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View Course Outlines NEW YORK CITY COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK SCHOOL OF ARTS & SCIENCES DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SCIENCES Course Code: PHIL 2105 Course Title: MODERN PHILOSOPHY Class hours/credits: 3 class hours, 3 credits Prerequisite: ENG 1101 or ENG 1101CO or ENG 1101ML COURSE DESCRIPTION: The history of modern philosophy from the seventh century to this century; rationalism, empiricism, idealism, pragmatism and more recent movements; and includ- ing figures such as Descartes, Locke, Hegel, and Dewey. RECOMMENDED/TYPICAL/REQUIRED TEXTBOOK (S) and/or MATERIALS* Kaufmann, Walter (late) and Forrest E. Baird. Philosophic Classics. Vol III. Modern Philosophy; Vol. IV Contemporary Philosophy. NJ: Prentice Hall 1999. COURSE INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES/ASSESSMENT METHODS LEARNING OUTCOMES ASSESSMENT METHODS* 1. Explain the ideas of the late medieval thinkers 1.Oral discussion, exams, papers. on the state, its powers, its relation to the church, etc. as found in such philosophers as Marsilius, Machiavelli, etc. 2. Describe the shift in world view from the mid- 2.Quizzes, oral discussion, exams, papers. dle ages to the modern world, including such ideas as the decline of magic and hermeticism, replacement of alchemy by chemistry, break- down of geocentric view of the universe, mi- crocosm-macrocosm analogy and related cor- respondences, etc. 3. Explain Hobbes’s philosophy in relation to de- 3.Oral discussion, exams, papers velopments in politics and philosophy and nat- ural science, and the alleged close connection between the two. 4. Discuss Hume`s analyses of the problems of 4.Quizzes, oral discussion, exams, papers. scientific knowledge, induction, causation and explain the dilemma he left Kant. GENERAL EDUCATION LEARNING OUTCOMES/ASSESSMENT METHODS LEARNING OUTCOMES ASSESSMENT METHODS* 1. KNOWLEDGE: 1. Quizzes, oral discussion, exams, papers. Develop knowledge from a range of disciplinary perspectives, and develop the ability to deepen and continue learning. 2. SKILLS: 2.Oral discussion, exams, papers Acquire and use the tools needed for communica- tion, inquiry, analysis, and productive work. 3. INTEGRATION: 3. Oral discussion, group work, and papers. Work productively within and across disciplines. 4. VALUES, ETHICS, AND RELATIONSHIPS: 4. Oral discussion, group work, and papers. Understand and apply values, ethics, and diverse perspectives in personal, civic, and cultural/global domains. SCOPE OF ASSIGNMENTS and other course requirements A selection of the following assignments should be utilized*: 1. Study questions 2. Short answer essays 3. Exam review preparation 4. Group projects 5. Quizzes * may vary slightly per instructor to suit their own needs METHOD OF GRADING – elements and weight of factors determining the students’ grade This is an example of grade breakdown*: 1. Assignments – 20% 2. Mid-term Exam – 25% 3. Final Exam – 30 % 4. Quizzes – 10% 5. Group project – 15% * may vary slightly per instructor to suit their own needs ATTENDANCE POLICY It is the conviction of the Department of Social Science that a student who is not in a class for any reason is not receiving the benefit of the education being provided. Missed class time in- cludes not just absences but also latenesses, early departures, and time outside the classroom tak- en by students during class meeting periods. Missed time impacts any portion of the final grade overtly allocated to participation and/or any grades awarded for activities that relate to presence in class. Instructors may including a reasonable “Participation” grade into their final grade calculations for this course. STUDENT ACCESSIBILITY City Tech is committed to supporting the educational goals of enrolled students with disabilities in the areas of enrollment, academic advisement, tutoring, assistive technologies, and testing ac- commodations. If you have or think you may have a disability, you may be eligible for reason- able accommodations or academic adjustments as provided under applicable federal, state, and/ or city laws. You may also request services for temporary conditions or medical issues under cer- tain circumstances. If you have questions about your eligibility and/or would like to seek ac- commodation services and/or academic adjustments, please email the Student Accessibility Cen- ter. COMMITMENT TO STUDENT DIVERSITY The Department of Social Science complies with the college wide nondiscrimination policy and seek to foster a safe and inclusive learning environment that celebrates diversity in its many forms and enhances our students’ ability to be informed, global citizens. Through our example, we demonstrate an appreciation of the rich diversity of world cultures and the unique forms of expression that make us human. ACADEMIC INTEGRITY POLICY STATEMENT Students and all others who work with information, ideas, texts, images, music, inventions, and other intellectual property owe their audience and sources accuracy and honesty in using, credit- ing, and citing sources. As a community of intellectual and professional workers, the College recognizes its responsibility for providing instruction in information literacy and academic in- tegrity, offering models of good practice, and responding vigilantly and appropriately to infrac- tions of academic integrity. Accordingly, academic dishonesty is prohibited in The City Universi- ty of New York and at New York City College of Technology and is punishable by penalties, in- cluding failing grades, suspension, and expulsion. The complete text of the College policy on Academic Integrity may be found in the catalog. 14 WEEK OUTLINE MODERN PHILOSOPHY WEEK ONE: The Renaissance - Preliminary discussion of definition of philosophy - Humanism - Teleological picture of the world inherited from Medieval period - Concept of the chain of being and man’s place init - The Christian world picture (and antique elements in it) - Four natural substances; correspondences - Magic and Hermeticism and their link to rise of science - Problem of the immortality of the soul - Rise of Platonism and continuation of the Aristotelian and scholastic traditions - Textual criticism and its importance - New geographic discoveries - Ethical relativism - Rise of the nation state - Birth of capitalism - Devotion moderna; Erasmus and Christian Humanism - Political ideas and ideals; More WEEK TWO: The Reformation - State of the Church in the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance - Donation of Constantine and the exposure its of forgery - Humanist rediscovery of manuscripts and effects of textual criticism - Dante/Occam/Marsilius of Padua/early ideas on relations of state and church - Machiavelli - Great Schism and the rise of the Conciliar Movement - Indulgences/annates and other abuses of the Church - Church position in the new nation states - Church in Germany - Martin Luther: Career and Ideas - Views on Indulgences; early career - Protests; Protestantism; Attack on Papacy - Faith alone saves; on free will; on reason - On “clergy” and marriage; translates Bible into German - Influence of Luther around Europe - Luther’s defenders; Erasmus’ quandary - Religious Wars and their traumatic effects - Exhaustion of Europe - Rise of a secular ethic as the most durable effect (philosophically) of the Reformation and its aftermath WEEK THREE: Rise of Science - Scientific method: its two major components: empirical spirit and use of mathematics - New science of mathematical physics and its intellectual prestige - Late medieval contributions; rise of science - Leonardo/Gilbert/Harvey - Bacon and the Four Idols/ problem of method/ fear of Speculation/lawyer’s mind at work - What is enduring and what was discarded in Baconianism - Medieval elements in Bacon’s thought - Copernicus/Kepler and the three laws of motion - Medieval roots of Galilean science - The New Cosmology - Galileo: career and use of mathematics; use of experiments - New attitude the universe - Assumptions of the new physics - Contribution of technology - Primary and secondary qualities - Problem of subjectivity; the “mind” - From closed universe to infinite space - Pascal’s reaction/ was it typical?/ Was it rhetorical? WEEK FOUR: Descartes - Descartes: life, career, influence - Metaphysical foundations of modern science his quest - Search for a method - The method of systematic or methodic doubt: its assumptions - The world picture of Descartes - problem of skepticism as a background for Descartes - The nature of substance; two meanings of “substance” - God, and the proof of his existence - Concept of essence and properties - Discovery of the nature of mind; what Descartes thought mind was; objections to this conception - Epistemological separation of the mind from the body - The problem of knowledge thus created - Types of ideas; meanings of “ideas”; the career of the problem of “ideas” in subse- quent philosophy and their “location” - Mathematical nature and deduction as proof - The mind-body problem and Descartes solution - The legacy of Cartesianism EXAM ONE WEEK FIVE: Hobbes - Hobbes’ life and career; importance of his ideas - Corpuscular reality and man as machine - The physical foundations of human nature - Hedonism and the nature of man; restlessness - Compatibilist view of the free will problem - Insecurity; desire and aversion; emotions; reason as calculation - Man in the state of nature - Three sources of insecurity in the state of nature - The right of nature and the laws of nature - The equivocal status of reason in Hobbes’ reasoning - The social contract and the power of the state - Position
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