UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS
DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY
PHILOSOPHY 321: HISTORY OF MODERN PHILOSOPHY
Vere Chappell Spring 2003
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Jan 24 - There is a separate page for students taking the junior year writing requirement (PHIL 398W). Such students should check
that page throughout the semester, as well as this one.
Jan 25 - I've just discovered that the Jeffery Amherst Bookstore has only a few copies of the Cottingham (Cambridge) edition of
Descartes's Meditations: the work is temporarily out of stock at the publishers. So I have rush-ordered an alternative, an edition
by Desmond Clarke, published by Penguin. The page assignments on the syllabus are those of the Cottingham edition; the
corresponding pages for the Clarke edition are as follows:
Jan 27 Descartes Int; Medit I xv-xl; 5-22
Feb 03 Descartes Medit II-III 23-43
Feb 10 Descartes Medit IV-VI 44-63
Feb 17 Descartes Medit VI 63-70
Copies of the Clarke edition will be available at the Jeffery Amherst by Tuesday afternoon (January 28).
Feb 06 - Before writing your papers on the Cartesian Circle (due next Tuesday), you should read the relevant portion of the 4th Objections
and Descartes's Reply thereto: pp. 90-91 and 92-93 in Clarke, p. 106 in Cottingham.
Feb 14 - Quiz on Descartes in class on Thursday Feb 20. The quiz will be given at the beginning of class and will take around 20 minutes to
complete. It will consist of 20 short-answer questions about the Meditations - mainly, but not exclusively, on topics discussed in
class and featured on the web site (in the Lecture Outlines and Notes sections). There will also be some questions about logic,
based on material on the Arguments page on the web site. There will not, however, be any questions on Descartes's argument for
the existence of bodies in Meditation Six, despite the fact that there is an outline of this argument on the web site.
Feb 20 - Particular pages to read in Leibniz, Philosophical Essays:
For Feb 25:
Read pp. vii-x; 28-34, 35-36 (Sec. 1-2), 40-42 (Sec. 8-9), 44-49 (Sec. 12-16), 55-60 (Sec. 23-28), 63-67 (Sec. 32-35)
Skim through remaining pages between 19 and 77
For Mar 04 [REVISED Feb 27]:
Read pp. 111-17, 138-45, 147-49, 149-55
Skim through remaining pages between 111 and 206
For Mar 11 [REVISED Feb 27]:
Read pp. 206-13, 213-25
Skim through pages between 235 and 306
Mar 04 - Reminder: Papers on Leibniz due at the beginning of class Thurs Mar 06.
Mar 10 - Reminder: Quiz on Leibniz in class on Thursday March 13.
Mar 10 - The Final Exam for this course will be given on Thursday May 22 at 4.00 PM in Herter 227. The fourth Quiz, on Hume, will also
be given during that same period.
Mar 10 - Particular pages to read in Locke, Essay (ed. by Winkler):
For Mar 25:
Read pp. ix-xxi, xxvii-xxviii, 1-14, 23-32, 33-68.
Skim through remaining pages between ix and xxviii and between 1 and 89.
For Apr 01:
Read pp. 90-103, 112-29, 129-54
Skim through remaining pages between 90 and 175.
For Apr 08:
Read pp. 176-203, 224-54
Skim through remaining pages between 176 and 254
For Apr 15:
Read pp. 274-92, 301-14, 320-337
Skim through remaining pages between 274 and 337
Mar 24 - The room for the final exam has been changed. The exam will be given on Thursday May 22 at 4.00 PM in Herter 231 (not 227).
Apr 03 - Change in Schedule: Quiz #3, on Locke, will be given on Tues April 22, NOT Thurs April 17. Everything else stays the same.
Apr 26 - It appears that some faculty and students are planning to skip classes next Tuesday to protest projected cuts in the University's
budget. PHIL 321 will, however, meet on that day as usual, and the usual rules concerning excused absences will apply. Please note
that protesting in Boston is not a valid excuse for missing class. Also, Junior Year Writing papers, due at or before the beginning of
class, must be handed in as scheduled.