Modern Philosophy Reason Experience

AY2017/2018 Semester 2

This course introduces the canonical thinkers (Descartes, Locke, Spinoza and Hume) in philosophy of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The course challenges students to think about epistemological and metaphysical questions through these historical thinkers. Key questions include, 'What is the self?' 'What the source of knowledge?' 'Can we know the world as it is?' etc. Particular emphasis will be placed on analyzing arguments from the original text, constructing and evaluating strengths of relevant objections. Students will develop high level critical thinking and writing skills by examining these historical texts and be challenged to think about the richness of philosophical issues that resulted from the new modern science.