COURSE SYLLABI :

19TH-CENTURY PHILOSOPHY: IDEALISM AS MODERNISM

LECTURE NOTES:

PROFESSOR: Chris Latiolais, Chair
Philosophy Department
Kalamazoo College
Humphrey House #201
Telephone # 337-7076
Offices Hours:

1) Mon. 11:30 - 1:30.
2) Tues. 11:30- 12:30.
3) By Appointment.

COURSE GOALS:
This course introduces students to 19th-century, Continental-European philosophy by focusing on a single issue: namely the problem of how humans develop personal identities in social settings. We will explore how Kant, Schiller, Hegel, Marx, Kierkegaard and Nietzsche conceive of "autonomous" or "free" self-determination -- the education of the self, if you will. These philosophers offer quite different accounts of the role of reason, will, imagination, skills and interpersonal relations in the formation of self.

EVALUATION:
Students will be evaluated on the basis of class participation, vocabulary quizzes, midterm examinations and a final paper.

TYPE OF EVALUATION FREQUENCY TOTAL
Class Participation: Seminar presentations, classroom discussion and email correspondence 10%
Midterm Examinations 2 @ 20% = 40%
Quizzes 5 @ 5% = 25%
Final Paper (10-15 pages) 1 @ 25% = 25%
POLICIES:
Students are expected to follow the reading schedule and to come to class prepared to actively discuss the texts they have read. More specifically, students must bring their texts to class with marginal notes, highlighted or underlined passages of particular importance, and pages marked where they have encountered difficulties in understanding the material. Quizzes offer students the opportunity to identify and to clarify central terms and concepts. The midterm assignments allow student to write essays on key philosophical issues and arguments, and the final paper offers students the opportunity to respond in depth to a single topic. The final paper is due on the day scheduled for the final examination. 3 unexcused absences will result in a full grade reduction. Late papers will be marked down a half grade for the first day and a full grade for the second day. All work must be turned in at the end of term, unless alternative assignments have been given by the instructor.

TEXTS:

1. Pinkard, Terry. German Philosophy, 1760-1860 : The Legacy of Idealism (Cambridge, UK ; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2002)
2. Schiller, Friedrich: On The Aesthetic Education of Man In a Series of Letters (Oxford University Press, Oxford 1982).
3. Hegel, G.W.F. [Ed. Walter Kaufmann]: Hegel: Texts and Commentary (University of Notre Dame Press, Notre Dame, Indiana 1975).
4. Marx, Karl/ Engels, Friedrich [Ed. Robert C. Tucker]: The Marx-Engels Reader (W. W. Norton & Company, New York 1972) [Excerpts].
5. Kierkegaard, Soren: Fear and Trembling (Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, 1983).6. Nietzsche, Friedrich: Beyond Good and Evil (Vintage Books, New York 1989).

GERMAN ACROSS THE CURRICULUM COMPONENT: Selected texts may be read in the German
original. GAC students will be given alternative assignments and weekly tutorials.

BRIDGE READING COMPONENT:Students interested in linking course material to their major course of
study will be given special readings and assignments. Tutorial meetings are required, and the final paper must
be completed in consultation with professor in home department.

Psychology: Students interested in exploring the philosophical foundations of developmental psychology will be given readings that link the course to the works of Jean Piaget, Lawrence Kohlberg and Carol Gilligan. Students interested in issues of identity formation in self-psychology and psychoanalysis will be given a different set of readings. See Psychology Bridge-Readings (Philosophy Homepage).

Political Science: Students interested in examining the philosophical roots of current debates in political theory and feminist philosophy will be given readings by contemporary political thinkers who analyze modern politics in the light of 19th-century philosophers.

Religion: Students interested in a fuller examination of Kierkegaard's theology in contemporary discussions will be given readings that discuss Kierkegaard's critique of secular identity formation.

READING SCHEDULE

1. HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION: THE KANTIAN LEGACY: Immanuel Kant

WEEK ONE

TUESDAY:

1. Introductory Lecture: "Kant's Transcendental Idealism."

THURSDAY:

1. Pinkard, Introduction (pp. 1-19).
2. Pinkard, "The Revolution in Philosophy (1): Human Spontaneity and the Natural Order (pp. 19 - 45).
3. Pinkard, "The Revolution in Philosophy (2): Autonomy and the Moral Order (pp. 45 - 66).


WEEK TWO

TUESDAY:
1. Pinkard, "The Revolution in Philosophy (3): Aestehtic Taste, Teleology, and the World Order (pp. 66 - 82)
2. Quiz #1.

2. SCHILLER'S RECONCILIATION OF FREEDOM AND NATURE: AESTHETIC
SELF-DEVELOPMENT:


WEDNESDAY EVENING MOVIE: American Beauty:

THURSDAY:
1.Schiller, Letter One to Twelve.
2. Quiz #2.

WEEK THREE

TUESDAY:
1. Schiller, Letters Thirteen to Twenty-Seven. (Cont.)..

THURSDAY:
1. Schiller (end).
2.Quiz #3.

3. HEGEL'S ACCOUNT OF SELF-DEVELOPMENT: LOGICAL SELFTERMINATION AS SELF-HISTORICIZING:

WEEK FOUR


TUESDAY:
1. Pinkard, "The 1790s: Fichte.
2. Hegel, "Philosophy Must Become Scientific." (pp. 1-29).

WEDNESDAY EVENING MOVIE: Waterland.

THURSDAY:
1.Hegel, "The idea of a Phenomenology of the Spirit" (pp. 29-57).
2. Pinkard, "Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit (pp. 214 - 246).
3. Quiz #4.

WEEK FIVE

TUESDAY:
1.Hegel, "Truth" & "Conclusion" (pp. 57-113).
2.First Midterm Examination.

 

WEDNESDAY EVENING MOVIE: The Collector.

 

THURSDAY:
1. Hegel, "The Struggle of Master and Slave" [Handout].



Karl Marx

4. MARX'S CRITIQUE OF IDEALISM: THE MATERIALIST ACCOUNT OF
SELF-FORMATION:

WEEK SIX

TUESDAY:
1. Marx, "Discovering Hegel (Marx to his father)," "Theses on Feuerbach," & "The German
Ideology: Part One." [handout].

THURSDAY:
1. Marx, "Discovering Hegel (Marx to his father)," "Theses on Feuerbach," & "The German
Ideology: Part One" (finish).


5. KIERKEGAARD'S ATTACK UPON AUTO-TELIC ACCOUNTS OF IDENTITY
FORMATION: "RESTING TRANSPARENTLY IN ANOTHER":

Soren Kierkegaard

WEEK SEVEN

TUESDAY:
1. Kierkegaard, Fear and Trembling, Preface, "Preface," "Exordium," & "Eulogy on Abraham" (pp.
1-27).

WEDNESDAY EVENING MOVIE: Babette's Feast.

THURSDAY:
1. Kierkegaard, Fear and Trembling, "Preliminary Expectoration" & "Problema 1" (pp. 27-68).

WEEK EIGHT

TUESDAY:
1. Kierkegaard, Fear and Trembling (end.)

6. NIETZSCHE'S GENEALOGICAL "UNMASKING" OF IDEALISM ANDMATERIALISM: THE SELF AS THE WILL TO POWER:

THURSDAY:
1. The Geneaology of Morals, Preface & "Good and Evil, "Good and Bad (pp. 1-57).

TUESDAY: WEEK NINE
1. The Geneaology of Morals, "Guit," "Bad Conscience," and the Like, (pp. 57-97).
2. The Geneaology of Morals, What Is the Meaning of Ascetic Ideals? (pp. 57-167).

THURSDAY: THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY.

TUESDAY: WEEK TEN
1. Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil (pp. 95-119)
2. Closing Comments.
3. Student Evaluations.

FINALS WEEK