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2024-2025 Undergraduate Academic Catalog-June 
    
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2024-2025 Undergraduate Academic Catalog-June [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

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PHL 3301 - Origins of Reason: 17th and 18th Century Philosophy

3 lecture hours 0 lab hours 3 credits
Course Description
Seventeenth and eighteenth century philosophy, commonly referred to as “Modern Philosophy,” was a period of dramatic upheaval, revolution, and discovery in philosophy and science. This course aims to illuminate exactly how the shift from the dominant scholastic philosophy, mostly based on Aristotelian thought, to the “modern” philosophy happened and what types of consequences this shift had for us. To do this, we will look at many of the prominent thinkers of the day, which may include: René Descartes, Gottfried Leibniz, Baruch Spinoza, Blaise Pascal, Mary Shepherd, Elizabeth of Bohemia, David Hume, Anne Conway, George Berkeley, among others. Many questions that dominated intellectual debate during those years will be discussed, such as: the nature of God, the reality/import of perception, ethics, the foundation of science, and the nature of human knowledge.
Prereq: None
Note: None
This course meets the following Raider Core CLO Requirement: Exhibit Curiosity
Course Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  • Demonstrate knowledge of some of the key themes and questions in 17th and 18th century philosophy
  • Demonstrate knowledge of the historical shift from scholasticism to “modern” philosophy
  • Engage in comparative analysis and evaluation between different systems of philosophical and scientific thought
  • Think critically about the relationship between past scientific discoveries/theories and current scientific theories
  • Carry out independent research and show a depth of knowledge on a topic related to 17th and 18th century philosophy
  • Exhibit familiarity with the historical, political, and cultural movements that influenced or were influenced by 17th and 18th century philosophy
  • Articulate the connection between 17th and 18th century philosophy and our own way of thinking
Prerequisites by Topic
  • None
Course Topics
  • The nature of knowledge
  • Origins of the universe
  • Arguments for God’s existence
  • The problem of evil
  • The problem of other minds
  • Causation
  • The problem of induction
  • Rationalism vs empiricism
  • The role of experiment in science
  • The role of reason in science
  • The nature of perception
  • Eastern vs Western approaches to modern philosophy
  • The metaphysics of matter and the void
  • Personal identity
  • Skepticism
  • The existence of the soul
  • The relationship between mind and body
  • Philosophy of language
  • Philosophy of science
  • Faith vs reason
Coordinator
Dr. Aaron Spink


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