PHIL2031: Early Modern Philosophy

• At least one 'Year 1' module in Philosophy.

• None.

• To provide students with a critical acquaintance with 17th and 18th Century philosophical writings and their historical setting, emphasising those on metaphysics and epistemology.

• The topics covered include some of the following:
• Descartes on substance
• Locke on perception
• Leibniz on metaphysics and space
• Berkeleys idealism
• Spinoza's monism
• Hume on causation and religion
• Women and early modern philosophy

Subject-specific Knowledge:

• By the end of the module students will have knowledge and understanding of key arguments in the texts, of historical and contextual information bearing on their topics and style, and of some modern critical reactions to them.

Subject-specific Skills:

• grasp, analyse, evaluate and deploy subject-specific concepts and arguments
• locate, understand, assess and utilise pertinent philosophical (and, where appropriate, historical) sources
• interpret and criticise relevant texts.

Key Skills:

• express themselves clearly and succinctly in writing
• comprehend complex ideas, propositions and theories
• defend their opinions by reasoned argument
• seek out and identify appropriate sources of evidence and information
• tackle problems in a clear-sighted and logical fashion.

• Lectures deliver basic module-specific information, and provide a framework for further study.
• Discussion groups provide opportunities for students to test their own understanding of the material studied, and defend and debate different opinions.
• Guided reading provides a structure within which students exercise and extend their abilities to make use of available learning resources.
• The Formative essay provides the opportunity for students to test their knowledge and understanding of the module content, and their ability to present and defend relevant arguments and theories, uninhibited by the need for summative assessment.
• The summative essay tests knowledge and understanding of the course material, and the ability to identify and explain issues covered in the module, and, using relevant research material, to present different approaches to those issues, and make reasoned judgement on the merits and demerits of such approaches.
• The unseen examination tests students' overall knowledge and understanding of the module content at the end of the module, and their ability to bring it to bear on new problems under pressure of time.

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