Postgraduate Course: Mind and Body in Early Modern Philosophy (PHIL11113)
Course Outline
| School | School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Course type | Standard |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Credits | 20 |
| Home subject area | Philosophy |
Other subject area | None |
| Course website |
Please see Learn page |
Taught in Gaelic? | No |
| Course description | Ever since Descartes argued that the mind and body are distinct, separable substances whose essential natures are diametrically opposed to one another, understanding the union of the mind and body came to be regarded as problematic: how could the immaterial mind or soul bring about changes in the physical body and vice versa? A variety of solutions, and their associated scientific and theological implications, dominated philosophical speculation for the rest of the century. Through an examination of core texts, this course will explore the principal accounts offered in the mid- to late-seventeenth century: the Cartesian doctrine of interaction, Spinoza¿s theory of mind-body identity, Malebranche¿s occasionalism, and Leibniz¿s pre-established harmony. Each will be subjected to critical evaluation by examining arguments advanced in their favour and objections against, particularly those raised by contemporaries, such as Pierre Gassendi, Princess Elizabeth of Bohemia, Pierre Bayle, Simon Foucher and François Lamy.
The course is taught by Dr Pauline Phemister.
Formative feedback available;
- the opportunity to submit a formative essay.
- the course organiser will be available to discuss drafts and or plans of essays individually with students before submission (face-to face and via email)
- general advice in class
- students will also present their work in class ahead of submission, set up as a debate between two students, each adopting the persona of one of the early modern philosophy studied in the course |
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | None |
Course Delivery Information
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| Delivery period: 2014/15 Semester 1, Available to all students (SV1)
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Learn enabled: Yes |
Quota: None |
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Web Timetable |
Web Timetable |
| Course Start Date |
15/09/2014 |
| Breakdown of Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 20,
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
174 )
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| Additional Notes |
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| Breakdown of Assessment Methods (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| No Exam Information |
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
Students will:
- gain an understanding of the history of the enduring mind-body problem
- come to appreciate the complex web of issues, metaphysical, scientific, moral and theological, raised by attempts to understand the relation of the mind and body
- develop the critical skills required to assess the various theories proposed and to evaluate the contemporary responses |
Assessment Information
One 2500 word essay comparing the views on the relation of mind and body of at least two of the philosophers studied on the course.
Assignment deadline: Monday 15th December 2014 by 12 noon
Word limit: 3000 words maximum
Return deadline: Friday 16th January 2015 |
Special Arrangements
| None |
Additional Information
| Academic description |
Not entered |
| Syllabus |
Provisional outline that may be subject to change;
Week 1: Introduction and substance.
Week 2: Descartes - Real distinction between the mind and body
Week 3: Descartes - Mind-body union
Week 4: Spinoza - Monism, determinism and degrees of knowledge
Week 5: Spinoza - Mind and body
Week 6: Malebranche - Vision in God
Week 7: Malebranche - Occasionalism
Week 8: Leibniz - Leibniz's 'New System'
Week 9: Leibniz - Leibniz's critics: Bayle, Foucher, Leibniz
Week 10: Role plays - Descartes and Spinoza
Week 11: Role plays - Malebranche and Leibniz
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| Transferable skills |
Not entered |
| Reading list |
Primary Texts (in translation)
Descartes, The Philosophical Writings of Descartes, trans. & edited by John Cottingham, Robert Stoothoff and Dugald Murdoch, vols. 1 & 2 and vol. 3 (with Anthony Kenny) (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984-85). Referred to as 'CSM' followed by volume number.
Available online via University Library Databases, 'Past Masters' ('Continental Rationalists')
Spinoza, The Collected Works of Spinoza, tr. and ed. by E. M. , vol. 1 (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1988)
Available online via University Library Databases, 'Past Masters' ('Continental Rationalists')
or
Spinoza, Ethics, tr. & ed., G. H. R. Parkinson (London: Dent, 1989)
Malebranche, Nicolas, Search After Truth, ed. & trans. by Thomas M. Lennon and Paul J. Olscamp (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997). Referred to as 'LO'.
Malebranche, Nicolas, Dialogues on Metaphysics and on Religion, ed. by Nicholas Jolley, trans. by David Scott (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997).
Leibniz, Leibniz's 'New System' and Associated Texts, ed. & tr. R. S. Woolhouse & Richard Francks (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997). Referred to as 'WF'
Leibniz, Philosophical Essays, tr. and ed. by D. Garber and R. Ariew (Indianapolis: Hackett, 1989). Referred to as 'AG'
Available online via University Library Databases, 'Past Masters' ('Continental Rationalists')
Selected Secondary literature
Bayle, Pierre (1991). Historical and Critical Dictionary: selections, ed.& trans. by Richard H. Popkin (Indianapolis: Hackett).
Brown, S. (1991). 'Malebranche's Occasionalism and Leibniz's Pre-established Harmony: an 'Easy Crossing' or an Unbridgeable Gap?', in S. Brown, ed., Nicolas Malebranche: his philosophical critics and successors (Assen, NL: Van Gorcum), pp. 81-93.
Cover, J.A. & Mark Kulstad (1990). Central Themes in Early Modern Philosophy (Indianapolis: Hackett).
Garber, Daniel (1983). 'Understanding Interaction: What Descartes Should Have Told Elizabeth', Southern Journal of Philosophy 21 supplement, 15-32.
Garber, Daniel (1993), 'Descartes and Occasionalism'. In S. Nadler, ed. (1993), pp. 9-26.
Hampshire, Stuart (2005). Spinoza and Spinozism (Oxford: Clarendon Press).
Kashap, S.Paul (1972). Studies in Spinoza: critical and interpretive essays (Berkeley: California University Press).
Garrett, Don (1996). Cambridge Companion to Spinoza. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).
Hooker, M. ed. (1982). Leibniz: critical and interpretive essays (Manchester: Manchester University Press).
Lloyd, Genevieve (1996). Spinoza and the ¿Ethics¿ (London: Routledge).
Lord, Beth (2010). Spinoza's 'Ethics': an Edinburgh Philosophical Guide (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press).
Mattern, Ruth (1978). 'Descartes' Correspondence with Elizabeth: Concerning Both the Union and Distinction of Mind and Body'. In M. Hooker, ed. (1982), 212-22.
Nadler, Steven (2006). Spinoza's 'Ethics': An Introduction (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).
Nadler, Steven, ed. (1993). Causation in Early Modern Philosophy (University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University).
Nadler, Steven (1994). 'Descartes and Occasional Causation', British Journal for the History of Philosophy, 2(1), 35-54.
Nadler, Steven (1992), Malebranche and Ideas (Oxford: Oxford University Press).
Nadler, Steven, 'Occasionalism and General Will in Malebranche'. In D. Pereboom, ed. (1999), pp. 343-361.
Pereboom, D. ed. (1999). The Rationalists: Critical essays on Descartes, Spinoza and Leibniz (Oxford : Rowman & Littlefield).
Phemister, Pauline (1996). 'Can Perceptions and Motions by Harmonized?' In R. S. Woolhouse, ed. (1996), 141-168.
Phemister, Pauline (2006). The Rationalists: Descartes, Spinoza and Leibniz (Oxford: Polity).
Pyle, Andrew (2003), Malebranche (London: Routledge).
Radner, Daisie (1985). 'Is there a Problem of Cartesian Interaction?', Journal of the History of Philosophy, 23, 35-50.
Richardson, R. C. (1982). 'The 'Scandal' of Cartesian Interactionism', Mind, 91, 20-37.
Rocca, Michael Della (1996). Representation and the Mind-Body Problem in Spinoza (Oxford: Oxford University Press).
Sacksteder, William (1978). 'Spinoza on Part and Whole: the worm¿s eye view'. In R. W. Shahan & J. I. Biro, eds. (1978), 139-159.
Schmaltz, Tad M. (1992). 'Descartes and Malebranche on Mind and Mind-Body Union', Philosophical Review, 101 (2), 281-325.
Shahan, R. W. & J.I. Biro, eds. (1978). Spinoza: new perspectives (Norman: University of Oklahoma).
Stewart, Matthew (2006). The Courtier and the Heretic: Leibniz, Spinoza, and the Fate of God in the Modern World (New Haven and London: Yale University Press).
Woolhouse, R. S. (1986). 'Leibniz's Reaction to Cartesian Interaction', Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, 86, 69-82.
Woolhouse, R. S. (1993). Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz: the concept of substance in seventeenth century philosophy (London: Routledge).
Woolhouse, R. S. ed. (1996). Leibniz¿s 'New System' (1695) (Florence: Olschki).
Woolhouse, R. S. (2000). 'Pre-established Harmony between soul and body: union or unity?' In A. Lamarra & R. Palaia, ed. Unità e Molteplicità nel Pensiero Filosofico e Scientifico di Leibniz (Florence: Olschki).
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| Study Abroad |
Not entered |
| Study Pattern |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Pauline Phemister
Tel: (0131 6)51 3747
Email: p.phemister@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Lynsey Buchanan
Tel: (0131 6)51 5002
Email: Lynsey.Buchanan@ed.ac.uk |
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