| Spring, 2001 |
| Kant,
Philosophy 328 |
| TTh 11:10-12:25,
CA D10 |
|
| Dr. Barbara
MacKinnon |
|
| Office: Cam D5;
X6789 |
|
| Email: mackinnonb@usfca.edu |
| Office Hours:
TTh 12:30-1:30 & by request |
| Course
Description |
|
| Immanuel Kant
is generally recognized as a pivotal philosopher in the history of modern philosophy. In
his philosophy he grapples with questions posed by his modern rationalist and empiricist
predecessors. He also sets the stage for much of modern and contemporary philosophy,
including not only German Idealism and Marxism but also in some ways American Pragmatism,
Continental Existentialism, and Anglo-American Analytic philosophies. Moreover his
influence has also been felt in other areas of modern life and thought. His influence on
two thinkers, Hegel and Marx, will be treated briefly. |
| This will be a
seminar-type course in which we will read two of Kant's major but shorter works (see
below) in area of theory of knowledge and moral philosophy, and some of his aesthetics and
philosophy of nature. These three works give the content of the three major parts of his
system of thought, his famous Critique of Pure Reason, Critique of Practical Reason, and
Critique of Judgment. Thus in studying them one can come to appreciate the way in which a
major philosopher attempted to work out a comprehensive philosophical point of view. The
primary objective is to understand the major ideas of his philosophy and their
significance. |
| Texts: |
|
1. Kant's Prolegomena
to Any Future Metaphysics, trans. Carus, rev. Ellington (Hackett Press).
2. Kant's Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals, trans. Beck (Macmillan/Library
of Lib. Arts)3. Mimeographed selection from Kant's Critique of
Judgment (class handout)
4. Roger Scruton, Kant (Oxford University Press, 83); to be used as a
secondary source reference to help understand the various elements of Kant's philosophy we
treat in the course. |
| Course
Outline |
|
| T Jan 23 |
Introduction:
Kant's Life, Work, and Significance |
| Th Jan 25 |
Kant and His
Predecessors: Rationalism and Empiricism |
Prolegomena
to any Future Metaphysics |
| T Jan 30 |
Preface, |
pp. 1-9 |
| Th Feb 1 |
Preamble:
Analytic and Synthetic judgments, |
#1-3, pp. 10-18* |
| T Feb 6 |
Space and Time
Before Kant |
#4-5, pp. 18-24* |
| Th Feb 8 |
Part I: How is
Pure Math Possible? |
#6-13. pp. 25-30* |
| T Feb 13 |
Space, Time, and
Idealisms (remarks 1-3) |
pp. 30-37* |
| Th Feb 15 |
Part II: How is
Pure Natural Science Possible? |
#14-20, pp. 38-45* |
| Th Feb 22 |
Phenomena and
Noumena |
#30-38, pp. 55-64* |
| T Feb 27 |
Part III: How is
Metaphysics in General Possible?
The Psychological Idea: Soul & Paralogisms |
#40-45, pp. 69-74*
#46-49, pp. 74-79* |
| Th Mar 1 |
The Cosmological
Idea: World & Antinomies |
#50-54, pp. 79-88* |
| T Mar 6 |
The Theological
Idea: God |
#55-66, pp. 88-90*
And handout from CPR |
| Th Mar 8 |
Conclusion |
#57-60, pp. 91-110* |
| T/Th Mar 13, 15 |
Spring
Recess |
| T Mar 20 |
Outlines of
Prolegomena Due; Review |
| Th Mar 22 |
Test on
Prolegomena |
| T Mar 27 |
Foundations of
the Metaphysics of Morals |
|
|
Preface and 1st
Section |
pp. 3-12* |
| Th Mar 29 |
The Categorical
Imperative |
pp. 13-22* |
| T Apr 3 |
The Will and
Practical Reason |
pp. 22-34* |
| Th Apr 5 |
Applying the
Categorical Imperative |
pp. 34-43* |
| T Apr 10 |
The Idea of a
Person |
pp. 43-49* |
| Th Apr 12 |
Kingdom of Ends |
pp. 50-59* |
| T Apr 17 |
Autonomy and
Freedom |
pp. 60-71* |
| Th Apr 19 |
How is a
Categorical Imperative Possible? |
pp. 72-82* |
| T Apr. 24 |
Outlines of
Foundations due |
|
| Critique of
Judgment |
T
Apr 24 |
Place
in Kant's System |
handout |
Th
Apr 26 |
Teleological
Judgment |
handout* |
T
May 1 |
Aesthetic
Judgment |
handout* |
Th
May 3 |
Kant's
influence: G.W. F. Hegel |
T
May 8 |
Kant's
influence: Karl Marx |
Th
May 10 |
Last
Class: overview |
T
May 15, 3:30 |
Final
Exam |
Course
Requirements and Evaluation: |
25%
of grade. Attendance and Participation: expected. Readings listed above will be
discussed on the date assigned and read previous to the class. Questions on the
Readings: for each class, prepare one questions on the reading for that class. Hand in
at the beginning of the class. Some of these will be discussed in the latter half of the
class. Discussion Leader: you will be asked to lead the class discussion of the
reading for for 2 class sessions marked with *. This will be for the first half of the
class. You can prepare a handout for the class, for example a list of the key points you
wish to focus on or a list of questions on the reading. |
25%
of grade. Outlines: You will be expected to keep a continuing outline of each of
the two major works we read: The Prolegomena and The Foundations. These can
be rewritten or typed and handed in on the dates noted in the schedule above. The outline
should use the section Headings and Subheadings from the text, as well as the numeration
(chiefly in the Prolegomena). Combined these will give 25% of your grade. The outline can
be a sentence or phrase outline. For example: |
Prolegomena
to Any Future Metaphysics |
Preface:
|
1.
Purpose--for future teachers, & for the discovery of metaphysics as a science.
2. There are real questions as to whether
metaphysics is or can be a science
3. David Hume raised questions about some basic
metaphysical concepts such as "cause"
a. Hume never doubted its usefulness but only its legitimacy
b. Hume woke Kant from his "dogmatic slumber" but didn't
go far enough himself
c. There were other metaphysical concepts also at issue
4. Kant wanted to examine these and the whole sphere of pure reason
5. .... |
Preamble on the Peculiarities of All Metaphysical Knowledge |
1.
Of the Sources of Metaphysics: ...
2. ... |
50%
of grade. Tests. There will be two tests in the course. They will be objective
tests. They will be based on questions given out in advance, one on the Prolegomena, and
one the Foundations and the Critique of Judgment and some general elements of Kant's
philosophy (this is The Final Exam). 25% each. |
