Listed in: Philosophy, as PHIL-359
Rafeeq Hasan (Section 01)
Immanuel Kant's philosophy set off a revolution that reverberated throughout 19th-century Europe. For Kant, it is our own reason, not God or nature, which is the original source of all moral principles, freedom, and even goodness itself. The rational autonomy of human beings, Kant somewhat surprisingly suggests, commits them to building a more just and humane world.
We will trace the effects of the Kantian revolution, including several influential responses to it. We begin with Kant's Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals (1785), which grounds ethical obligations in the idea of rational autonomy, before considering his theory of the state in the Doctrine of Right (1797). Other readings will vary from year to year. Authors may include: Frederick Douglass, J.G. Fichte, G.W.F. Hegel, Soren Kierkegaard, Karl Marx, and Mary Wollstonecraft. Topics discussed may include: property, human rights, gender, capitalism, religion, and racism.
Our goal is to understand and evaluate some of the most exciting (and difficult) philosophical texts of the 18th and 19th centuries, and to write about them in clear and analytical prose.
Requisite: One prior course in Philosophy. Limited to 25 students. Spring Semester. Professor Hasan
This is preliminary information about books for this course. Please contact your instructor or the Academic Coordinator for the department, before attempting to purchase these books.
ISBN | Title | Publisher | Author(s) | Comment | Book Store | Price |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals, eds. Mary Gregor and Jens Timmermann | Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012 | Immanuel Kant | Amherst Books | TBD | ||
A Vindication of the Rights of Women, ed. Janet Todd | Oxford: Oxford World Classics, 199 | Mary Wollstonecraft | Amherst Books | TBD | ||
Elements of the Philosophy of Right, ed. Allen Wood | Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991 | G.W.F. Hegel | Amherst Books | TBD | ||
Selected Writings, ed. Lawrence Simon | Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing, 199 | Karl Marx | Amherst Books | TBD |
These books are available locally at Amherst Books.