Fundamentals of Philosophy Biryukov 2013 of Philosophy... · 2014-04-15 · 4 • In-class disputes...

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PART 1: INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION, COURSE DESCRIPTION

AND TEACHING METHODS

1.1 General information • Full course title: Fundamentals of Philosophy • Type of course: Compulsory • Level of course: B.A. • Year of study: 1st • Number of ECTS credits allocated:4] • Name of lecturer and office hours:

Dr. Nikolay Biryukov, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy Office: 4105 (meetings and consultations by arrangement) E-mail: [email protected]

1.2 Course aims and learning outcomes The course is designed to advance the students’ understanding of philosophy as a specific type of human knowledge as distinct from both everyday knowledge and science, as well as from various forms of ideology. The course’s material is arranged as the story of Western philosophy from its origins till the emergence of contemporary philosophy (with excursus into Russian 19th-century philosophy) followed by a discussion of topical philosophical issues.

Learning outcomes:

By the end of this course students should know the main schools and doctrines, as well as the salient figures and major works of Western philosophy and understand the course and logic of its development, while remaining conscious of the plurality and merits of other philosophical cultures. Students should be able to: • identify philosophically relevant aspects of their specific spheres of professional knowledge; • apply their knowledge of philosophy to reflect on the methodological aspects of their

professional activities; • apply argumentation skills acquired and refined in the course of their study of philosophy; • assess the existing limitations and development potential in the field of their professional

knowledge.

1.3 Course requirements and grading plan Course requirements

Students will be required to attend not less than 90% of classes and be prepared for class discussions. Considering the specific nature of philosophic knowledge, the grades will depend on their mastery of philosophical language and the ability to use it to discuss problems that fall within the scope of this course. Conscientious reading of the assigned materials is compulsory.

Grading plan

• Class participation – 10%. Students are expected to attend all the lectures and seminars and participate in class discussions; since the course is highly interactive, it is essential that students attend the seminars having read the materials for that day’s class.

• In-class tests – 15% (5% each). Students will write three tests during the semester. Dates of test classes are defined by the instructor and communicated to the students at the first class of the respective course.

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• In-class disputes – 10% During the course each student is expected to participate in a class-long dispute on a controversial philosophical problem. In the course of the debate students, working in teams of, usually, three, are expected to defend the assigned position and challenge the position of the opponents by presenting arguments, as convincing as possible, refuting counterarguments, asking and answering relevant questions. Active participation of each team member will be required, grades depending on individual contribution.

• In-class issue presentation – 15%. Such a presentation (up to 15 minutes) is performed by each student at least once in the term. The presentation will be based on the week’s additional readings. The presenter should supply a brief summary of the argument but offer a critical interpretation of the reading by drawing out the key ideas of the text, linking them with others already covered, and registering agreements and disagreements. The presenter should also attempt to consider how the given argument could be framed differently. A few critical questions should further be offered for the class to discuss collectively. The presenter will be given a short written feedback after the presentation, including the grade, which can be followed up by consultation during office hours.

• Oral exam – 50% (in class, 30 minutes).

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PART 2. COURSE CONTENT

2.1. Course content and readings by topic

Section 1. The Subject of Philosophy and the Character of Philosophic Knowledge.

Topic 1. The Subject of Philosophy and the Character of Philosophic Knowledge.

Summary: The notion of philosophy. Prevalent interpretations of the nature and scope and functions of philosophy: philosophy as superscience (the Queen of Sciences), philosophy as underscience (pre-scientific or pseudoscientific speculation), philosophy as metascience. The notion of reflection. Major parts and branches of philosophy: ontology, epistemology, axiology; philosophies of the branches of knowledge. Major philosophical traditions: Chinese, Indian, Western. Periodizations of Western philosophy.

Seminar 1. The Subject of Philosophy and the Character of Philosophic Knowledge.

• Compulsory readings: o Aristotle. The Metaphysics / Translated by Hugh Lawson-Tancred. – Book I (A),

Ch. 1-2. – London: Penguin, 1999. – P. 3ff; see also Internet resources. o Russell Bertrand. A History of Western Philosophy. – Introduction. – New York et

al.: Simon and Schuster, n/y. – P. xiii-xxiii; see also Internet resources. • Further readings:

o Windelband Wilhelm. A History of Philosophy / Authorised translation by James H. Tufts. – § 1. – Adamant, 2006. – P. 1-8; see also Internet resources.

• Internet resources: o Aristotle. Metaphysics / Translated by W. D. Ross. – Book I, Ch. 1-2 //

http://www.classicallibrary.org/aristotle/metaphysics/book01.htm; also: http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/ancient/aristotle-metaphysics.txt; also: http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/metaphysics.1.i.html.

o Joll Nicholas. Contemporary Metaphilosophy // The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://www.iep.utm.edu/con-meta/.

o Russell Bertrand. A History of Western Philosophy. – Introduction // http://archive.org/stream/westernphilosoph035502mbp#page/n9/mode/2up.

o Windelband Wilhelm. A History of Philosophy / Authorised translation by James H. Tufts. – § 1 // http://archive.org/stream/historyofphiloso007974mbp#page/n21/mode/2up.

Section 2. Cosmocentric and Anthropocentric Philosophy: Classical Greek and Roman Philosophy.

Topic 2.1. From Thales to Zeno: Early Greek Philosophy of Nature.

Summary: Chaos and cosmos: understanding nature by means of reason. Unity of nature and the problem of change and diversity. The Milesian School, Heracleitus, the Eleatic School. Reasoning versus sensual perception.

Seminar 2.1. From Thales to Zeno: Early Greek Philosophy of Nature.

• Compulsory readings:

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o Russell Bertrand. A History of Western Philosophy. – Book I, Ch. II-V. – New York et al.: Simon and Schuster, n/y. – P. 24-52; see also Internet resources.

o Windelband Wilhelm. A History of Philosophy / Authorised translation by James H. Tufts. – §§ 4-6. – Adamant, 2006. – P. 27-65; see also Internet resources.

• Further readings: o A Presocratics Reader / Ed. by Patricia Curd. – Indianapolis: Hackett, 2011. o Aristotle. The Metaphysics / Translated by Hugh Lawson-Tancred. – Book I (A),

Ch. 3-8. – London: Penguin, 1999. – P. 10ff; see also Internet resources. o Copleston Frederick. A History of Philosophy. – Vol. 1: Greece and Rome. From the

Pre-Socratics to Plotinus. – Ch. III-VII. – New York et al.: Doubleday, 1993. – P. 22-60.

o Hussey Edward. Pythagoreans and Eleatics // Routledge History of Philosophy. – Vol. I: From the Beginning to Plato / Ed. by C. C. W. Taylor. – Ch. 4. – London & New York: Routledge, 1997. – P. 117-155.

o Osborne Catherine. Heraclitus // Routledge History of Philosophy. – Vol. I: From the Beginning to Plato / Ed. by C. C. W. Taylor. – Ch. 3. – London & New York: Routledge, 1997. – P. 80-113.

o Schofield Malcolm. The Ionians // Routledge History of Philosophy. – Vol. I: From the Beginning to Plato / Ed. by C. C. W. Taylor. – Ch. 2. – London & New York: Routledge, 1997. – P. 42-75.

• Internet resources: o Aristotle. Metaphysics / Translated by W. D. Ross. – Book I, Ch. 3-8 //

http://www.classicallibrary.org/aristotle/metaphysics/book01.htm; also: http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/ancient/aristotle-metaphysics.txt; also: http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/metaphysics.1.i.html.

o Curd Patricia. Presocratic Philosophy // Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/presocratics/.

o Graham Daniel W. Heraclitus // Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/heraclitus/.

o Huggett Nick. Zeno’s Paradoxes // Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/paradox-zeno/.

o John Palmer. Parmenides // Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/parmenides/.

o Palmer John. Zeno of Elea // Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/zeno-elea/.

o Russell Bertrand. A History of Western Philosophy. – Book I, Ch. II-V // http://archive.org/stream/westernphilosoph035502mbp#page/n53/mode/2up; http://archive.org/stream/westernphilosoph035502mbp#page/n59/mode/2up; http://archive.org/stream/westernphilosoph035502mbp#page/n65/mode/2up; http://archive.org/stream/westernphilosoph035502mbp#page/n75/mode/2up.

o Windelband Wilhelm. A History of Philosophy / Authorised translation by James H. Tufts. – §§ 4-6 // http://archive.org/stream/historyofphiloso007974mbp#page/n51/mode/2up; http://archive.org/stream/historyofphiloso007974mbp#page/n67/mode/2up; http://archive.org/stream/historyofphiloso007974mbp#page/n77/mode/2up.

Topic 2.2. Ancient Atomism: Substantiation of Materialism.

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Summary: The origins of ancient atomism. The notion of atom. The ontology of atomism. Preservation of matter. Determinism. The epistemology of atomism. The nature of sensual perception. Limitations of atomism.

Seminar 2.2. Ancient Atomism: Substantiation of Materialism..

• Compulsory readings: o Russell Bertrand. A History of Western Philosophy. – Book I, Ch. IX. – New York et

al.: Simon and Schuster, n/y. – P. 64-73; see also Internet resources. o Windelband Wilhelm. A History of Philosophy / Authorised translation by James

H. Tufts. – § 10. – Adamant, 2006. – P. 109-116; see also Internet resources. • Further readings:

o Copleston Frederick. A History of Philosophy. – Vol. 1: Greece and Rome. From the Pre-Socratics to Plotinus. –Ch. X, XVI. – New York et al.: Doubleday, 1993. – P. 72-75, 124-126.

o Lucretius Carus Titus. On the Nature of Things / Translated by Walter Englert. – Books 1, 2, 4. – Newburyport MA: Focus Publishing/R. Pullins Co., 2003; also: Translated by Frank Copley. – W. W. Norton & Company, 2011; see also Internet resources..

o Taylor C. C. W. Anaxagoras and the Atomists // Routledge History of Philosophy. – Vol. I: From the Beginning to Plato / Ed. by C. C. W. Taylor. – Ch. 6. – London & New York: Routledge, 1997. – P. 192-221.

• Internet resources: o Berryman Sylvia. Ancient Atomism // Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy,

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/atomism-ancient/. o Berryman Sylvia. Democritus // Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy,

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/democritus/. o Berryman Sylvia. Leucippus // Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy,

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/leucippus/. o Lucretius Carus Titus. On the Nature of Things / Translated by William Ellery

Leonard. – Books 1, 2, 4 // http://classics.mit.edu/Carus/nature_things.html; also: http://www.gutenberg.org/catalog/world/readfile?fk_files=3274058.

o Russell Bertrand. A History of Western Philosophy. – Book I, Ch. IX // http://archive.org/stream/westernphilosoph035502mbp#page/n95/mode/2up.


Topic 2.3. Plato: Substantiation of Idealism.

Summary: The roots of Platonic idealism. The Pythagoreans and Socrates. The challenge of the Sophists. The theory of Forms and the triune notion of eidos. The universals and the particulars. The world of senses and the world of mind. The ideal and the deficient.

Seminar 2.3. Plato: Substantiation of Idealism.

• Compulsory readings: o Plato. Meno / Translated by George Anastalpo and Laurence Berns. – Newburyport

MA: Focus Publishing/R. Pullins Co., 2004; see also Internet resources.

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o Russell Bertrand. A History of Western Philosophy – Book I, Ch. XIII, XV-XVI, XVIII. – New York et al.: Simon and Schuster, n/y. – P. 104-107, 119-143, 149-159; see also Internet resources.

o Windelband Wilhelm. A History of Philosophy / Authorised translation by James H. Tufts. – §§ 8-9, 11. – Adamant, 2006. – P. 87-98, 104-109, 116-131; see also Internet resources.

• Further readings: o Copleston Frederick. A History of Philosophy. – Vol. 1: Greece and Rome. From the

Pre-Socratics to Plotinus. –Ch. XII-XIV, XVII-XXIV. – New York et al.: Doubleday, 1993. – P. 81-115, 127-252.

o Benson Hugh H. Socrates and the Beginnings of Moral Philosophy // Routledge History of Philosophy. – Vol. I: From the Beginning to Plato / Ed. by C. C. W. Taylor. – Ch. 9. – London & New York: Routledge, 1997. – P. 298-324.

o Heinaman Robert. Plato: Metaphysics and Epistemology // Routledge History of Philosophy. – Vol. I: From the Beginning to Plato / Ed. by C. C. W. Taylor. – Ch. 10. – London & New York: Routledge, 1997. – P. 331-358.

o Kerferd J. B. The Sophists // Routledge History of Philosophy. – Vol. I: From the Beginning to Plato / Ed. by C. C. W. Taylor. – Ch. 7. – London & New York: Routledge, 1997. – P. 225-245.

o Plato. Hippias Major // Socrates and the Sophists: Plato’s Protagoras, Euthydemus, Hippias Major and Cratylus / Translated by Joe Sacks. – Newburyport MA: Focus Publishing/R. Pullins Co., 2010. – P. 129-156; see also Internet resources.

o Plato. Phaedo / Translated by David Gallop. – Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009; also: Translated by Benjamin Jowett. – Arc Manor, 2008; see also Internet resources.

o Plato. Theaetetus / Translated by Joe Sacks. – Newburyport MA: Focus Publishing/R. Pullins Co., 2004; see also Internet resources.

o Russell Bertrand. A History of Western Philosophy. – Book I, Ch. X-XI, XIV, XVII. – New York et al.: Simon and Schuster, n/y. – P. 73-93, 108-119, 143-148; see also Internet resources.

• Internet resources: o Kraut Richard. Plato // Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy,

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plato/. o Nails Debra. Socrates // Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy,

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/socrates/. o Plato. Hippias (major) / Translated by Benjamin Jowett //

http://www.ellopos.net/elpenor/greek-texts/ancient-greece/plato/plato-hippias-major.asp.

o Plato. Meno / Translated by Benjamin Jowett // http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/meno.html; also: http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/ancient/plato-meno.txt.

o Plato. Phaedo / Translated by Benjamin Jowett // http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1658/1658-h/1658-h.htm; http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1658/1658.txt.

o Plato. Theaetetus / Translated by Benjamin Jowett // http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1726/1726-h/1726-h.htm; http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/1726/pg1726.txt.

o Russell Bertrand. A History of Western Philosophy – Book I, Ch. X-XI, XIII-XVIII // http://archive.org/stream/westernphilosoph035502mbp#page/n105/mode/2up; http://archive.org/stream/westernphilosoph035502mbp#page/n113/mode/2up; http://archive.org/stream/westernphilosoph035502mbp#page/n135/mode/2up;

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http://archive.org/stream/westernphilosoph035502mbp#page/n139/mode/2up; http://archive.org/stream/westernphilosoph035502mbp#page/n151/mode/2up; http://archive.org/stream/westernphilosoph035502mbp#page/n165/mode/2up (p. 154-155 missing); http://archive.org/stream/westernphilosoph035502mbp#page/n173/mode/2up; http://archive.org/stream/westernphilosoph035502mbp#page/n179/mode/2up.

o Silverman Allan. Plato’s Middle Period Metaphysics and Epistemology // Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plato-metaphysics/.

o Taylor C. C. W. and Mi-Kyoung Lee. The Sophists // Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/sophists/.

o Windelband Wilhelm. A History of Philosophy / Authorised translation by James H. Tufts. – §§ 8-9, 11 // http://archive.org/stream/historyofphiloso007974mbp#page/n107/mode/2up; http://archive.org/stream/historyofphiloso007974mbp#page/n125/mode/2up; http://archive.org/stream/historyofphiloso007974mbp#page/n137/mode/2up.

Topic 2.4. Aristotle: The Structure of Reality and the Structure of Knowledge.

Summary: Criticism of the Platonic theory of Forms and Aristotelian own hylomorphism. Potentiality and actuality. Reality as a hierarchy of species and genera. Aristotelian epistemology and logic. The nature and functions of inference.

Seminar 2.4. Aristotle: The Structure of Reality and the Structure of Knowledge.

• Compulsory readings: o Aristotle. The Metaphysics / Translated by Hugh Lawson-Tancred.. – Book I (A) –

London: Penguin, 1999. – P. 3ff; see also Internet resources. o Russell Bertrand. A History of Western Philosophy. – Book I, Ch. XIX,

XXII-XXIII. – New York et al.: Simon and Schuster, n/y. – P. 159-172, 195-207; see also Internet resources.


• Further readings: o Aristotle. Categories / Translated by J. L Ackrill. – Ch. 1-9 // Aristotle. Categories

and De Interpretatione. – Oxford; Oxford University Press, 2002. – P. 3ff; see also Internet resources.

o Code Alan. Aristotle’s Logic and Metaphysics // Routledge History of Philosophy. – Vol. II: From Aristotle to Augustine / Ed. by David Furley. – Ch. 2. – London & New York: Routledge, 1999. – P. 40-71.

o Copleston Frederick. A History of Philosophy. – Vol. 1: Greece and Rome. From the Pre-Socratics to Plotinus. –Ch. XVII-XXX, XXXIV. – New York et al.: Doubleday, 1993. – P. 266-331, 372-378.

o Furley David. Aristotle the Philosopher of Nature // Routledge History of Philosophy. – Vol. II: From Aristotle to Augustine / Ed. by David Furley. – Ch. 1. – London & New York: Routledge, 1999. – P. 9-37.

o Russell Bertrand. A History of Western Philosophy. – Book I, Ch. XX-XXI. – New York et al.: Simon and Schuster, n/y. – P. 172-195; see also Internet resources.

• Internet resources:

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o Aristotle. Categories / Translated by J. L Ackrill. – Ch. 1-9 // http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/a/aristotle/categories/; also: file:///G:/E-Books/=Philosophy/Ancient%20Phiolosophy/Aristotle,%20Categories.htm.

o Aristotle. Metaphysics / Translated by W. D. Ross . – Book I // http://www.classicallibrary.org/aristotle/metaphysics/book01.htm; also: http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/ancient/aristotle-metaphysics.txt; also: http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/metaphysics.1.i.html.

o Cohen S. Marc. Aristotle’s Metaphysics // Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-metaphysics/.

o Falcon Andrea. Aristotle on Causality // Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-causality/.

o Russell Bertrand. A History of Western Philosophy. – Book I, Ch. XIX-XXIII // http://archive.org/stream/westernphilosoph035502mbp#page/n191/mode/2up; http://archive.org/stream/westernphilosoph035502mbp#page/n201/mode/2up; http://archive.org/stream/westernphilosoph035502mbp#page/n213/mode/2up; http://archive.org/stream/westernphilosoph035502mbp#page/n225/mode/2up; http://archive.org/stream/westernphilosoph035502mbp#page/n233/mode/2up.

o Shields Christopher. Aristotle // Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle/.

o Smith Robin. Aristotle’s Logic // Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-logic/.

o Windelband Wilhelm. A History of Philosophy / Authorised translation by James H. Tufts. – §§ 12-13 // http://archive.org/stream/historyofphiloso007974mbp#page/n153/mode/2up; http://archive.org/stream/historyofphiloso007974mbp#page/n159/mode/2up.

Topic 2.5. Epicureans and Stoics: Philosophy as the Art of Living.

Summary: The influence of Socrates: the anthropocentric turn. The Cyrenaics and the Cynics: hedonism versus asceticism. Eudaemonism and the autarky of reason. Ontology and ethics: fatalism versus free will.

Seminar 2.5. Epicureans and Stoics: Philosophy as the Art of Living.

• Compulsory readings: o Epicurus. Letter to Menoeceus // Epicurus. The Art of Happiness. – New York:

Penguin Books, 2012. – P. 155ff; see also Internet resources. o Russell Bertrand. A History of Western Philosophy. – Book I, Ch. XXVI-XXVIII. –

New York et al.: Simon and Schuster, n/y. – P. 228-233, 240-270; see also Internet resources.

o Windelband Wilhelm. A History of Philosophy / Authorised translation by James H. Tufts. – §§ 7, 14-16. – Adamant, 2006. – P. 72-87, 163-177; see also Internet resources.

• Further readings: o Cicero Marcus Tullius. Tusculan Disputations / Translated by C. D. Yonge. –

Book I: On the Contempt of Death; Book V: Whether Virtue Alone Be Sufficient for a Happy Life. – Echo, 2007; see also Internet resources.

o Copleston Frederick. A History of Philosophy. – Vol. 1: Greece and Rome. From the Pre-Socratics to Plotinus. –Ch. XV, XXXVI-XXXVII, XXXIX-XL. – New York et al.: Doubleday, 1993. – P. 116-123, 385-412, 421-437.

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o Everson Stephen. Epicureanism // Routledge History of Philosophy. – Vol. II: From Aristotle to Augustine / Ed. by David Furley. – Ch. 6. – London & New York: Routledge, 1999. – P. 188-218.

o Inwood Brad. Stoicism // Routledge History of Philosophy. – Vol. II: From Aristotle to Augustine / Ed. by David Furley. – Ch. 7. – London & New York: Routledge, 1999. – P. 222-251.

o Lucretius Carus Titus. On the Nature of Things / Translated by Walter Englert. – Book 3. – Newburyport MA: Focus Publishing/R. Pullins Co., 2003; also: Translated by Frank Copley. – W. W. Norton & Company, 2011; see also Internet resources.

• Internet resources: o Cicero Marcus Tullius. Tusculan Disputations / Translated by C. D. Yonge. –

Book I: On the Contempt of Death; Book V: Whether Virtue Alone Be Sufficient for a Happy Life // http://www.gutenberg.org/files/14988/14988-h/14988-h.htm.

o Epicurus. Letter to Menoeceus / Translated by Robert Drew Hicks // http://www.epicurus.net/en/menoeceus.html; also: Translated by James Fieser // http://web.archive.org/web/19990117030517/http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/text/epicurus/menoec.htm.

o Graver Margaret. Epictetus // Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/epictetus/.

o Konstan David. Epicurus // Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/epicurus/.

o Lucretius Carus Titus. On the Nature of Things / Translated by William Ellery Leonard. – Book 3 // http://classics.mit.edu/Carus/nature_things.html; also: http://www.gutenberg.org/catalog/world/readfile?fk_files=3274058.

o Russell Bertrand. A History of Western Philosophy. – Book I, Ch. XXVI-XXVIII // http://archive.org/stream/westernphilosoph035502mbp#page/n259/mode/2up; http://archive.org/stream/westernphilosoph035502mbp#page/n269/mode/2up; http://archive.org/stream/westernphilosoph035502mbp#page/n281/mode/2up.

o Sedley David. Lucretius // Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/lucretius/.

o Vogt Katja. Seneca // Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/seneca/.

o Windelband Wilhelm. A History of Philosophy / Authorised translation by James H. Tufts. – §§ 7, 14-16 // http://archive.org/stream/historyofphiloso007974mbp#page/n93/mode/2up; http://archive.org/stream/historyofphiloso007974mbp#page/n185/mode/2up; http://archive.org/stream/historyofphiloso007974mbp#page/n201/mode/2up; http://archive.org/stream/historyofphiloso007974mbp#page/n213/mode/2up.

Topic 2.6. Ancient Skepticism.

Summary: The roots of ancient Skepticism. Pyrrhon and the suspension of judgement (epoche). Aenesidemus and the untrustworthiness of senses. Agrippa and the untrustworthiness of reasoning. Academic Skepticism: certainty and probability.

Seminar 2.6. Ancient Skepticism.

• Compulsory readings: o Russell Bertrand. A History of Western Philosophy. – Book I, Ch. XXVI (in part). –

New York et al.: Simon and Schuster, n/y. – P. 233-239; see also Internet resources.

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• Further readings: o Copleston Frederick. A History of Philosophy. – Vol. 1: Greece and Rome. From the

Pre-Socratics to Plotinus. – Ch. XXXVIII, XXXIX-XLI. – New York et al.: Doubleday, 1993. – P. 413-420, 442-445.

o Frede Michael. The Sceptics // Routledge History of Philosophy. – Vol. II: From Aristotle to Augustine / Ed. by David Furley. – Ch. 8. – London & New York: Routledge, 1999. – P. 253-286.

o Sextus Empiricus. Outlines of Pyrrhonism / Ed. by Julia Annas and Jonathan Barnes. – Book I – Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000. – P. 3-64; also: Translated by R. G. Bury. – Buffalo NY: Prometheus Books, 1990.

• Internet resources: o Russell Bertrand. A History of Western Philosophy. – Book I, Ch. XXVI //

http://archive.org/stream/westernphilosoph035502mbp#page/n259/mode/2up. o Sextus Empiricus. Outlines of Pyrrhonism. – Book I //

http://www.sciacchitano.it/pensatori%20epistemici/scettici/outlines%20of%20pyrronism.pdf; also: http://evans-experientialism.freewebspace.com/sextus_empiricus02.htm.

o Vogt Katja. Ancient Skepticism // Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/skepticism-ancient/.


Section 3. Theocentric Philosophy: Western Medieval Philosophy.

Topic 3.1. God, Man, and History: Patristic Philosophy.

Summary: Reasoning within the domain of dogmas. God and the problem of evil. A new paradigm of history: history as a unique drama.

Seminar 3.1. God, Man, and History: Patristic Philosophy.

• Compulsory readings: o Copleston Frederick. A History of Philosophy. – Vol. 2: Medieval Philosophy. From

Augustine to Duns Scotus. – Ch. IV-VIII. – New York et al.: Doubleday, 1993. – P. 51-90.


• Further readings: o O’Daly Gerard. Augustine // Routledge History of Philosophy. – Vol. II: From

Aristotle to Augustine / Ed. by David Furley. – Ch. 12. – London & New York: Routledge, 1999. – P. 389-422.

o Russell Bertrand. A History of Western Philosophy. – Book II, Ch. IV. – New York et al.: Simon and Schuster, n/y. – P. 352-366; see also Internet resources.

• Internet resources: o Mendelson Michael. Saint Augustine // Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy,

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/augustine/.

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o Russell Bertrand. A History of Western Philosophy. – Book II, Ch. IV // http://archive.org/stream/westernphilosoph035502mbp#page/n371/mode/2up.

o Tooley Michael. The Problem of Evil // Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/evil/.

o Windelband Wilhelm. A History of Philosophy / Authorised translation by James H. Tufts. – §§ 18-21 // http://archive.org/stream/historyofphiloso007974mbp#page/n241/mode/2up; http://archive.org/stream/historyofphiloso007974mbp#page/n251/mode/2up; http://archive.org/stream/historyofphiloso007974mbp#page/n257/mode/2up; http://archive.org/stream/historyofphiloso007974mbp#page/n277/mode/2up.

Topic 3.2. God, Nature, and Reason: Scholastic Philosophy.

Summary: Faith and Reason. The existence of God. The problem of universals: nominalism, realism, conceptualism.

Seminar 3.2.

• Compulsory readings: o Copleston Frederick. A History of Philosophy. – Vol. 2: Medieval Philosophy. From

Augustine to Duns Scotus. – Ch. XIV-XV, XXXII, XXXIV. – New York et al.: Doubleday, 1993. – P. 136-165, 312-323, 336-346.

o Windelband Wilhelm. A History of Philosophy / Authorised translation by James H. Tufts. – §§ 23-24, 26. – Adamant, 2006. – P. 287-309, 328-337; see also Internet resources.

• Further readings: o Anselm of Canterbury. Proslogion, including Gaunilo’s Objections and Anselm’s

Replies / Translated by Matthew D. Walz. – St. Augustines Press; 2013; also: Anselm. Proslogion: With the Replies of Gaunilo and Anselm / Translated by Thomas Williams. – Indianapolis: Hackett, 1995; see also Internet resources.

o Davies Brian. Thomas Aquinas // Routledge History of Philosophy. – Vol. III: Medieval Philosophy // Ed. by John Marenbon. – Ch. 11. – London & New York: Routledge, 1998. – P. 241-266.

o King Peter. Boethius’s Anti-realist Arguments // Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy. – Vol. XL (Summer 2011) / Ed. by James Allen et al. – Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011. –P. 381-400; see also Internet resources.

o Russell Bertrand. A History of Western Philosophy. – Book II, Ch. XI, § 4, XIII. – New York et al.: Simon and Schuster, n/y. – P. 435-441, 452-463; see also Internet resources.

• Internet resources: o Anselm of Canterbury. Proslogion / Translated by David Burr. – Ch. 1-4; Gaunilo.

How Someone Writing on Behalf of the Fool Might Reply to All This; Anselm’s Reply to Gaunilo // http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/anselm.asp.

o Boethius Anicius Manlius Severinus. Commentary on Porphyry’s Isagoge. – Book 1 / Translated by G. MacDonald Ross // http://ru.scribd.com/doc/75461379/Boethius-Commentary-on-Porphyry-Tr-G-MacDonald-Ross (access to registered readers only).

o Boethius Anicius Manlius Severinus. Commentary on Porphyry’s Isagoge. – Book 1 (excerpts) // Five Texts on the Mediaeval Problem of Universals: Porphyry, Boethius, Abelard, Duns Scotus, Ockham / Ed. by Vincent Paul Spade //

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http://books.google.ru/books?id=FZ0lGvQr_H8C&pg=PR5&hl=ru&source=gbs_selected_pages&cad=3#v=onepage&q&f=false.

o King Peter. Boethius’s Anti-realist Arguments // http://individual.utoronto.ca/pking/articles/BAR.pdf.

o Kilcullen R. J. Boethius on Porphyry // http://antology.rchgi.spb.ru/Boethius/Ad_Porphirium_Comment.eng.html.

o Klima Gyula. The Medieval Problem of Universals // Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/universals-medieval/.

o Marenbon John. Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius // Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/boethius/.

o McInerny Ralph and O’Callaghan John. Saint Thomas Aquinas // Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aquinas/.

o Oppy Graham. Ontological Arguments // Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ontological-arguments/.

o Russell Bertrand. A History of Western Philosophy. – Book II, Ch. XIII // http://archive.org/stream/westernphilosoph035502mbp#page/n455/mode/2up; http://archive.org/stream/westernphilosoph035502mbp#page/n473/mode/2up.

o Spade Paul Vincent. Boethius against Universals: The Arguments in the Second Commentary on Porphyry // http://www.pvspade.com/Logic/docs/boethius.pdf.

o Ratzsch Del. Teleological Arguments for God’s Existence // Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/teleological-arguments/.

o Reichenbach Bruce. Cosmological Argument // Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/cosmological-argument/.

o Spade Paul Vincent. Boethius against Universals: The Arguments in the Second Commentary on Porphyry // http://pvspade.com/Logic/docs/boethius.pdf.

o Taliaferro Charles. Philosophy of Religion. – Ch. 4.2: God’s Existence // Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/philosophy-religion/#GodExi.

o Williams Thomas. Saint Anselm // Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/anselm/.

o Windelband Wilhelm. A History of Philosophy / Authorised translation by James H. Tufts. – §§ 23-24, 26 // http://archive.org/stream/historyofphiloso007974mbp#page/n309/mode/2up; http://archive.org/stream/historyofphiloso007974mbp#page/n325/mode/2up; http://archive.org/stream/historyofphiloso007974mbp#page/n353/mode/2up.

Section 4. Epistemocentric Philosophy: Modern European Philosophy.

Topic 4.1. Francis Bacon: Substantiation of Empiricism.

Summary: Roots of Empiricism. The idols of the mind: the idols of the tribe, the idols of the cave, the idols of the marketplace, the idols of the theatre. The nature of scientific knowledge: knowledge as power; experience and experiment. The new method of inductive reasoning: tables of presence, tables of absence, tables and of degree. Modus tollendo ponens.

Seminar 4.1. Francis Bacon: Substantiation of Empiricism.

• Compulsory readings: o Bacon Francis. The New Organon. – Book I, Aphorisms I-LXX. – – Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press, 2000. – P. 33ff. ; see also Internet resources.

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o Russell Bertrand. A History of Western Philosophy. – Book III, Ch. VI-VII. – New York et al.: Simon and Schuster, n/y. – P. 525-546; see also Internet resources.


• Further readings: o Copleston Frederick. A History of Philosophy. – Vol. 3: Late Medieval and

Renaissance Philosophy. Ockham, Francis Bacon, and the Beginning of the Modern World. – Ch. XIX. – New York et al.: Doubleday, 1993. – P. 292-309.

o Pérez-Ramos Antonio. Francis Bacon and Man’s Two-faced Kingdom // Routledge History of Philosophy. – Vol. IV: The Renaissance and Seventeenth-century Rationalism / Ed. by G. H. R. Parkinson. – Ch. 4. – London & New York: Routledge, 1993. – P. 130-150.

• Internet resources: o Bacon Francis. Novum Organum. – Book I, Aphorisms I-LXX //

http://archive.org/stream/baconsnovumorgan00bacouoft#page/6/mode/2up; also: http://oll.libertyfund.org/?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle=1432&Itemid=27; also: http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Novum_Organum/Book_I_%28Spedding%29.

o Klein Jürgen. Francis Bacon // Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/francis-bacon/.

o Russell Bertrand. A History of Western Philosophy. – Book III, Ch. VI-VII // http://archive.org/stream/westernphilosoph035502mbp#page/n545/mode/2up; http://archive.org/stream/westernphilosoph035502mbp#page/n561/mode/2up.

o Windelband Wilhelm. A History of Philosophy / Authorised translation by James H. Tufts. – §§ 30-31 // http://archive.org/stream/historyofphiloso007974mbp#page/n407/mode/2up; http://archive.org/stream/historyofphiloso007974mbp#page/n423/mode/2up; also: http://archive.org/stream/historyofphiloso02wind#page/382/mode/2up; http://archive.org/stream/historyofphiloso02wind#page/398/mode/2up.

Topic 4.2. René Descartes and Benedict Spinoza: Substantiation of Rationalism.

Summary: Descartes’ epistemology: radical doubt; Cogito ergo sum; “natural light”; the idea of God and the Divine Guarantee; the four rules of method. Descartes’ ontology: dualism of mind and matter and the problem of their interaction: “natural light” (innate ideas) and the pineal gland. Later Cartesianism: occasionalism.

Seminar 4.2. René Descartes and Benedict Spinoza: Substantiation of Rationalism.

• Compulsory readings: o Descartes René. Meditations on First Philosophy. – Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press, 1996; also: Indianapolis: Hackett, 2006. o Russell Bertrand. A History of Western Philosophy. – Book III, Ch. IX-X. – New

York et al.: Simon and Schuster, n/y. – P. 557-580; see also Internet resources. o Windelband Wilhelm. A History of Philosophy / Authorised translation by James

H. Tufts. – §§ 30-31. – Adamant, 2006. – P. 383-425; see also Internet resources. • Further readings:

o Copleston Frederick. A History of Philosophy. – Vol. 4: Modern Philosophy. From Descartes to Leibniz. – Ch. II-V, VIII-XII. – New York et al.: Doubleday, 1994. – P. 63-138, 174-237.

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o Cottingham John. Descartes: Metaphysics and the Philosophy of Mind // Routledge History of Philosophy. – Vol. IV: The Renaissance and Seventeenth-century Rationalism / Ed. by G. H. R. Parkinson. – Ch. 6. – London & New York: Routledge, 1993. – P. 187-215.

o Gaukroger Stephen. Descartes: Methodology // Routledge History of Philosophy. – Vol. IV: The Renaissance and Seventeenth-century Rationalism / Ed. by G. H. R. Parkinson. – Ch. 5. – London & New York: Routledge, 1993. – P. 156-182.

o Parkinson G. H. R. Spinoza: Metaphysics and Knowledge // Routledge History of Philosophy. – Vol. IV: The Renaissance and Seventeenth-century Rationalism / Ed. by G. H. R. Parkinson. – Ch. 8. – London & New York: Routledge, 1993. – P. 253-284.

o Radner Daisie. Occasionalism // Routledge History of Philosophy. – Vol. IV: The Renaissance and Seventeenth-century Rationalism / Ed. by G. H. R. Parkinson. – Ch. 10. – London & New York: Routledge, 1993. – P.320-348.

• Internet resources: o Descartes René. Meditations on First Philosophy / Translated by John Veitch //

http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/texts/descartes/meditations/meditations.html; also: http://www.classicallibrary.org/descartes/meditations/; also: http://www.wright.edu/cola/descartes/mede.html; also: Unidentified translator http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/descartes/1639/meditations.htm;.

o Hatfield Gary. René Descartes // Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/descartes/.

o Lee Sukjae. Occasionalism // Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/occasionalism/.

o Lokhorst Gert-Jan. Descartes and the Pineal Gland // Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pineal-gland/.

o Nadler Steven. Baruch Spinoza // Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/spinoza/.

o Newman Lex. Descartes’ Epistemology // Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/descartes-epistemology/.

o Nolan Lawrence. Descartes’ Ontological Argument // Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/descartes-ontological/.

o Russell Bertrand. A History of Western Philosophy. – Book III, Ch. IX-X // http://archive.org/stream/westernphilosoph035502mbp#page/n579/mode/2up; http://archive.org/stream/westernphilosoph035502mbp#page/n591/mode/2up.

o Windelband Wilhelm. A History of Philosophy / Authorised translation by James H. Tufts. – §§ 30-31 // http://archive.org/stream/historyofphiloso007974mbp#page/n407/mode/2up; http://archive.org/stream/historyofphiloso007974mbp#page/n423/mode/2up; also: http://archive.org/stream/historyofphiloso02wind#page/382/mode/2up; http://archive.org/stream/historyofphiloso02wind#page/398/mode/2up.

Topic 4.3. John Locke and Gottfried Leibniz: Ontological Foundations and the Nature of Human Understanding.

Summary: Nativism: pro et contra. Tabula rasa versus universal consent, latent knowledge, spontaneous agreement, and deductive reasoning. Rationality of the world as prerequisite of its understandability. Truths eternal and factual. Locke’s reinterpretation of empiricism: experience as sensory perception. Bodily contact as transmitter of information. Primary and secondary qualities. Ideas of sensation and ideas of reflection. Simple and compound ideas. Hume’s version of

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subjective idealism: knowledge reduced to personal perception. The limits of demonstrative knowledge. The mental nature of causality. Natural beliefs and their functions. Skepticism.

Seminar 4.3. John Locke and Gottfried Leibniz: Ontological Foundations and the Nature of Human Understanding.

• Compulsory readings: o Russell Bertrand. A History of Western Philosophy. – Book III, Ch. XI, XIII. – New

York et al.: Simon and Schuster, n/y. – P. 581-596, 604-617; see also Internet resources.


• Further readings: o Copleston Frederick. A History of Philosophy. – Vol. 4: Modern Philosophy. From

Descartes to Leibniz. – Ch. XV-XVII. – New York et al.: Doubleday, 1994. – P. 264-319.

o Copleston Frederick. A History of Philosophy. – Vol. 5: Modern Philosophy. The British Philosophers from Hobbes to Hume. – Ch. IV-VI. – New York et al.: Doubleday, 1994. – P. 67-122.

o Jolley Nicholas. Leibniz: Truth, Knowledge and Metaphysics // Routledge History of Philosophy. – Vol. IV: The Renaissance and Seventeenth-century Rationalism / Ed. by G. H. R. Parkinson. – Ch. 11. – London & New York: Routledge, 1993. – P. 353-384.

o Locke John. An Essay Concerning Human Understanding. – Book I. – Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1979; see also Internet resources.

o Leibniz Gottfried Wilhelm. Monadology / Translated by George R. Montgomery // Leibniz Gottfried Wilhelm. Discourse on Metaphysics and the Monadology. – Prometheus Books, 1992; see also Internet resources.

o Leibniz Gottfried Wilhelm. New Essays on Human Understanding. – Book 1. – Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996; see also Internet resources.

o Tipton Jan. Locke: Knowledge and Its Limits // Routledge History of Philosophy. – Vol. V: British Philosophy and the Age of Enlightenment / Ed. by Brown Stuart. – Ch. 4. – London & New York: Routledge, 1996. – P. 56-74.

• Internet resources: o Kochiras Hylarie. Locke’s Philosophy of Science // Stanford Encyclopedia of

Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/locke-philosophy-science/. o Kulstad Mark and Carlin Laurence. Leibniz’s Philosophy of Mind // Stanford

Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/leibniz-mind/. o Locke John. An Essay Concerning Human Understanding. – Book I //

http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/texts/locke/locke1/contents1.html; also: http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/l/locke/john/l81u/B1.html.

o Leibniz Gottfried Wilhelm. Monadology // http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/kk3n/80-300/leibniz-monadology.htm; also: Translated by Robert Latta // http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/texts/leibniz/monadology.html; also: http://www.rbjones.com/rbjpub/philos/classics/leibniz/monad.htm.

o Leibniz Gottfried Wilhelm. New Essays on Human Understanding – Book 1 // http://www.earlymoderntexts.com/pdf/leibnew1.pdf; also: http://archive.org/stream/newessaysconcern00leib#page/n7/mode/2up.

o Look Brandon C. Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz // Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/leibniz/.

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o Russell Bertrand. A History of Western Philosophy. – Book III, Ch. XI, XIII // http://archive.org/stream/westernphilosoph035502mbp#page/n603/mode/2up; http://archive.org/stream/westernphilosoph035502mbp#page/n627/mode/2up.

o Uzgalis William. John Locke // Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/locke/.

o Windelband Wilhelm. A History of Philosophy / Authorised translation by James H. Tufts. – § 33 // http://archive.org/stream/historyofphiloso007974mbp#page/n473/mode/2up; also: http://archive.org/stream/historyofphiloso02wind#page/448/mode/2up.

Topic 4.4. George Berkeley and David Hume: Idealism Ontological and Epistemological.

Summary: Berkeley’s immaterialism: criticism of Locke’s concept of primary and secondary qualities; criticism of the notion of matter. Radical nominalism. Subjective idealism: ontological version. Things as collections of ideas. Existence of unperceived entities and the reality of other minds. The bogey of solipsism.

Seminar 4.4.

• Compulsory readings: o Berkeley George. Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous. – The First

Dialogue. – Pearson, 2006; also: Indianapolis: Hackett, 1979. – P. 7-42; see also Internet resources.

o Russell Bertrand. A History of Western Philosophy. – Book III, Ch. XVI-XVII. – New York et al.: Simon and Schuster, n/y. – P. 647-674; see also Internet resources.


• Further readings: o Berman David. George Berkeley // Routledge History of Philosophy. – Vol. V:

British Philosophy and the Age of Enlightenment / Ed. by Brown Stuart. – Ch. 5. – London & New York: Routledge, 1996. – P. 101-119.

o Copleston Frederick. A History of Philosophy. – Vol. 5: Modern Philosophy. The British Philosophers from Hobbes to Hume. – Ch. XI-XII, XIV-XV. – New York et al.: Doubleday, 1994. – P. 202-229, 258-317.

o Jacobson Anne Jaab. David Hume on Human Understanding // Routledge History of Philosophy. – Vol. V: British Philosophy and the Age of Enlightenment / Ed. by Brown Stuart. – Ch. 6. – London & New York: Routledge, 1996. – P. 123-144.

• Internet resources: o Berkeley George. Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous – The First

Dialogue // http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Three_Dialogues_Between_Hylas_and_Philonous.

o De Pierris Graciela and Friedman Michael. Kant and Hume on Causality // Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kant-hume-causality/.

o Downing Lisa. George Berkeley // Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/berkeley/.

o Morris William Edward. David Hume // Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/hume/.

o Russell Bertrand. A History of Western Philosophy. – Book III, Ch. XVI-XVII // http://archive.org/stream/westernphilosoph035502mbp#page/n673/mode/2up; http://archive.org/stream/westernphilosoph035502mbp#page/n685/mode/2up.

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Section 5. The Origin of Sociocentric Philosophy: Classical German Idealism.

Topic 5.1. Kant’s Theory of Knowledge.

Summary: The problem of synthetic a priori judgments. The Transcendental Aesthetic: time and space as a priori forms of human sensibility. The Transcendental Analytic: the transcendental unity of apperception; categories as a priori forms of understanding; synthetical principles of the pure understanding. The Transcendental Dialectic: the transcendental ideas (the soul, the world, the God) and dialectical procedure (the paralogisms, the antinomies, the Ideal) of pure reason.

Seminar 5.1. Kant’s Theory of Knowledge.

• Compulsory readings: o Kant Immanuel. Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics. – Pearson, 1994; also:

Indianapolis: Hackett, 2012; see also Internet resources. o Russell Bertrand. A History of Western Philosophy. – Book III, Ch. XX. – New York

et al.: Simon and Schuster, n/y. – P. 701-718; see also Internet resources. o Windelband Wilhelm. A History of Philosophy / Authorised translation by James


o Bonevac Daniel. Kant’s Copernican Revolution // Routledge History of Philosophy. –Vol. VI: The Age of German Idealism / Ed. by Robert C. Solomon and Kathleen M. Higgins. – Ch. 2. – London & New York: Routledge, 1993. – P. 40-65.

o Copleston Frederick. A History of Philosophy. – Vol. 6: Modern Philosophy. From the French Enlightenment to Kant. – Ch. X-XIII. – London: Search Press & New York: Paulist Press, 1977. – P. 180-307.

• Internet resources: o Brook Andrew. Kant’s View of the Mind and Consciousness of Self // Stanford

Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kant-mind/. o De Pierris Graciela and Friedman Michael. Kant and Hume on Causality // Stanford

Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kant-hume-causality/. o Michelle Grier. Kant’s Critique of Metaphysics // Stanford Encyclopedia of

Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kant-metaphysics/. o Janiak Andrew. Kant’s Views on Space and Time // Stanford Encyclopedia of

Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kant-spacetime/. o Kant Immanuel. Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics //

http://hudsoncress.net/hudsoncress.org/html/library/western-philosophy/Kant,%20Immanuel%20-%20Prolegomena%20To%20Any%20Future%20Metaphysics.PDF; also: http://philosophy.eserver.org/kant-prolegomena.txt; also: http://ebookbrowse.com/kant-immanuel-prolegomena-to-any-future-metaphysics-pdf-d285651123; also: http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Prolegomena_to_Any_Future_Metaphysics.

o Rohlf Michael. Immanuel Kant // Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kant/.

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o Russell Bertrand. A History of Western Philosophy. – Book III, Ch. XX // http://archive.org/stream/westernphilosoph035502mbp#page/n729/mode/2up.


Topic 5.2. Kant’s Moral Philosophy.

Summary: Kant’s moral philosophy: the good will; the categorical imperative; the antinomy of practical reason; the postulates of pure practical reason.

Seminar 5. 2. Kant’s Moral Philosophy..

• Compulsory readings: o Russell Bertrand. A History of Western Philosophy. – Book III, Ch. XX. – New York

et al.: Simon and Schuster, n/y. – P. 710-712; see also Internet resources. o Windelband Wilhelm. A History of Philosophy / Authorised translation by James


o Becker Don. Kant’s Moral and Political Philosophy // Routledge History of Philosophy. –Vol. VI: The Age of German Idealism / Ed. by Robert C. Solomon and Kathleen M. Higgins. – Ch. 3. – London & New York: Routledge, 1993. – P. 68-100.

o Copleston Frederick. A History of Philosophy. – Vol. 6: Modern Philosophy. From the French Enlightenment to Kant. – Ch. XIV. – London: Search Press & New York: Paulist Press, 1977. – P. 308-348.

• Internet resources: o Johnson Robert. Kant’s Moral Philosophy // Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy,

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kant-moral/. o Rohlf Michael. Immanuel Kant // Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy,

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kant/. o Russell Bertrand. A History of Western Philosophy. – Book III, Ch. XX //

http://archive.org/stream/westernphilosoph035502mbp#page/n729/mode/2up. o Windelband Wilhelm. A History of Philosophy / Authorised translation by James

H. Tufts. – § 39 // http://archive.org/stream/historyofphiloso007974mbp#page/n575/mode/2up; also: http://archive.org/stream/historyofphiloso02wind#page/550/mode/2up.

Topic 5.3. Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel: Absolute Idealism.

Summary: The basic principles: the unity of substance and subject; reality as development. Hegel’s system: the structure and stages of Absolute Reality. Hegel’s method: the dialectics. Hegel’s influence.

Seminar 5.3. Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel: Absolute Idealism.

• Compulsory readings:

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• Further readings: o Copleston Frederick. A History of Philosophy – Vol. 7: Modern Philosophy. From

the Post-Kantian Idealists to Marx, Kierkegaard, and Nietzsche. – Ch. IX-XI. – New York et al.: Doubleday, 1994. – P. 159-247.

o De Vries Willem. Hegel’s Logic and Philosophy of Mind // Routledge History of Philosophy. –Vol. VI: The Age of German Idealism / Ed. by Robert C. Solomon and Kathleen M. Higgins. – Ch. 7 – London & New York: Routledge, 1993. – P. 216-250.

o Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich. The Encyclopaedia of the Philosophical Sciences. – §§ 86-98 // Hegel’s Logic / Translated by William Wallace. – Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1975; also: Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich. The Encyclopaedia Logic. – Indianapolis: Hackett, 1991; see also Internet resources..

o Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich. The Encyclopaedia of the Philosophical Sciences. – §§ 553-577 // Hegel’s Philosophy of Mind / Translated by William Wallace. – Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007. – P. 259-278.

o Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich. Phenomenology of Spirit / Translated by A. V. Miller. – Introduction; [Ch.] I: Certainty at the Level of Sense Experience – the “This”, and “Meaning”. – Oxford et al.: Oxford University Press, 1977. – P. 47-66; also: The Phenomenology of Mind / Translated by J. B. Baillie. – New York: Dover, 2003. – P. 44-61; see also Internet resources.

o Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich. Who Thinks Abstractly? // Kaufmann Walter Arnold. Hegel: Texts and Commentary. – Garden City, NY: Anchor Books, 1966. – P. 113-118; see also Internet resources.

o Ilyenkov Evald. Dialectical Logic: Essays on Its History and Theory. – Ch. 5: Dialectics as Logic / Translated by H. Campbell Creighton. – Progress Publishers, 1977.

o Rauch Leo. Hegel, Spirit, and Politics // Routledge History of Philosophy. –Vol. VI: The Age of German Idealism / Ed. by Robert C. Solomon and Kathleen M. Higgins. – Ch. 8 – London & New York: Routledge, 1993. – P. 254-287.

o Russell Bertrand. A History of Western Philosophy. – Book III, Ch. XXII. – New York et al.: Simon and Schuster, n/y. – P. 730-746; see also Internet resources.

o Solomon Robert C. Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit // Routledge History of Philosophy. –Vol. VI: The Age of German Idealism / Ed. by Robert C. Solomon and Kathleen M. Higgins. – Ch. 6 – London & New York: Routledge, 1993. – P. 181-213.

• Internet resources: o Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich. The Encyclopaedia of the Philosophical Sciences. –

§§ 86-98 / Translated by William Wallace // http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/hegel/.

o Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich. The Encyclopaedia of the Philosophical Sciences. – §§ 553-577 / Translated by William Wallace //

o Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich. Phenomenology of Mind. – Introduction; [Ch.] I: Certainty at the Level of Sense Experience – the “This”, and “Meaning” // http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/hegel/works/ph/phintro.htm & http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/hegel/works/ph/phaa.htm.

o Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich. Who Thinks Abstractly? // http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/hegel/works/se/abstract.htm.

o Ilyenkov Evald. Dialectical Logic: Essays on Its History and Theory. – Ch. 5: Dialectics as Logic / Translated by H. Campbell Creighton // http://www.marxists.org/archive/ilyenkov/works/essays/essay5.htm.

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o Redding Paul. Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel // Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/hegel/.

o Russell Bertrand. A History of Western Philosophy. – Book III, Ch. XXII // http://archive.org/stream/westernphilosoph035502mbp#page/n757/mode/2up.


Section 6. National Philosophy as Culture’s Self-Understanding: The Russian Philosophy of the 19th and 20th Centuries.

Topic 6.1. Westernizers, Slavophiles, and Eurasianists: Search for Cultural Identity.

Summary: Pyotr Chaadayev: the riddle of Russia. Early Slavophiles: the character of Russian culture. Westernizers: progress versus isolation. Later Slavophiles: cultural diversity versus cultural uniformity. Eurasianists; a new version of Antiwesternism.

Seminar 6.1.

• Compulsory readings: o Beisswenger Martin. Eurasianism: Affirming the Person in an “Era of Faith” // A

History of Russian Philosophy. 1830-1930: Faith, Reason and the Defense of Human Dignity / Ed. by G. M. Hamburg and Randall A. Poole. – Ch. 18. – Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010. – P. 363-380.

o Horujy Sergey. Slavophiles, Westernizers, and the Birth of Russian Philosophical Humanism // A History of Russian Philosophy. 1830-1930: Faith, Reason and the Defense of Human Dignity / Ed. by G. M. Hamburg and Randall A. Poole. – Ch. 1. – Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010. – P. 27-51.

o Lossky Nicolay. History of Russian Philosophy. – Ch. I-III. – London: Allen & Unwin; 1952. – P. 9-58.

o Offord Derek. Alexander Herzen // A History of Russian Philosophy. 1830-1930: Faith, Reason and the Defense of Human Dignity / Ed. by G. M. Hamburg and Randall A. Poole. – Ch. 2. – Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010. – P. 52-68.

• Further readings: o Berdyayev Nicolas. The Russian Idea. – Ch. II. – New York: Macmillan, 1948. –

P. 34-71; see also Internet resources. o Copleston Frederick. A History of Philosophy. – Vol. 10: Russian Philosophy. –

Ch. 2-4. – London & New York: Continuum, 2003. – P. 26-99; see also Internet resources.

• Internet resources: o Berdyayev Nicolas. The Russian Idea. – Ch. II –

http://archive.org/stream/russianidea017842mbp#page/n11/mode/2up. o Copleston Frederick. A History of Philosophy. – Vol. 10: Russian Philosophy. –

Ch. 2-4. – London & New York: Continuum, 2003. – P. 26-99; http://books.google.ru/books?id=PBTxH_88fnYC&pg=PA142&lpg=PA142&dq=Lossky,+Nikolay.+History+of+Russian+Philosophy&source=bl&ots=_qYfxVyhad&sig=qyMjLLpyTGYT5iWpc8r0F3HYmKE&hl=ru&sa=X&ei=ffMaUaT4OaiB4ATl7o

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DYCg&ved=0CDsQ6AEwAzgU#v=onepage&q=Lossky%2C%20Nikolay.%20History%20of%20Russian%20Philosophy&f=false.

o Young Sarah J. Russian Thought. – Lecture 1: Petr Chaadaev and the Russian Question – http://sarahjyoung.com/site/2012/10/10/russian-thought-lecture-1-petr-chaadaev-and-the-russian-question/.

o Young Sarah J. Russian Thought. – Lecture 2: The Slavophiles and Russian Communality – http://sarahjyoung.com/site/2012/10/24/russian-thought-lecture-2-the-slavophiles-and-russian-communality/.

o Young Sarah J. Russian Thought. – Lecture 3: The Westernizers and Concepts of the Self: From Reconciliation to Action – http://sarahjyoung.com/site/2012/11/08/russian-thought-lecture-3-the-westernizers-and-concepts-of-the-self-from-reconciliation-to-action/.

Topic 6.2. Vladimir Solovyov: Philosophy of Absolute Unity.

Summary: The theory of integral knowledge: beyond the dichotomy of empiricism and rationalism. The ontology of Absolute Unity. Categories of organic logic. Sophiology. Godmanhood. Historiosophy. Theocratic Utopia.

Seminar 6.2.

• Compulsory readings: o Lossky Nicolay. History of Russian Philosophy. – Ch. VIII. – London: Allen &

Unwin; 1952. – P. 81-133. o Poole Randall A. Vladimir Solov’ëv’s Philosophical Anthropology: Autonomy.

Dignity, Perfectibility // A History of Russian Philosophy. 1830-1930: Faith, Reason and the Defense of Human Dignity / Ed. by G. M. Hamburg and Randall A. Poole. – Ch. 6. – Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010. – P. 131-149.

• Further readings: o Berdyayev Nicolas. The Russian Idea. – Ch. VIII, § 2. – New York: Macmillan,

1948. – P. 166-139; see also Internet resources. o Copleston Frederick. A History of Philosophy. – Vol. 10: Russian Philosophy. –

Ch. 9. – London & New York: Continuum, 2003. – P. 201-240; see also Internet resources.

• Internet resources: o Berdyayev Nicolas. The Russian Idea. – Ch. VIII –

http://archive.org/stream/russianidea017842mbp#page/n11/mode/2up. o Copleston Frederick. A History of Philosophy. – Vol. 10: Russian Philosophy. –

Ch. 9. – London & New York: Continuum, 2003. – P. 201-240; http://books.google.ru/books?id=PBTxH_88fnYC&pg=PA142&lpg=PA142&dq=Lossky,+Nikolay.+History+of+Russian+Philosophy&source=bl&ots=_qYfxVyhad&sig=qyMjLLpyTGYT5iWpc8r0F3HYmKE&hl=ru&sa=X&ei=ffMaUaT4OaiB4ATl7oDYCg&ved=0CDsQ6AEwAzgU#v=onepage&q=Lossky%2C%20Nikolay.%20History%20of%20Russian%20Philosophy&f=false.

o Young Sarah J. Russian thought. – Lecture 8: Vladimir Solov’ev: Godmanhood, Sophia, and Erotic Utopianism – http://sarahjyoung.com/site/2013/02/18/russian-thought-lecture-8-vladimir-solovev-godmanhood-sophia-and-erotic-utopianism/.

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2.2 Exam Questions 1. The subject of philosophy and the character of philosophic knowledge. 2. The major stages in the development of Western philosophy. 3. Philosophy of the Milesian school. 4. Philosophy of Heracleitus. 5. Philosophy of the Eleatic school. 6. Ancient atomism. 7. Sophists and Socrates. 8. Plato. Meno. 9. Plato’s theory of Forms. 10. Plato’s theory of knowledge. 11. Aristotle on the subject and the beginnings of philosophy (Metaphysics. Book I, Ch. 1-8). 12. Aristotle’s Criticism of the Platonic theory of forms (Metaphysics. Book I, Ch. 9). 13. Aristotle’s ontology. 14. Aristotle’s epistemology. 15. The ethics of the Cyrenaic school. 16. Philosophy of the Cynic school. 17. Epicurus. Letter to Menoeceus. 18. The ontology of Stoicism. 19. The ethics of Stoicism. 20. Ancient skepticism. 21. Boethius. Commentary on Porphyry’s Isagoge. Book 1. 22. Medieval theodicy. 23. The problem of universals in Medieval philosophy. 24. The problem of God’s existence in Medieval philosophy. 25. Bacon. Novum Organum. Book I, Aphorisms I-LXX. 26. Bacon’s theory of idols. 27. Bacon’s inductive method. 28. Descartes. Meditations on First Philosophy. 29. Descartes’ epistemology. 30. Descartes’ ontology. 31. Spinoza’s version of rationalism. 32. Locke versus Leibniz: the problem of innate knowledge. 33. Leibniz’s ontology. 34. Berkeley. Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous. Dialogue 1. 35. Berkeley’s epistemology and ontology. 36. Hume’s skepticism. 37. The evolution of Western empiricism in the 17th and 18th centuries. 38. The evolution of Western rationalism in the 17th and 18th centuries. 39. Kant’s theory of sensible intuition (Prolegomena. Part 1). 40. Kant’s theory of rational understanding (Prolegomena. Part 2). 41. Kant’s transcendental dialectic (Prolegomena. Part 3). 42. Kant’s theory of knowledge. 43. Kant’s moral philosophy. 44. Hegel’s philosophical system. 45. Hegel’s dialectics. 46. Westernizers versus Slavophiles: the problem of Russian identity. 47. Danilevsky’s theory of cultural types. 48. Vladimir Solovyov’s philosophy of Absolute Unity.

2.3 Tests and exam timing

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• Oral exam – during examination session from January 8th till January 25th, exact date TBA for every academic year

2.4 Consolidated reading list (in alphabetic order)

• 2.4.1. Classical philosophical literature (mandatory reading)

o Aristotle. The Metaphysics / Translated by Hugh Lawson-Tancred. – London: Penguin, 1999.

o Bacon Francis. The New Organon. – Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000. o Berkeley George, Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous. – Indianapolis: Hackett,

1979. o Descartes René. Meditations on First Philosophy. – Cambridge: Cambridge University

Press, 1996; also: Indianapolis: Hackett, 2006. o Epicurus. Letter to Menoeceus // Epicurus. The Art of Happiness. – New York: Penguin

Books, 2012. – P. 155ff. o Kant Immanuel. Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics. – Indianapolis: Hackett, 2012. o Plato. Meno / Translated by George Anastalpo and Laurence Berns. – Newburyport MA:

Focus Publishing/R. Pullins Co., 2004.

• 2.4.2. Classical philosophical literature (supplementary reading)

o Anselm of Canterbury. Proslogion, including Gaunilo’s Objections and Anselm’s Replies / Translated by Matthew D. Walz. – St. Augustines Press; 2013; also: Anselm. Proslogion: With the Replies of Gaunilo and Anselm / Translated by Thomas Williams. – Indianapolis: Hackett, 1995.

o Aristotle. Categories / Translated by J. L Ackrill // Aristotle. Categories and De Interpretatione. – Oxford; Oxford University Press, 2002.

o Cicero Marcus Tullius. Tusculan Disputations / Translated by C. D. Yonge. – Echo, 2007. o Five Texts on the Mediaeval Problem of Universals: Porphyry, Boethius, Abelard, Duns

Scotus, Ockham / Ed. by Vincent Paul Spade. – Hackett Pub Co Inc., 1994. o Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich. Phenomenology of Spirit / Translated by A. V. Miller. –

Oxford et al.: Oxford University Press, 1977; also: The Phenomenology of Mind / Translated by J. B. Baillie. – New York: Dover, 2003.

o Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich. The Encyclopaedia of the Philosophical Sciences Part I: Hegel’s Logic / Translated by William Wallace. – Oxford: Oxford University

Press, 1975. Part II: Hegel’s Philosophy of Nature / Translated by A. V. Miller. – Oxford: Oxford

University Press, 2004. Part III: Hegel’s Philosophy of Mind / Translated by William Wallace. – Oxford:

Oxford University Press, 2007. o Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich. Who Thinks Abstractly? // Kaufmann Walter Arnold.

Hegel: Texts and Commentary. – Garden City, NY: Anchor Books, 1966. o Leibniz Gottfried Wilhelm. New Essays on Human Understanding. – Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press, 1996. o Leibniz Gottfried Wilhelm. Monadology / Translated by George R. Montgomery // Leibniz

Gottfried Wilhelm. Discourse on Metaphysics and the Monadology. – Prometheus Books, 1992.

o Locke John. An Essay Concerning Human Understanding. – Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1979.

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o Lucretius Carus Titus. On the Nature of Things / Translated by Walter Englert. – Newburyport MA: Focus Publishing/R. Pullins Co., 2003; also: Translated by Frank Copley. – W. W. Norton & Company, 2011.

o Plato. Hippias Major // Socrates and the Sophists: Plato’s Protagoras, Euthydemus, Hippias Major and Cratylus / Translated by Joe Sacks. – Newburyport MA: Focus Publishing/R. Pullins Co., 2010.

o Plato. Phaedo / Translated by David Gallop. – Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009; also: Translated by Benjamin Jowett. – Arc Manor, 2008.

o Plato. Theaetetus / Translated by Joe Sacks. – Newburyport MA: Focus Publishing/R. Pullins Co., 2004.

o Sextus Empiricus. Outlines of Pyrrhonism. – Book I / Ed. by Julia Annas and Jonathan Barnes. – Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000. – P. 3-64; also: Translated by R. G. Bury. – Buffalo NY: Prometheus Books, 1990.

• 2.4.3. The principal textbooks (mandatory reading)

o A History of Russian Philosophy. 1830-1930: Faith, Reason and the Defense of Human Dignity / Ed. by G. M. Hamburg and Randall A. Poole. – Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010.

o Russell Bertrand. A History of Western Philosophy. – New York: Simon and Schuster, © 1945.

o Windelband Wilhelm. A History of Philosophy. – New York: Macmillan, © 1893, 1901; latest edition: Nabu Press, 2010.

• 2.4.4. Other textbooks (supplementary reading)

o Copleston Frederick. A History of Philosophy. – Vol. 1-10: Vol. 1: Greece and Rome. From the Pre-Socratics to Plotinus. – New York et al.:

Doubleday, 1993. Vol. 2: Medieval Philosophy. From Augustine to Duns Scotus. – New York et al.:

Doubleday, 1993. Vol. 3: Late Medieval and Renaissance Philosophy. Ockham, Francis Bacon, and the

Beginning of the Modern World. – New York et al.: Doubleday, 1993. Vol. 4: Modern Philosophy. From Descartes to Leibniz. – New York et al.:

Doubleday, 1994. Vol. 5: Modern Philosophy. The British Philosophers from Hobbes to Hume. – New

York et al.: Doubleday, 1994. Vol. 6: Modern Philosophy. From the French Enlightenment to Kant. – New York et

al.: Doubleday, 1994. Vol. 7: Modern Philosophy. From the Post-Kantian Idealists to Marx, Kierkegaard,

and Nietzsche. – New York et al.: Doubleday, 1994. Vol. 8: Modern Philosophy. Empiricism, Idealism, and Pragmatism in Britain and

America. – New York et al.: Doubleday, 1994. Vol. 9: Modern Philosophy. From the French Revolution to Sartre, Camus, and Levi-

Strauss. – New York: Doubleday, 1994. Vol. 10: Russian Philosophy. – London & New York: Continuum, 1986, 2003.

o Lossky Nicolay. History of Russian Philosophy. – London: Allen & Unwin; 1952; New York: International Universities Press, 1951/1969.

o Routledge History of Philosophy. – Vol. I-X. Vol. I: From the Beginning to Plato / Ed. by C. C. W. Taylor. – London & New

York: Routledge, 1997.

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Vol. II: From Aristotle to Augustine / Ed. by David Furley. – London & New York: Routledge, 1999.

Vol. III: Medieval Philosophy / Ed. by John Marenbon. – London & New York: Routledge, 1998.

Vol. IV: The Renaissance and Seventeenth-century Rationalism / Ed. by G. H. R. Parkinson. – London & New York: Routledge, 1993.

Vol. V: British Philosophy and the Age of Enlightenment / Ed. by Brown Stuart. – London & New York: Routledge, 1996.

Vol. VI: The Age of German Idealism / Ed. by Robert C. Solomon and Kathleen M. Higgins. – London & New York: Routledge, 1993.

Vol. VII: The Nineteenth Century / Ed. by C. L. Ten. – London & New York: Routledge, 1994.

Vol. VIII: Twentieth-Century Continental Philosophy / Ed. by Kearney Richard. – London & New York: Routledge, 1993.

Vol. IX: Philosophy of Science, Logic and Mathematics in the 20th Century / Ed. by Stuart G. Shanker. – London & New York: Routledge, 1996.

Vol. X: Philosophy of Meaning, Knowledge and Value in the 20th Century / Ed. by John V. Canfield. – London & New York: Routledge, 1996.

• 2.4.5 Other readings (supplementary)

o Berdyayev Nicolas. The Russian Idea. – London: Geoffrey Bles, 1947; also: New York: Macmillan, 1948; also: Praeger, 1979.

o Ilyenkov Evald. Dialectical Logic: Essays on Its History and Theory. – Progress Publishers, 1977.

o King Peter. Boethius’s Anti-realist Arguments // Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy. – Vol. XL (Summer 2011) / Ed. by James Allen et al. – Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011.

• 2.4.6. Recommended Internet Resources

o Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/contents.html. o The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://www.iep.utm.edu/.

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PART 3. FINAL REMARKS

• Reading classical philosophical texts listed in section 2.4.1 is mandatory. • In-class issue presentation will usually be based on classical philosophical texts listed in

section 2.4.2. Use of textbooks, both mandatory and supplementary, is highly recommended, but is not to be considered as adequate substitute for classical texts.

• The function of in-class tests is to assess the current level of individual student’s mastery of the course material as presented in the lecturer’s PowerPoint presentations and mandatory classical literature.

• Considering the pluralistic nature of philosophical knowledge, students’ oral examination grades will be based on their knowledge of factual material and their mastery of philosophical language. Students will not be expected to uphold specific philosophical views, including those of their lecturer and instructor, but will have to demonstrate their ability to substantiate the views the express.

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