| Room: Warren Lecture Hall 2207 | Prof. Eric Watkins |
| Times: T & Th 11:00-12:20 | Office: H&SS 8018 |
| Term: Fall Quarter 2007 | Office tel: 822-0082 |
| Office Hours: T 12:30-1:30 & by appointment | E-mail: ewatkins@ucsd.edu |
Phil 105 The Empiricists
The purpose of this course is to introduce the main positions and arguments of the British Empiricists: John Locke, George Berkeley, and David Hume.
I. Reading Assignments (subject to adjustment)
| Th 9-27 | Introduction | |
| T 10-2 | Locke: Rejection of Innate Ideas (pp.11-17) & Leibniz: Reply (115-121) | |
| Th 10-4 | Locke: Positive Account of the Mind (17-26, 31-42, 53-55) | |
| T 10-9 | Locke: Primary vs. Secondary Qualities (26-31, 42-44) | |
| Th 10-11 | Locke: Personal Identity (61-70) | |
| T 10-16 | Locke: Nominal vs. Real Essence (70-79) | |
| Th 10-18 | Locke: Epistemology (79-114) | |
| T 10-23 | No Class (University-wide) |
|
| Th 10-25 | No Class (University-wide) | |
| T 10-30 | Midterm Exam | |
| Th 11-1 |
Berkeley: Critique of Locke (pp. 130-138) |
|
| T 11-6 | Berkeley: Idealism (138-157) | |
| Th 11-8 | Berkeley: Consequences (157-174) | |
| T 11-13 | Hume: Theory of Mind (237-251) | |
| Th 11-15 | Hume: Causality (251-263, 279-289) | |
| T 11-20 | Hume: Causality, continued | Term Paper Description Due |
| Th 11-22 | Thanksgiving (no class) | |
| T 11-27 | Hume: Skepticism (289-312) | |
| Th 11-29 | Hume: The Self (312-327) | |
| T 12-4 | Hume: On Miracles (371-380) | |
| Th 12-6 | Hume: On Theistic Proofs (380-386) & Concluding Lecture |
Term Paper Due |
| Th 12-13 | Final Exam (8:00-10:59) | |
II. Texts:
Ariew, Roger & Watkins, Eric. Readings in Modern Philosophy. Volume II: Locke, Berkeley, Hume and Associated Texts. Indianapolis/Cambridge: Hackett Publishing Company, 2000.
The text is available in the UCSD bookstore. All readings listed on the syllabus will be from this anthology.
III. Requirements:
1. Quizzes (totaling 20%)
There
will be five unannounced quizzes. No make-up quizzes will be given. The lowest
quiz grade will be dropped.
2. Final exam (50%)
The exam will be comprehensive and consist of a combination of short answer
and longer essay questions.
3. Either:
Midterm Exam
On Locke (30%)
Or:
One Term Paper (30%)
The term paper should be 10 pages in length. It
should incorporate primary literature not assigned in class and discuss some
secondary literature. Term paper topics will not be assigned; instead, one must
submit for my approval a 2-3 page description of the topic and what literature
(both primary and secondary) will be discussed.
Make-up Exam Policy
A make-up examination will be arranged only if evidence of a valid excuse
(e.g., a note from the doctor, the dean or athletic department, etc.) is presented
in a timely manner. If a student misses an examination without a valid excuse,
the student will receive a grade of F for that exam.
IV. Other Information
1. I expect students to have read the material in advance and to be prepared to discuss it in class. This is not designed as a lecture course, so class discussion is essential.
2. Honor Code. The Academic Honor Code must be observed in this course.
3. If accommodations are needed for a disability or religious reasons, please notify me during the first class period or as soon as possible.