) must demonstrate your ability to provide reasonable critical evaluations of those arguments.

Extra Credit: I will assign no extra-credit work. There is nothing that you, individually or collectively, can do for extra credit. This means that you should concentrate on the credit assignments; you should make every effort to do as well as you can on the exams, on the paper and on the reading quizzes.

Schedule
Topic	Date	Readings/Activities
Introduction & Logic Review	August 26
Bacon & Galileo	August 28	Handouts
Descartes	September 2	Meditations I-VI
	September 4	Meditations I-VI (continued)
	September 9	Meditations I-VI (continued)
	September 11	Meditations I-VI (continued)
	September 16	Meditations I-VI (continued)
Locke	September 18	An Essay Concerning Human Understanding Book I, Chapter I Book II, Chapters I–VI
	September 23	An Essay Concerning Human Understanding Book II, Chapters VII-IX, XII Book II, Chapters XXI, XXIII
	September 25	An Essay Concerning Human Understanding Book III, Chapters II-III Book IV, Chapters I-III, IX
Berkeley	September 30	A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge Preface and Introduction §§ 1-156
	October 7	Principles (continued)
	October 9	Principles (continued)
	October 14	Principles (continued)
	October 16	Principles (continued)
	October 21	Review for Exam 1
	October 23	Exam 1
Hume	October 28	An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding
	October 30	Enquiry (continued)
	November 4	Enquiry (continued)
	November 6	Enquiry (continued)
	November 11	Veterans’ Day
	November 13	Enquiry (continued) First Version of Paper is Due
Kant	November 18	Critique of Pure Reason Preface [Second Edition], pp. 4-24 Transcendental Aesthetic, §§ I-VII, pp. 25-38 Transcendental Logic Introduction and Division I, Books I & II, pp. 39-127
	November 20	Critique (continued)
	November 25	Critique (continued)
	November 27	Thanksgiving Recess
	December 2	Critique (continued) Second Version of Paper is Due
	December 4	Review for Exam 2
	December 9	Exam 2

Note: Everything in this syllabus, including the reading assignments, exam dates, and the paper assignments and due dates, is subject to revision. I will announce any and all revisions in class and, in general, do my best to make sure that everyone knows about revisions. If you miss class, you must nevertheless submit assignments according to any revisions that I make to the Schedule. You should either make sure that you don’t miss class or find a sure way of becoming aware of any revisions that I make to the Schedule or to the syllabus.

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