Read the whole preface
text available at: http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/hegel/works/ph/phprefac.htm
Journals due on April 26.
Guidance questions
1. What's the commonness and difference between Hegel and Kant regarding scientific knowledge?
2. How do you understand the statement: "subject is pure and simple negativity" (Φ 18)?
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Monday, April 19, 2010
Midterm Presentation
Topics
Everybody should choose a philosopher (e.g. Hume) or a philosophical school (e.g. Buddhism) outside of the class readings for presentation. You should explain major points of her/his or their thoughts. It’s NOT a biographical introduction, but very brief background introduction is fine.
Below is a list of possible topics. You can also choose other topics, but they must be approved by me in advance.
Ancient: Democritus, Epicurus, Parmenides, Pythagoras, Protagoras, Heraclitus, Zeno, Plotinus, Sextus Empiricus, Marcus Aurelius
Medieval: Nicholas of Cusa, Boethius, Aquinas, Anselm, Scotus..
Modern: Machiavelli, Montaigne, Vico, Francis Bacon, Hobbes, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, Rousseau, Voltaire, Pascal, Kierkegaard, Husserl, Marx
Contemporary: Heidegger, Hanah Arendt, Enscombe, Levinas, Derrida, Judith Butler, Kristeva, Wittgenstein, Rawls, Putnam, Russell, Sartre
Other cultures: Confucius, Lao-tse, Buddhism, Islamic philosophy, African philosophy
Form:
The presentation should be limited within 5 minutes, followed by 1-2 minutes Q&A session. The presenter must prepare several questions for audience.
You must NOT bring the paper to read. One may, however, bring an index card if one wishes to bring brief notes.
Grading
The presentation is to test students’ oral skills, capability of explaining philosophical arguments as well as ability to make meaningful philosophical discussion. The essential criterion is whether you can explain the thoughts of a philosopher precisely and clearly within five minutes.
Presentation date
April 29 and May 3, but everyone should be prepared on April 29.
Everybody should choose a philosopher (e.g. Hume) or a philosophical school (e.g. Buddhism) outside of the class readings for presentation. You should explain major points of her/his or their thoughts. It’s NOT a biographical introduction, but very brief background introduction is fine.
Below is a list of possible topics. You can also choose other topics, but they must be approved by me in advance.
Ancient: Democritus, Epicurus, Parmenides, Pythagoras, Protagoras, Heraclitus, Zeno, Plotinus, Sextus Empiricus, Marcus Aurelius
Medieval: Nicholas of Cusa, Boethius, Aquinas, Anselm, Scotus..
Modern: Machiavelli, Montaigne, Vico, Francis Bacon, Hobbes, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, Rousseau, Voltaire, Pascal, Kierkegaard, Husserl, Marx
Contemporary: Heidegger, Hanah Arendt, Enscombe, Levinas, Derrida, Judith Butler, Kristeva, Wittgenstein, Rawls, Putnam, Russell, Sartre
Other cultures: Confucius, Lao-tse, Buddhism, Islamic philosophy, African philosophy
Form:
The presentation should be limited within 5 minutes, followed by 1-2 minutes Q&A session. The presenter must prepare several questions for audience.
You must NOT bring the paper to read. One may, however, bring an index card if one wishes to bring brief notes.
Grading
The presentation is to test students’ oral skills, capability of explaining philosophical arguments as well as ability to make meaningful philosophical discussion. The essential criterion is whether you can explain the thoughts of a philosopher precisely and clearly within five minutes.
Presentation date
April 29 and May 3, but everyone should be prepared on April 29.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Kant: The Critique of Pure Reason
Kant: The Critique of Pure Reason
a. Preface to the second edition 1787;
b. the whole Introduction:
namely from “I. Of the difference between Pure and Empirical Knowledge” to “VII. Idea and Division of a Particular Science, under the Name of a Critique of Pure Reason”)
text available at http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext03/cprrn10.txt
Journals due on April 15.
Guidance questions:
1. Which problem does Kant see in Mathematics, Natural Science (Physics) and Metaphysics (philosophy)? What does he aim to achieve?
2. How is judgment important for science? What means a priori synthetic judgment?
3. What means Copernican Turn in Kant's view of knowledge?
a. Preface to the second edition 1787;
b. the whole Introduction:
namely from “I. Of the difference between Pure and Empirical Knowledge” to “VII. Idea and Division of a Particular Science, under the Name of a Critique of Pure Reason”)
text available at http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext03/cprrn10.txt
Journals due on April 15.
Guidance questions:
1. Which problem does Kant see in Mathematics, Natural Science (Physics) and Metaphysics (philosophy)? What does he aim to achieve?
2. How is judgment important for science? What means a priori synthetic judgment?
3. What means Copernican Turn in Kant's view of knowledge?
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Empiricism & Rationalism
In order to understand Kant, we have to know the philosophers before him. Therefore please research on these two terms "Empiricism" and "Rationalism", and write explanations for each term before Monday April 12.
Key question: their different accounts of knowledge, regarding the relationship between thinking beings (subjects) and existing things (objects)
Major philosophers: Hume for Empiricism and Leibniz for Rationalism
Methodology: Research on internet or in library
Format: explain each term with at least 100 words respectively and hand them in on Monday April 12.
It counts as one journal.
Key question: their different accounts of knowledge, regarding the relationship between thinking beings (subjects) and existing things (objects)
Major philosophers: Hume for Empiricism and Leibniz for Rationalism
Methodology: Research on internet or in library
Format: explain each term with at least 100 words respectively and hand them in on Monday April 12.
It counts as one journal.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Descartes: Discourse on Method
Descartes: Discourse on Method,(Part I-IV)
Text available at: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/59/59-h/59-h.htm
Journals due on March 25
Questions for reading guidance:
What’s Descartes’ criterion for truth and knowledge?
What’s Descartes’ method to get such knowledge?
Do you think his method can guarantee the truth?
Text available at: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/59/59-h/59-h.htm
Journals due on March 25
Questions for reading guidance:
What’s Descartes’ criterion for truth and knowledge?
What’s Descartes’ method to get such knowledge?
Do you think his method can guarantee the truth?
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Augustine: Confessions
Read Book XI
text available at http://www.ccel.org/ccel/augustine/confessions.xiv.html
guidance questions
1. How can we perceive past, present and future?
2. Why is it difficult to describe time?
3. What's the relationship between God and time?
Journals due on March 15.
text available at http://www.ccel.org/ccel/augustine/confessions.xiv.html
guidance questions
1. How can we perceive past, present and future?
2. Why is it difficult to describe time?
3. What's the relationship between God and time?
Journals due on March 15.
Midterm Paper
Format
This paper is due on March 25, 2009 in class. Late papers will be severely downgraded. No email submission is accepted. It will comprise 20% of your grade for the course. You should select one of the questions from below and write a paper, 3-5 pages double-spaced, 1 inch margins, 12 point font. Answers should draw on the readings and class lectures; you may use outside sources, but it is not required. Citations should be made according to appropriate academic format.
Grading
This paper aims to test the students’ capability of making sound philosophical arguments. Therefore the following aspects will be considered during grading: overall structure, depth of text understanding, plausibility of argumentation, clarity of expression.
Questions
1. Socrates claimed that he became the wisest man by knowing that he knows nothing. How do you think about his view of wisdom?
2. What’s justice? Is it a skill of ruling? Is it an agreement among people? Or anything else? What have you learned from the related discussions in Republic?
3. Aristotle says that contemplation is the happiest life of human beings, but he also points out that the happiness of a community is higher than the happiness of an individual, is he contradicting himself? How to understand the relationship between contemplation and political good?
This paper is due on March 25, 2009 in class. Late papers will be severely downgraded. No email submission is accepted. It will comprise 20% of your grade for the course. You should select one of the questions from below and write a paper, 3-5 pages double-spaced, 1 inch margins, 12 point font. Answers should draw on the readings and class lectures; you may use outside sources, but it is not required. Citations should be made according to appropriate academic format.
Grading
This paper aims to test the students’ capability of making sound philosophical arguments. Therefore the following aspects will be considered during grading: overall structure, depth of text understanding, plausibility of argumentation, clarity of expression.
Questions
1. Socrates claimed that he became the wisest man by knowing that he knows nothing. How do you think about his view of wisdom?
2. What’s justice? Is it a skill of ruling? Is it an agreement among people? Or anything else? What have you learned from the related discussions in Republic?
3. Aristotle says that contemplation is the happiest life of human beings, but he also points out that the happiness of a community is higher than the happiness of an individual, is he contradicting himself? How to understand the relationship between contemplation and political good?
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