Modern Philosophy

Catalog description

This course surveys philosophy in the modern period (from the 16th to the 19th century) and then discusses foundational primary sources. Philosophers studied include Francis Bacon, René Descartes, Thomas Hobbes, Baruch Spinoza, John Locke, Gottfried Leibniz, George Berkeley, David Hume, Thomas Reid, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Immanuel Kant. The course emphasizes how each of these philosophers responded to his predecessors and how each provoked controversies in subsequent thought. Note: for Philosophy majors, PHIL 400, PHIL 410, and junior standing are strongly recommended.