ARLT 100
CLASSICS OF MODERN PHILOSOPHY
SYLLABUS v.1
ARLT 100: 35202D
Classics in Modern Philosophy
Spring 2014
MWF 9:00 – 9:50
THH 213
John Dreher, instructor
Office: MHP 211
x05173
dreher@usc.edu
Hours: Jan 13 – May 2
Mon 12:00 – 1:15
Wed 1:00 – 1:45
Fri 10:00 – 11:00
and by appointment
Last Minute Office Hour for Final Examination
Thu May 8th: 9:15 – 10:45 (MHP 211)
Final Examination: Fri May 9th: 8:00 – 10:00
Materials:
Required:
Ariew, Roger, ‘Descartes and scholasticism: the intellectual background of Descartes’
Thought’ (hand-out)
Barnes, Jonathan, Aristotle, A Very Short Introduction, New York, Oxford University
Press, 2000.
Boyle, M.A. Stewart, ed., Selected Philosophical Papers of Robert Boyle, Indianapolis,
Hackett Publishing Company, 1990
Cohen, I. Bernard, The Birth of a New Physics, New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1985
Lloyd, G.E.R., Early Greek Science: Thales to Aristotle, New York, W.W. Norton & Co,
1970
Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, abridged, Kenneth Winkler, ed.,
Indianapolis Hackett, 1994.
(de) Montaigne, Michel, ‘Apology for Raymond Sebond’ (1580-1588) (hand-out)
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Plato, Meno, (Anastaplo and Berns, trans. and annotators, Meno, Newburyport MA,
Focus, 2004)
Plato, Republic (Jowett, B.A. trans. and ed., The Dialogues of Plato, 4th edition, vol. II,
Oxford, at the Clarendon Press, 1871/1953) (hand-out)
Plato, Timaeus (Kalkavage, Plato’s Timaeus, Newburyport MA, Focus, 2001)
Stewart, M.A., ed., Selected Philosophical Papers of Robert Boyle, Indianapolis, Hackett,
1990.
NB: To reduce costs, students may purchase used or different editions of required
texts. This may cause some inconvenience as pagination will differ from edition to
edition.
Description: This course involves an intensive examination of the writings of three of
the great early modern philosophers: Descartes, Boyle and Locke. All three
philosophers struggled with the implications of the new science that Galileo, Boyle
himself and numerous others developed during the early part of the seventeenth century.
Generally, courses in early modern philosophy begin with Descartes and Locke and
carry on from there. That means that little attention is paid to those who preceded the
early seventeenth century greats. This is, in a way, understandable, because modern
science supplanted the science that preceded it. It has often been assumed that early
science was just crude, ill-informed and in just plain error.
Yet we find much in early science that anticipates the great early modern
philosophical theories that attempted to explain all change on a quantitative basis. Some
ancient philosophers also sought quantitative explanations of change, but others, like
Aristotle, emphasized qualitative explanations. We shall examine the philosophical
implications of rejecting Aristotle’s vision and accepting the improvements of the early
modern era. It must not be thought, however, that the debate between Aristotelians and
the early moderns is finished. Much of the ancient debate is alive today, and we shall
find much in it to discuss.
During the first part of the course we shall examine the various approaches to science
that we find in the ancient and the modern era. Mathematical treatment of the subject
will be limited to examples requiring at most high school algebra, trigonometry and
geometry. Tests and required papers will deal exclusively with the philosophical
implications of ancient and early modern science. However, for those inclined, the three
required papers (though not the tests) may be done in the history of science. We have
excellent sources at our disposal in the required readings listed above; so there will be
many interesting opportunities.
Requirements: There will be a midterm examination, which will test for knowledge of
the reading assignments as well as the expository and supplementary information deliever
in class. There will also be a final examination. The first part of the final examination
will test for knowledge of the reading assignments as well as expository and
supplementary information delivered during class sessions following the midterm
examination. The second part of the final examination will be a comprehensive question
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dealing with the main theme of the course. The comprehensive question will be discussed
towards the end of the semester. Class attendance is very strongly recommended. Please
schedule at least one meeting with me during the course of the semester to discuss your
work. There will be three short papers, approximately five pages in length.
Recommended topics are:
Paper #1: Explain how Plato integrates the teaching of Empedocles and Parmenides in
the Timaeus. Building on that accomplishment, contrast the philosophy of science we
find in the Timaeus with Aristotle’s philosophy of science.
Paper #2: Why does Descartes find it necessary to justify the claim of mechanistic
science to yield knowledge of the material world? Explain how Descartes tries to
reconcile the apparent competing claims between science and religion while, in the very
same argument, demonstrates that our confidence in science is completely justified.
Paper #3: What is Boyle’s concept of scientific explanation? How is it related to his
‘mechanical philosophy’? At precisely which points does Boyle reject the earlier
Aristotelian theory of scientific explanation?
You may substitute a paper topic (in philosophy or the history of science) of your
choosing for the recommended topic with advance permission.
Grades will be calculated as follows:
Paper #1 – 1/6
Paper #2 – 1/6
Paper #3 – 1/6
Midterm Exam – 1/6
Final Exam: Part I – 1/6
Final Exam: Part II – 1/6
Please remember that the University strictly prohibits plagiarism, which can be the
mere failure to acknowledge the work of another as well as the deliberate
misrepresentation of the work of another as your own. You must acknowledge your
indebtedness not only to the ideas of others but also to their words.
Schedule of Readings, Assignments and Examinations:
1. Mon Jan 13: Introduction: Ancient Conceptions of Science and Philosophy; Early
Modern Conceptions of Science and Philosophy
2. Wed Jan 15: Beginnings of Ancient Science: Mediterranean Region: technology,
especially metallurgy, medicine, mathematics – development of the
calendar, reconciling solar and lunar divisions; ancient
philosophy discovery of nature; rational criticism and discussion;
Early Milesian thinkers; natural vs. supernatural explanations;
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Thales’ explanation of earthquakes;
Readings: Lloyd, Early Greek Science, pp. 1 – 15.
3. Fri Jan 17: The Pythagoreans, Heraclitus and Parmenides, reactions to Parmenides,
Zeno, Anaxagoras, Empedocles, Leucippus and Democritus
Readings: Lloyd, Early Greek Science, pp. 16 - 49
4. Mon Jan 20: M.L. King, Jr. Day: UNIVERSITY HOLIDAY
5. Wed Jan 22: Plato’s argument for innate ideas and the doctrine of remembrance;
brief comparison of Plato with Descartes on innate ideas; comparison of
Plato with Boyle and Locke on the origin of ideas
Readings: Plato, Meno
6. Fri Jan 24: Plato’s analysis of change and truth; his way of distinguishing
knowledge from belief; the significance of time in Plato’s theory of
knowledge
Readings: Plato, Republic, 504e – 520a/pp. 366-388.
7. Mon Jan 27: Plato’s amalgamation of Empedoclean and Pythagorean philosophy,
first examples of mathematical modeling of natural phenomena,
qualitative analysis of qualitative differences
Readings: Plato, Timaeus, 50c – 65b/pp. 83 – 100.
8. Wed Jan 29: Eudoxus’s theory that the apparent movements of the heavenly bodies
are best explained by a mathematics model constructed from by simple
circular movements of concentric spheres.
Readings, Lloyd, Early Greek Science, pp. 80 – 98.
9. Fri Jan 31: Aristotle’s qualitative account of the nature of matter; comparison with
Plato’s Timaeus, Aristotle’s account of motions of the heavenly bodies,
comparison with Eudoxus
Readings: Lloyd, Early Greek Science, pp. 99 – 112.
10. Mon Feb 3: Aristotle’s theory of terrestrial motion; Aristotelian dynamics of freely
falling bodies, theory of motion sustained by the continuous application
of force; brief comparison of Aristotle’s theory with Galileo’s
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conception of inertial force.
Readings: Lloyd, Early Greek Science, pp. 113 – 15.
Cohen, The Birth of a New Physics, pp. 3 – 23.
11. Wed Feb 5: Aristotle’s conception of the ‘four causes’ and their relation to
scientific explanation;
Readings, Barnes, Jonathan, Aristotle: A Very Short Introduction, pp.
39 – 91.
12. Fri Feb 7: Aristotle’s conception of scientific investigation; empiricism; the
Aristotelian world-view, teleological explanation; why Aristotelian
metaphysics appealed to the medieval Christian mind
Reading, Barnes, Jonathan, Aristotle: A Very Short Introduction, pp.
92 - 117.
13. Mon Feb 10: The decision of the Council of Trent to impose Aristotelian hegemony
upon the curriculum; the impeding conflict with Galileo and Boyle
Reading: Ariew, Roger, ‘Descartes and Scholasticism: the
intellectual background of Descartes’ thought’
14. Wed Feb 12: Review for Midterm Examination
15. Fri Feb 14: Midterm Examination
16. Mon Feb 17: Presidents’ Day: UNIVERSITY HOLIDAY
17. Wed Feb 19: The Copernican Revolution: discovery of a heliocentric system of the
planets, the significance of the telescope and microscope;
discovery of the moons of Jupiter
Recommended Reading: Cohen, The Birth of the New Physics,
pp. 24 – 80.
18. Fri Feb 21: Galileo’s discovery of the law of freely falling bodies; the concept of
inertial force
Reading: Cohen, The Birth of the New Physics, pp. 81 – 126
19. Mon Feb 24: The Solar system according to Kepler; mathematical modeling,
hearkening back to the Timaeus
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Recommended Reading: Cohen, The Birth of the New Physics,
pp. 127 – 47.
20. Wed Feb 26: First response to the new science and its method; skepticism
concerning both science and religion; doubts about perception
Reading: Montaigne, ‘Apology for Raymond Sebond’
21. Fri Feb 28:
Cartesian systematic doubt arising from illusion, dreaming and the
possibility of a primordial evil force.
Reading: Descartes, Meditiation I
22. Mon Mar 3: The Cogito, identification through change a matter of the intellect,
knowledge be perception presupposes inference (viz. reason)
Reading: Descartes, Meditiation II
23. Wed Mar 5: Ex nihilo, nihilo fit and the imprint theory of causation, ‘proof’ of the
existence of God, beneficence of God and the rejection of the evil
demon hypothesis
Reading, Descartes, Meditation III
24. Fri Mar 7: Descartes’ first ‘Proof” of the existence of God
Reading: handout
25. Mon Mar 10: The beneficence of God and the rejection of the Evil Demon
Hypothesis
26. Wed Mar 12: The source of error; restraining the imagination within the bounds of
the understanding
Reading: Descartes, Meditation IV
27. Fri Mar 14: Ontological ‘proof’ of the existence of God; why systematic doubt
isn’t possible, conditions of knowledge, clear and distinct ideas
Reading: Descartes, Meditation V
28. Mon Mar 17: Spring Break: University Holiday
29. Wed Mar 19: Spring Break: University Holiday
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30. Fri Mar 21: Spring Break: University Holiday
31. Mon Mar 24: The possibility of knowledge of the material world; role of God as
epistemological guarantor; Can we have knowledge of ‘ideas’ that are
not clear and distinct?
Reading: Descartes, Meditation VI
32. Wed Mar 26: Criticisms of Descartes by Gassendi, and Arnauld
Reading: tba: handout
33. Fri Mar 28:
Criticism of Descartes by Princess Elizabeth of Bavaria and by
Spinoza
Reading: tba: handout
34. Mon Mar 31: Boyle’s understanding of the scientific method
Reading: Stewart, Selected Philosophical Papers of Robert Boyle,
p. 119: Boyle, ‘MS Notes on a Good and Excellent Hypothesis’
32. Wed Apr 2: Boyle’s Defense of the Mechanical Hypothesis
Reading: Stewart, Selected Philosophical Papers of Robert Boyle,
pp. 138 – 54: Boyle, ‘About the Excellency and Grounds of the
Mechanical Hypothesis’
33. Fri Apr 4: Boyle On qualities and the mechanical hypothesis
Reading: Stewart, Selected Philosophical Papers of Robert Boyle,
pp. 1 - 52: Boyle, ‘The Origin of Forms and Qualities According to
the Corpuscular Philosophy
34. Mon Apr 7: Boyle on the origin of forms
Reading: Stewart, Selected Philosophical Papers of Robert Boyle,
pp. 53 - 96: Boyle, ‘The Origin of Forms and Qualities According to
the Corpuscular Philosophy’22.
35. Wed Apr 9: Boyle of Nature and God
Reading: Stewart, Selected Philosophical Papers of Robert Boyle,
pp. 155 -175. An Essay, Containing a Requisite Digression
concerning Those that would Exclude the Deity from
Intermeddling with Matter)
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36. Fri Apr 11: Boyle on nature
Reading: Stewart, Selected Philosophical Papers of Robert Boyle
pp. 176 - 89. ‘A Free Enquiry into the Vulgarly Received
Notion of Nature’: Sections II, IV
37. Mon Apr 14: Two forms of empiricism; Locke of the Origin of Ideas
Readings: tba:
38. Wed Apr 16: The distinction between simple and complex ideas; of ideas of
sensation and ideas of reflection
Readings: tba
39. Fri Apr 18: Locke primary and secondary qualities, perception, retention and
abstraction
Readings: tba
40. Mon Apr 21: Locke on space, duration, of power; his conceptions of complex ideas
of substances; ideas of body and spirit terms and abstract Ideas;
Berkeley’s criticism
Readings: tba
41. Wed Apr 23: Locke on General Terms and Abstract Ideas: General natures, nominal
and real essence; nominal essences and mixed modes
Readings: tba
42. Fri Apr 25: Locke on knowledge: its scope and limits
Readings: tba
43. Mon Apr 28: Locke on Demonstration and Probable Proofs
Readings: tba
44. Wed Apr 30: Comparison of Descartes, Boyle and Locke; of the quantitative and
qualitative views of scientific explanation
45. Fri May 2: Review for Final Examination
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