Philosophy Department

1200 Academy St. Kalamazoo, MI 49006

PHI 540

19TH-CENTURY PHILOSOPHY: KANT TO NIETZSCHE

Winter 1998

8:30 - 10:20 TR

Professor Ted Toadvine

203 Humphrey House

Course Description

As the Enlightenment drew to a close, a single fundamental problem began to take central place in philosophy: what is the basis for the autonomy of reason? How can reason justify itself? If, rather than undergirding religion, morality, and politics with a new foundation, as Enlightenment thinkers had assumed, reason leads us toward nihilism, why should we not draw back and instead embrace blind faith? Kant's "Copernican Revolution" can be understood as an attempt both to found the autonomy of reason and to circumscribe its sphere of influence in order to leave room for ethics and faith. We will begin the course with an overview of the Kantian enterprise taken as the first major attempt to provide a self-criticism of reason. But in the view of his contemporaries and successors, Kant's attempted solution was incomplete. Absolute Idealism arose as a continuation of the Kantian project which avoided the limitations introduced by his notion of Noumena and its subsequent limitations of reason. Fichte's criticisms of Kant will be examined, followed by an examination of Hegel's thought as the most developed example of this approach. The end of the 19th Century is marked by a rejection of this system of reason and of the very pretension to provide a justification which would found reason's autonomy. After examining Shopenhauer's general criticisms of this project, we will turn to specific attacks from the directions of religion (Feuerbach), politics (Marx), and morality (Kierkegaard). We will conclude with an examination of Nietzsche's genealogical method as an alternative approach which marks the turn toward the 20th Century. 

Requirements

Response papers will be 1-2 page answers to questions distributed in the previous class, and will draw on readings and class discussions. Midterms will be in-class, open book examinations to test comprehension of key philosophical concepts. The final will be a 10-12 page essay exploring a figure or theme from the course in greater depth. Topics for the final papers must be approved by the instructor. Final papers are due on the date set for the final examination. Attendence, preparation for class, and participation in discussions are expected. Three unexcused absences will result in a full grade reduction. 

Texts

Reading Schedule


WEEK 1:
Course Overview and Kantian Heritage
Frederick Beiser, Introduction from The Fate of Reason (packet)
D. W. Hamlyn, "Kant" (packet)
Richard Schacht, "The Philosophical Background of Hegel's Metaphysics" (packet)

WEEK 2:
Kantian Heritage, continued.
Fichte:"On the Foundation of our Belief in a Divine Government..." (19-26)
Extract from The Vocation of Man (27-39)

WEEK 3:
Hegel: Excerpts from The Philosophy of History (76-87)
Midterm I

WEEK 4:
Hegel: "Preface" to Phenomenology of Spirit (Kaufmann 1-87)

WEEK 5:
Hegel: "Preface" to Phenomenology of Spirit (Kaufmann 88-111)

WEEK 6:
Andrew Bowie, "Introduction" to Schelling's On the History of Modern Philosophy (packet)
Schelling, Selections from Of Human Freedom (packet)
Dale Snow, "Of Human Freedom" (packet)

WEEK 7:
Schopenhauer: Excerpts from The World as Will and Representation (88-130)
Kathleen Higgins, "Arthur Schopenhauer" (packet)
Midterm II

WEEK 8:
Feuerbach: Excerpts from The Essence of Christianity (239-250)
Marx: Various Excerpts (261-288)
EVENING PIZZA & MOVIE (2/26, 7 pm): The Servant

WEEK 9:
Kierkegaard: Various Excerpts (289-320)
Judith Butler, "Kierkegaard's Speculative Despair" (packet)

WEEK 10:
Nietzsche: Various Excerpts (321-366)
 

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Updated 18 December 1997