Johann Friedrich Herbart Metaphysics, Psychology, and Critique of Knowledge
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Надя Моро – Научно-исследовательский семинар – Бакалавриат 4-й курс, 2 модуль 2014/2015 National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow Bachelor’s programme: 4th year, module 2 SYLLABUS OF RESEARCH SEMINAR Johann Friedrich Herbart Metaphysics, psychology, and critique of knowledge Outline During the course, students will be provided with a systematic introduction to the core conceptual issues of Johann Friedrich Herbart’s theoretical philosophy: general metaphysics and psychology. Herbart (Oldenburg, 1776–Göttingen, 1841) was a major German philosopher, who held Kant’s chair in Königsberg (1809–1833) and opposed German idealism from a realist perspective. Not only did he influence subsequent philosophy in the German, Austrian, and Bohemian areas to a great extent―suffice it to mention Lotze, Hanslick, Mach, Cohen, Husserl, as well as the numerous ‘Herbartians’: Hartenstein, Zimmermann, Steinthal, Lazarus, etc.―but his philosophical and educational theories were widely discussed also in Italy, the United States (cf. Peirce, the Herbart-Society), and Japan. Based on contextualisation within post-Kantian philosophy and close text reading, Herbart’s relationships to Kant’s Critique of pure reason, his metaphysical realism, epistemological functionalism, and establishment of scientific psychology will be analysed. Pre-requisites: students should be familiar with the Kantian philosophy and German idealism. Course type: compulsory Lecturer: Nadia Moro (Assistant professor of philosophy) office hours: please check www.hse.ru/staff/nmoro contact details: Staraya Basmannaya Ul., 21/4, room 207; [email protected] Learning objectives During the course, students should: be introduced to the complexity of post-Kantian philosophy in the German area; gain knowledge of the main achievements of Herbart as a prominent post-Kantian philosopher; master the terminology of Herbart’s epistemology and theory of mind; develop skills in close reading, analysis, contextualisation, and critical evaluation of Herbart’s psychological and epistemological texts (cf. Bibliography); 1 Надя Моро – Научно-исследовательский семинар – Бакалавриат 4-й курс, 2 модуль 2014/2015 During the course, students may: become able to explore 19th century German philosophical texts further and relate them to the post-Kantian epistemological discussion; present their analysis and critical evaluation of Herbart’s texts with reference to the philosophical context, e.g. Kant or Fichte. Content and schedule Week 1 Introduction: Herbart in the context of post-Kantian philosophy; Herbart in philosophical and psychological historiography. Week 2 Methodology and epistemology in Herbart’s metaphysics; Herbart and Kant *G.H. Langley (1913). The metaphysical method of Herbart; *J.F. Herbart, A text-book in psychology: §§ 150–166, pp. 119–129; Week 3 Herbart’s rejection of faculty-psychology and the establishment of scientific psychology *J.F. Herbart, A text-book in psychology: §§ 1–66, pp. 1–53. Week 4 Empirical psychology. *J.F. Herbart, A text-book in psychology: §§ 67–125, pp. 53–96. Week 5 Herbart’s functional theory of the mind. Space and time *J.F. Herbart, A text-book in psychology: §§ 167–193, 194–204, pp. 129–150, 150–163. Bibliography Required readings (cf. Schedule): *J.F. Herbart (1891). A text-book in psychology. Translated by M.K. Smith. New York: D. Appleton and Company. https://archive.org/details/atextbookinpsyc01herbgoog *G.H. Langley (1913). The metaphysical method of Herbart. Mind, New Series, vol. 22, No. 85, pp. 62–75. Recommended literature: G. Hatfield (2010). Psychology and philosophy. In The Routledge companion to nineteenth century philosophy, ed. by Dean Moyar, Routledge, pp. 522–553. D.E. Leary (1980). The Historical Foundation of Herbart’s Mathematization of Psychology, «Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences» XVI, pp. 150-163. C. Maigné (2007). Johann Friedrich Herbart. Paris: Belin. R. Pettoello (1986). Idealismo e realismo. La formazione filosofica di J.F. Herbart. Firenze: La nuova Italia. R. Pettoello (1988). Introduzione a Herbart. Roma-Bari: Laterza 1988. R. Pettoello (1988). De Herbart à Kant. Quelques considérations sur le réalisme de Alois Riehl, «Revue de Métaphysique et de Morale» CII, 3, pp. 347-366. 2 Надя Моро – Научно-исследовательский семинар – Бакалавриат 4-й курс, 2 модуль 2014/2015 S. Poggi (1994). Herbart, Mach, Ehrenfels. In Gestalt Psychology: Its Origins, Foundations and Influence, ed. by S. Poggi. Firenze, pp. 3-19. G.F. Stout (1888). The Herbartian psychology I–II. «Mind», vol. 13, No. 51–52, pp. 321–338; 473–498. Further readings may be suggested during the seminar. Guidelines for students The course is held in English and it is based on text analysis and discussion. Thus, you will be expected to comply with the reading assignments (cf. Content and schedule) and take part in class discussions. Attendance is mandatory. Assessment In order to attain a passing grade you will have to: regularly attend classes, read the assigned texts (cf. Content and schedule), and engage in class discussion: 30% of your final grade; present or discuss the content of an assigned text (7–10 minutes) once during the seminar according to a schedule arranged together with the lecturer: 30% of your final grade; pass a final test consisting in the analysis and commentary of quotations from Herbart’s texts: 40% of your final grade. 3 .