Postgraduate Course: Advanced Topics in Early Modern Philosophy MSc (PHIL11222)
Course Outline
| School | School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course covers advanced topics in Early Modern Philosophy. The course may focus on an extended examination of a philosophical question or problem raised or debated in the Early Modern period, on a particular Early Modern thinker, or on a particular Early Modern text. |
| Course description |
This course examines in detail an advanced topic or topics in Early Modern Philosophy. Topics will vary from year to year. The course may focus on an extended examination of a philosophical question or problem raised or debated in the Early Modern period, e.g. the nature of minds and bodies, space and time, or morality. Alternatively, it may focus on a particular Early Modern thinker or set of thinkers, e.g. Descartes, Du Chatelet, or Hume, or on a particular Early Modern text, e.g. Descartes¿ Principles of Philosophy, Du Chatelet¿s Foundations of Physics, or Hume¿s Treatise of Human Nature.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Explain the central ideas and the main argumentative moves in a key philosophical debate or text in Early Modern philosophy.
- Interpret the main claims and arguments in an Early Modern philosophical text.
- Compare and contrast the views of two philosophers, including at least one Early Modern philosopher.
- Plan an original essay in which they analyze and critically evaluate the views and arguments of one or more Early Modern philosophers
- Write an original essay in which they analyze and critically evaluate the views and arguments of one or more Early Modern philosophers
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Reading List
Representative Readings:
Primary Texts
René Descartes, The Philosophical Writings of René Descartes, Three Vols., translated and edited by J. Cottingham, R. Stoothoff, D. Murdoch, and A. Kenny. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985¿1992)
Émilie Du Châtelet, Selected Philosophical and Scientific Writings, edited by Judith P. Zinsser. (Chicago, IL: U. Chicago Press, 2009)
David Hume, A Treatise of Human Nature, edited by David Fate Norton and Mary J. Norton. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000)
John Locke, An Essay concerning Human Understanding, edited by P. H. Nidditch. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1975)
Benedict de Spinoza, A Spinoza Reader: The Ethics and Other Works, translated and edited by Edwin Curley. (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1994)
Secondary Texts
Broughton, Janet and John Carriero (eds.), A Companion to Descartes. (Oxford: Blackwell, 2008)
Coventry, Angela and Alexander Sager (eds.), The Humean Mind. (New York: Routledge, 2019)
Duncan, Stuart and Antonia LoLordo (eds.), Debates in Modern Philosophy. (New York: Routledge, 2013)
Garrett, Don (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Spinoza. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995)
O¿Neill, Eileen and Marcy Lascano (eds.), Feminist History of Philosophy: The Recovery and Evaluation of Women¿s Philosophical Thought. (Springer, 2019)
Stuart, Matthew (ed.), A Companion to Locke. (Oxford: Blackwell, 2016)
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Mindsets: Enquiry and lifelong learning; Outlook and engagement.
Skills: Personal and intellectual autonomy; Communication.
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| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Jonathan Cottrell
Tel: (0131 6)50 3484
Email: j.cottrell@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Sabina Ali
Tel: (0131 6) 50 4400
Email: Sabina.Ali@ed.ac.uk |
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