FA18 PHIL491/591

PHIL 491/591: Special Topics in Modern Philosophy
Instructor: Kourosh Alizadeh
Topic: German Idealism
Details: TuTh at 3:30pm–4:45pm in LA1–304

Check out this course description, looks awesome!

Few philosophers in history can claim to have had as much influence on their contemporaries as Immanuel Kant. When he released is groundbreaking book The Critique of Pure Reason in 1781, it was not long before the entire German-speaking philosophical world was abuzz with activity. Other philosophers aimed to build on his ideas or resolve what they saw as weaknesses in his position, and the result was an entire philosophical tradition: German Idealism.

In this class we will first look at Kant as the founder of this tradition, and then study the works of Fichte, Schelling, and Hegel, looking at how they developed on Kant’s ideas to produce radically new ways of thinking about the world. Their work is some of the most difficult but also most philosophically rich in the discipline, full of interesting insights at the intersection of epistemology and metaphysics, logic and ethics. In this class we will achieve a solid working knowledge of this fascinating period in the History of Philosophy. No previous study of Kant is required.