PHIL 340

Kant and Hegel


Please note: this is archived course information from 2018 for PHIL 340.

Description

One of Immanuel Kant’s most controversial philosophical assertions is that space and time are, as far as we can know, only features of the human being, rather than features of things as they are in themselves. We will initially examine this allegedly subjective nature of space and time, the necessary logical orderings that we project onto our experience, along with Kant’s theory of freedom. The aim will be to understand how Kant protected science from sceptical attacks, only by maintaining that metaphysical truth is unknowable.

We will also consider how GWF Hegel replied that we can, by looking into ourselves, indeed know the essential nature of the universe. Our focus will be on the metaphysical nature of self-consciousness, Hegel’s various formulations of the essence of Christianity, his dialectical logic and his foundational belief that everything in the universe is deeply and rationally interconnected.

Availability 2018

Semester 1

Lecturer(s)

Coordinator(s) Professor Robert Wicks

Reading/Texts

Immanuel Kant, Critique of Pure Reason (trans. Norman Kemp-Smith preferred; other translations are acceptable) [this book is available online]

G. W. F. Hegel, Phenomenology of Spirit (trans. A. V. Miller preferred; other translations are acceptable) [this book is available online via Past Masters, Main Library website]
 

Recommended Reading

These will be compiled in the Short Loan Materials section of the Main Library.

Assessment

Coursework + exam

Points

PHIL 340: 15 points

Prerequisites

30 points at Stage II in Philosophy or EUROPEAN 100 and 15 points at Stage II in Philosophy

Restrictions

280.312, PHIL 220