- Department: Philosophy
- Module co-ordinator: Prof. Tom Stoneham
- Credit value: 20 credits
- Credit level: C
- Academic year of delivery: 2021-22
- See module specification for other years: 2022-23
Early Modern Philosophy introduces students to key themes in C17th and C18th philosophy - important philosophical topics that continue to be discussed today. The module is primarily seminar based; groups will study themed extracts from the work of major philosophers of the period, identifying points of agreement and difference, and understanding the different ways a problem can be addressed.
Occurrence | Teaching period |
---|---|
A | Autumn Term 2021-22 |
To teach students to read and closely study passages of original C17th/C18th philosophy, to learn how philosophical arguments are structured and to confront central issues in the subject.
By the end of the module students should have acquired:
This module is primarily taught in seminars where you will engage in detailed discussion of the source materials. The weekly lectures provide contextual background to the texts being studied that week, situating the authors and the issues in their historical period.
Task | Length | % of module mark |
---|---|---|
Essay/coursework Essay |
N/A | 50 |
Online Exam - 24 hrs (Centrally scheduled) Early Modern Philosophy A |
8 hours | 50 |
None
The formative assignment consists of a set of answers to three questions from one of the weekly readings for Weeks 2 to 6. The assignment will be no more than 750 words total, with approx. 250 words per answer to each question and is due in Week 7 of the Autumn Term.
Task | Length | % of module mark |
---|---|---|
Essay/coursework Essay |
N/A | 50 |
Online Exam - 24 hrs (Centrally scheduled) Early Modern Philosophy A |
8 hours | 50 |
Feedback on formative work will be provided within 4 teaching weeks of submission. Feedback on summative work will be provided within 4 weeks of submission.
Essential seminar reading will be provided on the VLE. Students are encouraged to read further in the works from which these extracts are taken and other works of the period, for example:
George Berkeley: Principles of Human Knowledge and Three Dialogues
Rene Descartes: Meditations and Discourse on the Method
David Hume: An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding
John Locke: Book 1 of An Essay Concerning Human Understanding