UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS
DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY
PHILOSOPHY 321: HISTORY OF MODERN PHILOSOPHY
Vere Chappell Spring 2003
SYLLABUS
TEXTS
Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy, ed. Cottingham (Cambridge 1996). ISBN 0-521-55818-2
Leibniz, Philosophical Essays, ed. Ariew and Garber (Hackett 1989). ISBN 0-87220-062-0
Locke, Essay concerning Human Understanding, ed. Winkler (Hackett 1996). ISBN 0-87220-216-X
Hume, Enquiry concerning Human Understanding, ed. Beauchamp (Oxford 1999). ISBN 0-19-875248-2
The texts are available at the Jeffery Amherst College Store, South Pleasant Street, Amherst.
SCHEDULE OF READING ASSIGNMENTS
Week of Author Title Pages Notes
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jan 27 Descartes Int; Medit I xviii-xl; 3-15
Feb 03 Descartes Medit II-III 16-36 JYW Paper 1 due Tues
Feb 10 Descartes Medit IV-VI 37-55 Paper 1 due Tues
Feb 17 Descartes Medit VI 55-62 No class Tues; Quiz 1 Thur
Feb 24 Leibniz Int; Pt I 4-9 vii-x; 19-77 passim* JYW Paper 2 due Thur
Mar 03 Leibniz Pt I 15-29 111-224 passim* Paper 2 due Thur
Mar 10 Leibniz Pt II A.1-2; C.1-4; E.4 235-346 passim* Quiz 2 Thur
Mar 17 -------- -------- -------- Spring Break
Mar 24 Locke Int; Essay I-II.i-xviii ix-xxx; 1-89 passim* No class Thur
Mar 31 Locke Essay II.xix-xxxiii 90-175 passim* JYW Paper 3 due Tues
Apr 07 Locke Essay III-IV.i-iv 176-254 passim* Paper 3 due Tues
Apr 14 Locke Essay IV.ix-xxi 274-337 passim*
Apr 21 Hume Int; Enquiry i-iii 7-16; 87-107 Quiz 3 Tues
Apr 28 Hume Enquiry iv-vi 108-133 JYW Paper 4 due Tues
May 05 Hume Enquiry vii-ix 134-168 Paper 4 due Tues
May 12 Hume Enquiry xii 199-211 No class Thur
May 19 -------- -------- -------- Quiz 4, final exam; date TBA
* Particular pages to be announced.
REQUIREMENTS
1. Class attendance and participation. Students may miss two classes without being penalized.
Up to two additional absences may be excused, but only upon presentation, within a week of
the missed class, of a written explanation, signed by a doctor, dean, or other official.
2. Weekly reading assignments, to be completed by the Tuesday class of each week.
3. Four short papers on assigned topics, to be handed in at the beginning of class on Feb 11,
Mar 6, Apr 8, and May 6.
4. Four quizzes, to be taken in class on Feb 20, Mar 13, and Apr 22, and with the final exam.
5. Final exam, to be taken during the final exam period, date and time to be announced.
The course grade will be based on the papers (15 points each), the quizzes (10 points each), the
final exam (20 points), and class participation (5 points). One each of the four papers and
quizzes assigned may be missed without penalty; if all four are done, only the highest three
grades in each case will be counted. Two points will be deducted for each unexcused absence after
the second, and for each absence, excused or not, after the fourth.
There are additional requirements for students fulfilling the Junior Year Writing Requirement
(Philosophy 398W).