Assessment

Two 3,500 word essays

Module Aims

This module aims to consider some of the perennial texts in modern philosophy and situate them in the historical development of modern thought. The texts we will consider are: Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy, Spinoza, Ethics, Leibniz, Monadology, Locke, Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Hume, Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Kant, Critique of Pure Reason.

Learning Outcomes

• — Read a primary text in the history of philosophy.
• — Evaluate the reasoning of a historical philosopher.
• — Situate the thought of a historical philosopher within the context of his peers.
• — Compare and contrast the thought of one historical philosopher with another.
• — Describe the influence that individual philosophers have had in their own time and today.