Continental Philosophy Winter 2021 2 credits, 4 ECTS credits – Philosophy core MA course Mondays 13:30-15:10, room A211 Instructor: David Weberman, room D 407, Office hours: Tuesdays, Thursdays 13:00-15:00 and by appt. TA: Vladimir Lazurca Continental Philosophy, in the 200-plus years since Kant, has taken very different directions, answering divergent questions in divergent vocabularies, making it difficult to cover in a single course. I want to focus on tracing continental philosophy’s existentialist themes. Existentialism is a philosophical account of what is distinctively human, not necessarily centered on our rationality. It explores those aspects of human existence that present a distinctive challenge to us beyond our immediate material needs. The central authors we read include Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Sartre and Camus. Aside from its history, can and should be a systematic philosophical problem area today? Learning outcomes – By the end of the course, participants should have gained an overview of Continental European philosophy since Kant, in particular with regard to its existentialist strands. To become a better of reader of older philosophical texts. To become more effective at critically engaging with such material.
Assessment - Students are required to attend classes and finish the reading prior to class. They are strongly encouraged to participate in discussion. Also required: For all students, one 5 to 10-minute in-class presentation. For 2-year Philosophy MAs, end-of-year core essay exam. For non 2-year Philosophy MAs, one 2000-word term paper. Most important criteria in grading term papers: clarity, originality, depth and coherence.
Week 1 January 11 Introduction; Continental versus Analytic Philosophy; the existentialist strand
Week 2 January 18 Background Kant and Hegel (no readings); Kierkegaard, Either/Or (excerpts)
Week 3 January 25 Schopenhauer (excerpts)
Week 4 February 1 Nietzsche, “Truth and Lie in an Extramoral Sense”and Gay Science (excerpts)
Week 5 February 8 Heidegger, Being and Time (excerpts)
Week 6 February 15 Heidegger, “What is Metaphysics” Week 7 February 22 Sartre, Being and Nothingness (excerpts) Week 8 March 1 Camus, “The Myth of Sisyphus” and Thomas Nagel “The Absurd”
Week 9 March 8 Simone de Beauvoir, Judith Butler Week 10 March 15 Foucault, to be determined Week 11 March 22 Deleuze, What is Philosophy (excerpts) Week 12 March 29 to be determined