Government and Politics 4396-Honors
Modern Individualism
Spring 2007
Office: Gr 3.520 and MP 3.206
Phone: 972-883-2044/6729
Course Time: TR 2:00-3:15 PM
Classroom: Gr 2.512
Overview:
This course will be a seminar organized to investigate the development of the modern conception of the individual in political philosophy. Among the issues to be considered are the relationship between the mind and the body in the individual, the nature of reason, passions, and instincts, the origins of morality and justice, the nature of political obligation, and the relationship between the individual and society. The course will begin with a study of Descartes’ Meditations on First Philosophy and Passions of the Soul. This will be followed by an investigation of Locke’s Essay Concerning Human Understanding and Hume’s Treatise on Human Nature. Each of these works will be read in the context of contemporary psychology and neurobiology as found in Steven Pinker’s The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature.
Grading:
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There will be two take-home essays worth 30% of the final grade. These are not research papers, but thought papers. Students are expected to draw upon the readings and classroom discussion in preparing their answers. Students may not share their work with one another for the take-home assignments Students are not expected to consult secondary readings when writing these essays. Plagiarism will result in an F for the assignment and the undying enmity of Dr. Harpham.
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Two short papers (2-3 pages) and presentations will comprise 10% of the final grade. These will be group projects assigned by Dr. Harpham.
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Quizzes will comprise 10% of the grade.
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The remaining 20% of the grade will be comprised of a participation grade. This will include student contributions to the roundtables and to normal class discussion. This is a seminar where discussion will move the class forward from one topic to another. Your participation will be based upon your attendance, the quality of your contribution to this discussion.
Books: It is recommended that you purchase the following texts and bring the appropriate ones to class.
Rene Descartes: Meditations on a First Philosophy
(Hackett)
Rene Descartes: Passions of the Soul (Hackett)
John Locke: Essay Concerning Human Understanding (Oxford. Nidditch
editor)
David Hume: Treatise on Human Nature (Oxford. Norton and Norton editors)
Steven Pinker: The Blank Slate (Viking Penguin)
Weekly Readings:
(I) January 9: Introduction to Modern Individualism
(II) January 11: Aristotle and Scholasticism
(III) January 16-24: Rene Descartes and the Discovery of the Modern Individual
Readings: Rene Descartes. Meditations on First Philosophy. The Passions of the Soul.
Short Paper # 1 due January 25. In 2-3 pages, briefly summarize Descartes position on mind/body dualism. What does he mean by an "embodied mind?" What does Descartes gain or lose conceptually by thinking about the individual in this way?
Topics:
January 16 and 18: Meditation 1 and 2
January 23: Meditation 3 and 4:
January 25: Meditation 5 and 6
January 30: Passions of the Soul Part 1
February 1: Passions of the Soul Parts 2 and 3
Roundtable 1: February 8
Roundtable 2: February 13
(IV) February15 - March 1: John Locke's Individual and the Limits of Reason
Readings: John Locke. Essay Concerning Human Understanding
Short Paper #2 due February 22. Answer the following questions in a 2-3 page essay. What does Locke mean by the term "idea"? What is the difference between a simple idea and a complex idea? Identify two problems with Locke's theory of ideas.
February 15, 20, 22, 27:
Topics:
Readings: Locke Essay Book I. Chapters I, II.
Book II Chapters I,II,VIII-XII, XVIII-XXXIII.
February: March 1
Topics:
Readings: Locke's Essay Book III Chapters
I,II,V,VI. Book IV
March 6 and 8: Spring break
March 13: Lockean Politics, Neurobiology and the Modern Individual
Roundtable 3: March 15
Roundtable 4: March 20
(V) March 22 - April 19-: David Hume and the Problem of the Self
Readings: David Hume A Treatise of Human Nature
Topics:
March 22, 27, 29:
Topics:
Readings: Hume
Treatise. Book I. Parts I, III, IV
April 3, 5, 10:
Topics:
Readings: Hume Treatise.
Book II. Parts I, II, III
April: 12
Topics:
Readings: Hume Treatise.
Book III. Part I; Part II sections I, II; Part III section I
Roundtable 4: April 17
Roundtable 5: April 19
April 26: Turn in Essay #2
