PHILOSOPHY 258/SiSP 281
Post-Kantian European Philosophy
Joe Rouse
Russell House (RH) 202; Allbritton (All) 209
Office Hours: Monday 3-4 (RH); Wednesday 11-12 (All); Thursday 11-12 (All)
Telephone: x3655
Email: jrouse@wesleyan.edu
Course Description:
The course undertakes a careful first reading of major texts by some of the most
influential European philosophers in the 19th and 20th Centuries. A unifying theme of the
course will be the significance of the development of modern science for what it means to be
human, what it means to be “modern,” and for conceptions of ethics, politics, and knowledge. A
related issue will be the critical assessment of the capabilities and limitations of human reason,
especially in comprehending historical change. These two themes intertwine, not just because
the natural sciences and technology exemplify the use of reason, but also because the natural
sciences offer prominent examples of important historical changes in concepts, practices, and
institutions.
This is a philosophy course, and not a course in intellectual history. We will be
examining the texts themselves, and our principal concerns will be to elucidate and criticize the
articulations, interpretations, and arguments that they develop, and the relations between them.
Many of these texts are extraordinarily difficult, to the point of near incomprehensibility on first
encounter; an important goal of the course is to make these and related readings accessible.
Required texts (available at Broad Street Books):
Immanuel Kant, Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals (with "What is
Enlightenment?")
Nietzsche, The Portable Nietzsche
Weber, The Vocation Lectures
Heidegger, Off the Beaten Track
Habermas, Toward a Rational Society
Foucault, The Foucault Reader
On Line Required Text:
G.W.F. Hegel, Phenomenology of Spirit (Pinkard translation available at:
http://web.mac.com/titpaul/Site/Phenomenology_of_Spirit_page.html )
On Line Reserve:
Kant, Critique of Pure Reason, Preface to the 2nd edition
Frederick Beiser, The Fate of Reason, Introduction
Marx, Selected Writings (ed. McClellan)–Theses on Feuerbach, German Ideology,
Capital Vol I (selections)
Nietzsche, On the Genealogy of Morality III, sect. 1,12,23-28
Nietzsche, “On Truth and Lies in a Nonmoral Sense”
Husserl, “Philosophy as Rigorous Science”
Husserl, “Vienna Lecture”
Heidegger, Being and Time, sections 2-4, 13, 15-18, 44, 69b
Marcuse, “Industrialization and Capitalism in Work of Weber”
Grading Option: Mixed; students taking the course Cr/U need an average grade of C- or better
to receive credit.
Course Requirements: Three essay assignments (sometimes composed of multiple shorter
essays), questions handed out a week or so in advance. First two are 30% of grade; final
essay 40%. All essays should be submitted electronically in Word via Moodle dropbox.
Students with Disabilities: It is the policy of Wesleyan University to provide reasonable
accommodations to students with documented disabilities. Students, however, are
responsible for registering with Disabilities Services, in addition to making requests
known to me in a timely manner. If you require accommodations in this class, please
make an appointment with me as soon as possible during the the semester, so that
appropriate arrangements can be made. The procedures for registering with Disabilities
Services can be found at http://www.wesleyan.edu/deans/disability-students.html.
HONOR CODE: All course assignments are submitted under the Honor Code, which expresses
a commitment to the ethos of an academic community. Philosophical work is
collaborative (hence our discussions in and out of class), but you then must take
responsibility for your contribution to that common conversation. Reference to or use of
published or posted materials outside of the assigned readings must be properly cited.
Please include the following pledge at the end of all graded assignments:
In accordance with the Honor Code, I affirm that this work is my own and all
content taken from other sources has been properly acknowledged.
Commentaries on Reserve (I have attempted to place on reserve only books that might be
useful aids for first approaches to these particular texts):
* these commentaries are likely to the most widely used, and hence are on 4-hr reserve;
others are 24 hr
Kant (review):
*B 819 S577 Robert Solomon, From Rationalism to Existentialism-- the chapter on Kant is a
useful and reasonably accurate overview of Kant's philosophy aimed at students
preparing to study his successors.
Hegel:
* B 2929 .P45 1994 Terry Pinkard, Hegel’s Phenomenology: The Sociality of Reason– a superb
commentary, clear, lucid, and informative both about the project of the book, and the line
of argument in individual chapters; highly recommended
*B2929 .S65 2002 Robert Stern, Routledge Philosophy Guidebook to Hegel and the
Phenomenology of Spirit– written as student guide to this difficult book
*B 2948 .C28 1993 Frederick Beiser, Cambridge Companion to Hegel--Beiser's introductory
essay and Wartenberg’s essay on Idealism are excellent on "Spirit" and Hegel’s
"idealism"; Pippin’s essay locates the major transitions of the Phenomenology within the
argument as a whole
B 2948 T39 Charles Taylor, Hegel--chapters 3-6 are a useful account of material we cover;
chapter 3 considers general issues, and 4-6 discuss the specific stages of Spirit
B2929 .W465 2003 Kenneth Westphal, Hegel’s Epistemology — ch. 2,3, 5 especially good on
Introduction, and overall epistemological conception provided in the Phenomenology
Marx:
D 16.9 C56 G. A. Cohen, Marx's Theory of History: A Defense--a good, very sympathetic
reading, focused upon the issues we will raise in the course.
B 3305 M74 G65
Carol Gould, Marx's Social Ontology--controversial but exciting
reinterpretation of Marx as a philosopher.
Nietzsche:
*B 3318 E88 M33 1978
Bernd Magnus, Nietzsche's Existential Imperative--entire book is
excellent, but Chapt. 1 is a superb overview, focused on Twilight of the Idols.
B3317 .N54 2001
Brian Leiter and John Richardson, eds., Nietzsche– excellent collection,
especially good essays on truth
B 3317 N425 1985 Alexander Nehamas, Nietzsche: Life as Literature--excellent but
controversial book; chapter 2 (on reason, truth, and "life") and chapter 7 (on Nietzsche's
moral philosophy) especially helpful.
B.3317 .C29 1996
Bernd Magnus and Kathleen Higgins, ed., Cambridge Companion to
Nietzsche–papers in Part III, esp. Pippin’s, usefully discuss themes central to our reading
Husserl:
*B 3279 H94 C32
David Carr, Phenomenology and the Problem of History--Chapters 1 and
2 are good overviews of texts we are reading; likely the best resource for the confused.
B 3279 H94 H883 1982 Hubert Dreyfus, ed., Husserl, Intentionality, and Cognitive Science-excellent collection of papers; Hall on the overall project, Dreyfus on perception and
meaning, and Miller on time especially good.
B 3279 .H94 C28 1995 B. Smith & D. Smith, ed., Cambridge Companion to Husserl--another
excellent collection of papers, albeit less directly connected to the texts we read
B 3279 H94 S624
Robert Sokolowski, Husserlian Meditations--a superb reading of Husserl,
but perhaps a little too detailed and technical for our purposes.
Heidegger:
John Haugeland, Dasein Disclosed, ch 1, “Being” (OL)---This short essay has a clear, accessible
account of the central issue in Heidegger: the difference between being and entities
B3279.H49 T635 2007 Steven Crowell and Jeff Malpas, ed., Transcendental Heidegger: if you
read only one secondary source on Heidegger, read John Haugeland’s “Letting Be”
*B 3279 H49 H343 Michael Murray, ed., Heidegger and Modern Philosophy--the paper by
Dreyfus and Haugeland on Husserl and Heidegger is both concise and helpful in
understanding both figures and their relationship to one another.
*B3279.H49 C64 2005 Dreyfus and Wrathall, A Companion to Heidegger; papers by Rouse on
science, Brandom on categories, Dreyfus on art are probably most useful for us
B 3279 .H49 H33 1992 Hubert Dreyfus and Harrison Hall, ed., Heidegger: A Critical Reader-the most helpful papers are by Dreyfus, Okrent, Taylor, and possibly Rorty.
B 3279 .H49 C25 1993 Charles Guignon, Cambridge Companion to Heidegger--several very
useful papers, esp. Dreyfus on the essays we read, Hall on Being and Time in relation to
Husserl, and Taylor on the overall project
B 3279 .H48 S462 1991 Hubert Dreyfus, Being-in-the-World–clear and influential
interpretation of Being and Time; pp. 45-54, 60-87 and 202-208 take up sections we read
B808.5 .F76 2000 Michael Friedman, A Parting of the Ways – ch. 4 is a clear discussion of
Heidegger’s account of truth and knowledge in response to Husserl and the neo-Kantians
B 3279 H49 O36 1988 Mark Okrent, Heidegger's Pragmatism--chapters 7 and 8 are superb but
difficult account of late Heidegger, 7 closer to Heidegger's language, 8 in different idiom.
Habermas and Marcuse:
*T 14 .T387 1995 Andrew Feenberg and Alastair Hannay, ed., Technology and the Politics of
Knowledge-- essay by Steven Vogel, "New Science, New Nature"--superb and clear
critical account of what is going on in the Habermas-Marcuse debate, and what to make
of it; highly recommended.
B3279.H49 F387 2005Andrew Feenberg, Heidegger and Marcuse; ch. 5-7 offer a thoughtful
interpretation of Marcuse’s work that emphasizes his connection to Heidegger; ch. 6 is
most relevant to the essay we are reading
Foucault:
*B 2430 .F724 C36 1994 Gary Gutting, Cambridge Companion to Foucault--excellent collection
of essays overall; my essay, "Power/Knowledge" was written specifically to introduce
Foucault’s central concerns in the works we are reading.
B 2430 F72 D73 Hubert Dreyfus and Paul Rabinow, Michel Foucault--Part II is an excellent
overall account of Foucault's later work; Chapters 6-8 specifically concern the texts we
are reading, while the surrounding chapters discuss general issues raised by them.
B 2430 F724 F68 1986 David Hoy, ed., Foucault: A Critical Reader--offers a range of useful
critical studies--you are likely to find most helpful the essays by Dreyfus/Rabinow,
Hacking, and Taylor.
B2430.F724 P73 1995 C. G. Prado, Starting with Foucault – clear and thoughtful discussion of
Foucault’s conception of genealogy, and his understanding of truth
HM 24 F732 1989
Nancy Fraser, Unruly Practices--ch.1 gives an interesting and powerful
exposition and criticism of Foucault (continued in subsequent chapters, but the first is
what you will likely find most helpful).
B 837 H55 1988
David Hiley, Philosophy in Question--ch. 4 gives a very clear and helpful
exposition and defense of Foucault's project; highly recommended.
SCHEDULE OF LECTURES, READINGS, AND ASSIGNMENTS
N.B. The instructor’s travel requires several Friday makeup classes at times & places TBD
September
5
Kant (OL); recommended reading, Beiser (OL)
7
Kant, pp. 64-83 (3rd Section of Foundations & "What Is Enlightenment?")
9
Hegel, p. 69-85 (Introduction)
12
"
p. 86-98 (Sense-Certainty)
14
" p. 154-177 (Self-Cert., Lordship & Bondage)
16
No new reading (Lordship and Bondage, cont.)
MAKE-UP 16
Hegel, p. 177-205 (Stoicism & Scepticism, Unhappy
Consciousness)
19
“
p. 206-215, 392-431 (Certainty & Truth of Reason;
Spirit; The Ethical World; Ethical Action)
21
" p. 531-544 (Absolute Freedom and Terror)
23
NO CLASS; Instructor out of town
“
p. 544-574 (Spirit Certain of Itself---Morality: the Moral
Worldview and Dissemblance)
28
" p. 724 (par. 798)-736, 1-36 (par. 41), 62-68 (Preface)
28
4:15 Public Lecture on Hegel’s Phenomenology, location TBA
30
No new Hegel reading
MAKE-UP 30
Marx, from The German Ideology (OL) and Theses on Feuerbach
October
3
" from Capital, Vol. 1 (OL) (p. 472-488) (Commodity
Fetishism & M-C-M Cycle) 1ST ESSAY TOPICS PROVIDED
5
Nietzsche, p. 465-486 Twilight of the Idols
7
" No new reading;
MAKE-UP
7
" p. 486-501
10
" “Truth and Lie” (OL); Genealogy of Morality essay III,
sections 1, 12, 23-28 (OL); Portable Nietzsche, pp. 447-450
Tuesday
11
1ST FIRST ESSAY ASSIGNMENT DUE at noon
12
“
p. 501-13, and from the subsequent pages of Twilight,
sections 5, 7-11, 14, 19-24, 32-44, 48-49 of "Skirmishes", and
sections 4-5 of "What I Owe to the Ancients"
14
Husserl, "Philosophy as Rigorous Science," (OL) pp. 166-173
MAKEUP
14
Husserl, “PRS” (OL), pp. 173-185
17
No new reading (review Husserl, PRS, p. 166-85)
19
Husserl, "Philosophy as Rigorous Science" (OL), pp. 185-196
21
Weber, “Science as a Vocation”
FALL BREAK; NO CLASSES HELD October 26, 28, 31; instructor out of the country.
November
2
Husserl, Vienna Lecture (OL); 2nd ESSAY TOPICS HANDED OUT
4
Heidegger, Being and Time sections 2-4, 9, 13
7
Heidegger, Being and Time sections 15-18(OL)
9
Heidegger, Being and Time, section 44
11
Heidegger, Being and Time sect. 69b(OL); Off the Beaten Track, p. 57-66
("Age of the World Picture")
11
SECOND ESSAY DUE, 6 p.m.
14
Heidegger, Off the Beaten Track, p. 66-72 ("Age of the World Picture," p.
1-19 ("Origin of the Work of Art")
16
Heidegger, Off the Beaten Track, p. 19-52 ("Origin of the Work of Art")
18
Finish Heidegger (no additional reading)
November
21
Marcuse, “Industrialization and Capitalism..” (OL); Habermas, p. 81-90
("Tech. & Sci. as Ideology”)
THANKSGIVING BREAK
28
Habermas, p. 90-122
30
"
(no new reading; review pp. 90-122)
December
2
Foucault, p. 170-205 (Discipline and Punish)
5
"
p. 206-213, 258-272 (DP and History of Sexuality)
7
"
p. 292-328 (History of Sexuality); 3rd ESSAY QUESTIONS
HANDED OUT
9
"
p. 32-50 ("What is Enlightenment?") and course recap; 3rd
ESSAY TOPICS HANDED OUT
15
3rd ESSAYS DUE (noon)
September
26