Expand+PHIL10030 Introduction to Modern Philosophy
Academic Year 2021/2022
Can I be certain that there is a world outside me, or am I confined to my own mind alone? What can I know reliably about the world, if there is one? And if it exists knowable, how ...

Hide-PHIL10030 Introduction to Modern Philosophy
Academic Year 2021/2022
Can I be certain that there is a world outside me, or am I confined to my own mind alone? What can I know reliably about the world, if there is one? And if it exists knowable, how can I live with other people within it? Are we naturally selfish and dangerous? Or do we have a compassionate and gentle nature brutalised by a corrupt society? These are some of the questions to be discussed in this introduction to early modern philosophy of knowledge and social and political philosophy. The way of approaching the questions will be through a critical and historical treatment of selected writings by Descartes (1596-1650), Hobbes (1588-1679) and Rousseau (1712-1778).

Learning Outcomes:
On completion of this module students should be able to: 1. Show familiarity with central themes and problems of modern philosophy, identifying their historical emergence and contemporary relevance. 2. Expound and evaluate key philosophical arguments set out in modern philosophy, showing their coherence and explanatory worth. 3. Write clearly, succinctly and critically on these central themes and problems of modern philosophy.

Indicative Module Content:
Scepticism about the material world; the Cogito and self-consciousness; the nature of thought; on whether a good God exists; truth and falsity; arguments for a material world and experience of same; how we can live together; the state of nature; war; the social contract; the arts and sciences; inequality; private property; the nature of the sovereign.