HISTORY OF MODERN PHILOSOPHY

Catalog description

The Modern Period (roughly 1600 to 1800) was a time of great scientific advancement, political upheaval, and philosophical progress. During this period, philosophers wrestled with fundamental metaphysical questions about the nature of matter, causation, mind, and God, key epistemological questions regarding the nature and grounds of knowledge, and central ethical and political questions about our rights and duties. As such, the philosophical work of this period provides the foundations for contemporary work in epistemology, metaphysics, philosophy of mind, philosophy of science, ethics, and political philosophy. In this course, students will explore the interpretation and implications of work by some of the most influential thinkers of the period such as Descartes, Spinoza, Locke, Leibniz, Berkeley, Hume, Reid, and Kant.