PHIL640 FA24

Seminar in Metaphysics (PHIL640)
Topic: Metaphysical Freedom in Early Modern Philosophy
Marie Jayasekera
Wednesdays  ·  5:30pm–8:15pm  ·  LA1–300

If everything we do must happen because of events in the past, do we really have a say in what we do? Are we responsible for our choices if they are causally determined by our desires? If God preordains a plan for the history of the created universe down to the smallest details and creates the universe accordingly, are we not mere puppets? And, most importantly, what is our actual predicament: are we free, and if so, how should we understand our freedom?

In this course, we will explore how numerous early modern philosophers—among them Descartes, Hobbes, Locke, Leibniz, du Châtelet, Hume, and Reid (and perhaps others)—answer these questions. We will seek to identify and understand:

• their conceptions of freedom;
• the relevant contexts of discussion (e.g., the background intellectual debates;
• the philosophical commitments that shape and constrain their conceptions of freedom);
• the particular threats to freedom the thinkers have in mind; and
• the connections among their views.

This course will cover a lot of ground quickly over our 15 class meetings. As a result, students in this course will be expected to come to every class meeting having carefully read all the assigned primary texts. Students should be prepared with questions, insights, and topics for class discussion and should plan on participating at every class meeting.

Final papers for the course will require engaging with relevant secondary literature independently (with guidance from Dr. Jayasekera).