Just as skepticism and the rise of science were issues that stimulated philosophical controversy throughout the modern period (1600-1800) the continuing success, indeed apparent certainty, of science was a determinant of the philosophical debates of the Nineteenth Century. It is possible to read the philosophical history of this century as a continuation of issues in epistemology and metaphysics, all growing out of questions concerning scientific knowledge and the status of the material world.
There is quite another side to the Nineteenth Century, however. From the point of view of social history it was a deeply troubled time. The French Revolution left the idealism of the Age of Enlightenment behind and suffered the Napoleonic Wars in its place. The developments of industrial machinery and the capitalistic system of manufacture and marketing became the Industrial Revolution and ushered in the development of urban centers and, consequently, urban problems. And far-reaching revolutions in other sciences --- chemistry, geology, biology, and psychology --- threatened the age-old separation between the inorganic and organic worlds.
Reading the philosophy of the Nineteenth Century, we find a strong divergence of issues and concerns. There are those who continue to contemplate the old problems of epistemology and metaphysics; but there are also those who are strongly drawn to the enormous political and social problems of their day. In addition, the century marks the beginning of Existentialist despair, the death of gods and the illusion of sacredness in human life.
It is appropriate to begin this course with two philosophers of the 18th Century, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Immanuel Kant. Rousseau gives us the origin of social and political debates as they stormed into the 19th Century; Kant suggested a resolution of the empiricist-rationalist debate over science, creating a remarkable new way of understanding science and, at the same time, extending his ideas into moral philosophy. Next to Kant in stature and following out one line of Kantian thinking, G. W. F. Hegel created a form of idealism that dominated much of the century. In England, however, the "worldly philosophy" of Adam Smith and others had lead to John Stuart Mill's brilliant and practical statements about the social and political spheres of life. It was Mill's own England, however, that produced such terrible social conditions among the urbanized, industrialized workers, that Friedrich Engels' studies inspired a life-long working relationship with Karl Marx. Marx's social history inverted the causal order of Hegel and optimistically predicted the revolutionary recovery of the working classes. Looking at the state of human existence from quite a different point of view, Friedrich Nietzsche accepted "the death of god" and sought for a revaluation of all values. In America, no person better exemplifies the struggle between science and faith than William James. Starting in chemistry and medicine, James moved into psychology and, then, philosophy in his lifelong attempt to understand.
Personal Information
My office is Parsons 1249. My office phone number is 607-3148. My HomePage is at http://www2.hmc.edu/~TBeckman/. The easiest way to contact me and get a quick reply is through e-mail via Tad_Beckman@HMC.EDU.
Assignments and Expectations
All course materials are available on the Web. The course HomePage is at http://www4.hmc.edu/humanities/phil103/. You should visit these Web pages frequently throughout the semester since all changes and updates will be made at that location. There are extensive course notes on the course Web site; also, be sure to look at the links to related Web resources.
Attendance and participation in class discussions are expected. Since the bulk of class time will be devoted to discussion of the texts, it is essential that everyone finish the assigned reading before class and be prepared to talk about it and ask questions.
A discussion site for this course has been constructed on the WebXing software at http://www4.hmc.edu:8001/webx. Access this site directly or from the course HomePage and follow directions. Your participation in this will be graded.
Papers are assigned on a separate page and the due dates are indicated on the schedule.
Grading will be based on the following approximate distribution of emphasis:
Class participation..........20%
Discussion Web Site.......30%
Papers (4)........................50%
[P#1,2,&3 10% each and P#4 20%]
Required Texts
In addition to these books, which are available at Huntley Bookstore, I highly recommend reference to Jones, W. T. A History of Western Philosophy: Vol. IV, Kant and the Nineteenth Century, Second Edition (New York: Harcourt, Brace, and Jovanovich, 1975).
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