Active Outline
General Information
- Course ID (CB01A and CB01B)
- PHILD020B
- Course Title (CB02)
- History of Western Philosophy - 1400-1800
- Course Credit Status
- Credit - Degree Applicable
- Effective Term
- Fall 2024
- Course Description
- This course introduces the major philosophers of the Western tradition from the Renaissance through the early modern period. Students will examine the problems of knowledge, reality, truth, freedom, agency, morality, and value theory in figures from Descartes to Kant, including philosophers from marginalized groups.
- Faculty Requirements
- Discipline 1
- [Philosophy]
- FSA
- [FHDA FSA - PHILOSOPHY]
- Course Family
- Not Applicable
Course Justification
This course is a transfer-level course for both the CSU and UC systems. The course meets a general education requirement for °®¶¹´«Ã½, CSU GE, and IGETC. This course is part of the Philosophy AA-T degree at °®¶¹´«Ã½. The course is the second in a sequence of courses in the history of Western philosophy, covering thinkers whose work is of central importance to the discipline. As such, it prepares students for advanced and upper-division study in the discipline of philosophy.
Foothill Equivalency
- Does the course have a Foothill equivalent?
- No
- Foothill Course ID
Formerly Statement
Course Development Options
- Basic Skill Status (CB08)
- Course is not a basic skills course.
- Grade Options
- Letter Grade
- Pass/No Pass
- Repeat Limit
- 0
Transferability & Gen. Ed. Options
- Transferability
- Transferable to both UC and CSU
| °®¶¹´«Ã½ GE | Area(s) | Status | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2GC2 | °®¶¹´«Ã½ GE Area C2 - Humanities | Approved |
| CSU GE | Area(s) | Status | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| CGC2 | CSU GE Area C2 - Humanities | Approved |
| IGETC | Area(s) | Status | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| IG3B | IGETC Area 3B - Humanities | Approved |
| C-ID | Area(s) | Status | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| PHIL | Philosophy | Approved | C-ID PHIL 140 |
Units and Hours
Summary
- Minimum Credit Units
- 4.0
- Maximum Credit Units
- 4.0
Weekly Student Hours
| Type | In Class | Out of Class |
|---|---|---|
| Lecture Hours | 4.0 | 8.0 |
| Laboratory Hours | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Course Student Hours
- Course Duration (Weeks)
- 12.0
- Hours per unit divisor
- 36.0
Course In-Class (Contact) Hours
- Lecture
- 48.0
- Laboratory
- 0.0
- Total
- 48.0
Course Out-of-Class Hours
- Lecture
- 96.0
- Laboratory
- 0.0
- NA
- 0.0
- Total
- 96.0
Prerequisite(s)
Corequisite(s)
Advisory(ies)
EWRT D001A or EWRT D01AH or ESL D005.
Limitation(s) on Enrollment
Entrance Skill(s)
General Course Statement(s)
(See general education pages for the requirements this course meets.)
Methods of Instruction
Lecture and visual aids
Discussion of assigned reading
Discussion and problem solving performed in class
In-class essays
In-class exploration of Internet sites
Quiz and examination review performed in class
Homework and extended projects
Guest speakers
Collaborative learning and small group exercises
Collaborative projects
Assignments
- Reading
- Assigned reading from required texts which introduce students to the primary writings of the major Modern thinkers both from historical as well as contemporary perspectives. In so doing, student swill identify and assess the central figures, questions and themes of Modern philosophy in the Western tradition.
- Assignments should help students apply the concepts learned in this class to one’s own existence in the world. Towards this goal, there will be assigned reading (when available) from required texts which foster students' awareness of cultural and gender diversity.
- Writing
- Critical essays on assigned texts that ask students to articulate and defend their own position on at least one issue / them in Modern philosophy. Assignments will assess and analyze arguments and approaches to philosophical problems as found in Modern philosophical texts. In addition, essay assignments will foster skills that will enable students to articulate and defend one's own stance on at least one Modern philosophical problem, figure or theory.
- Group and cooperative assignments.
- Oral
- Participation in small group discussions of assigned texts and projects.
- Participation in large group discussions of course materials.
Methods of Evaluation
- Grading of assignments that reflect an understanding of, and critical reflection upon, the assigned readings. Written assignments and essays will analyze, argue, synthesize, and present philosophical ideas relevant to issues in Modern philosophy. Multiple choice exams, quizzes, and group projects relevant to the understanding and critically assessing the readings. Course will include a final exam or project.
- Evaluation of writing by way of papers, homework, exams, final exams, or final projects that develop writing skills, as well as critical thinking. Writing will require students to summarize, integrate, and critically analyze and apply concepts examined throughout the course.
- Participation in and contributions to discussions (small group or collective). Active class participation (for which evaluation criteria are clearly stated on course syllabus.)
Essential Student Materials/Essential College Facilities
Essential Student Materials:Â
- None
- None
Examples of Primary Texts and References
| Author | Title | Publisher | Date/Edition | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roger Ariew and Eric Watkins (eds.) | Modern Philosophy: An Anthology of Primary Sources | Hackett Publishing | 2019/3rd | 978-1-62466-805-0 |
| Immanuel Kant. Trans. Paul Guyer and Allen Wood. | Critique of Pure Reason | Cambridge University Press | 1999 | 978-0521657297 |
| David Hume. Ed. L.A. Selby-Bigge. | A Treatise of Human Nature | Oxford University Press | 1975/2nd | 9780198245889 |
| Benedict de Spinoza. Trans. Edwin Curley. | Ethics | Penguin | 2005 | 978-0140435719 |
| Margaret Atherton (ed.) | Women Philosophers of the Early Modern Period | Hackett Publishing | 1994 | 978-0-87220-259-7 |
Examples of Supporting Texts and References
None.
Learning Outcomes and Objectives
Course Objectives
- Examine and evaluate the discipline and methods of philosophy with an emphasis upon the historical background to Modern philosophy and the thinkers associated with the period.
- Examine and evaluate the metaphysical claims of various Modern thinkers.
- Examine and evaluate various epistemological claims, theories, and methodologies in Modern thinkers.
- Examine and evaluate different claims concerning ethics and moral and political concepts in Modern philosophy.
- Examine and evaluate different sociological / economic claims made by various Modern philosophers.
- Examine and evaluate various religious concepts and ideas within the thinking of various theistic and secular thinkers.
- Examine and evaluate the influence of Modern thinkers, including Modern philosophy's impact upon the arts and sciences within various traditions and cultures.
CSLOs
- Identify and assess the central figures, questions and themes of early modern philosophy in the western tradition.
- Assess and analyze arguments and approaches to philosophical problems as found in early modern philosophical texts.
- Articulate and defend one's own stance on at least one early modern philosophical problem, figure or theory.
- Exhibit an application of the concepts learned in this class to one's own existence in the world.
Outline
- Examine and evaluate the discipline and methods of philosophy with an emphasis upon the historical background to Modern philosophy and the thinkers associated with the period.
- Analyze and evaluate the historical origins of Modern philosophy, particularly its emphasis upon epistemological problems, knowledge, belief, truth, science, freedom, and agency.
- Locate and analyze the origins of Modern philosophy from its Greek and Medieval heritage.
- Identify and appraise methodological practices within Modern philosophy and their differences from other epochs and traditions (Western and non-Western).
- Examine and evaluate the metaphysical claims of various Modern thinkers.
- The positions of Realism and Anti-Realism in metaphysics and meta-ethics.
- Analysis and explication of the concepts of existence and essence in Modern Philosophy, as well as primary and secondary qualities.
- Analyze and interpret the ontological status, problems, and features of existence, human existence, and the (morally relevant) relation(s) between persons and non-persons.
- Examine and evaluate various epistemological claims, theories, and methodologies in Modern thinkers.
- Appraise, assess, and relate various theories involving the nature, structure, and essence of knowledge.
- Analyze and interpret various Modern thinkers on freedom of the will and human agency. Compare and contrast differing conceptions of human freedom and formulate an argument in support of one's beliefs on agency and free will.
- Summarize and analyze differing conceptions of consciousness and conscious experience.
- Examine and evaluate different claims concerning ethics and moral and political concepts in Modern philosophy.
- Analysis of values in relation to human beings' search for truth and meaning in life.
- Analysis and examination of (the possibility of) culturally determined values.
- Analysis and examination of gender, gender concepts, sex-roles, patriarchal structures and their determination of (or possible determination of) Modern philosophy's metaphysical and epistemological concepts and categories.
- Examine and evaluate different sociological / economic claims made by various Modern philosophers.
- Compare and evaluate various socio-economic models, as well as Modernist critiques of those models.
- Analyze, appraise, and assess various issues involving technology and its meaning within (and for) human society.
- Identify, summarize, compare and contrast various theories that aim at resolving various socio-economic issues. Analyze in relation to marginalized peoples.
- Examine and evaluate various religious concepts and ideas within the thinking of various theistic and secular thinkers.
- Compare, contrast, and evaluate differing views of religious experience in relation to non-religious experience.
- Analyze and appraise the main ideas of transcendence and other mystical concepts in relation to lived human experience.
- Examine, compare, and contrast "knowledge" and "faith" within human experience.
- Examine and evaluate the influence of Modern thinkers, including Modern philosophy's impact upon the arts and sciences within various traditions and cultures.
- Analyze Modern philosophy's impact upon the disciplines of literature, art, music, and film.
- Assess the influence of Modern philosophy upon the social sciences.
- Appraise the political and environmental impact of Modern philosophy upon various cultures and settings.
