Introductory description

PH143 - Existence, Experience, History: Key Topics in Continental Philosophy

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

Week 1: What is (or was) the Enlightenment? (Kant, Foucault)
Week 2: Freedom beyond reason: the problem of evil (Schelling, Arendt)
Week 3: No-one is one without the other: recognition and dialectic (Hegel)
Week 4: The world and the fable: on the contingency of knowing (Nietzsche, Foucault)
Week 5: Something to hold on to: the return of the transcendental (Husserl)
Week 7: Freedom beyond the human: death and existence (Heidegger, Sartre)
Week 8: Phenomenology of the (gendered) body (Merleau-Ponty)
Week 9: Ethics in face of the other: of humans, gods, and animals (Levinas, Derrida)
Week 10: The return of nature: philosophy in the Anthropocene (Chakrabarthy)

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• be familiar with many of the main philosophical approaches and concerns associated with post-Kantian continental philosophy.
• be able to engage in a close, critical reading of key texts in this philosophical tradition,
• to present and discuss in an informed way the main ideas and problems presented in these texts.
• have a systematic knowledge and understanding of many of the key topics associated with continental philosophy as discussed in some of the classic texts associated with this philosophical tradition.
• on this basis, students should also be able to understand how the ideas and arguments they encounter differ and to offer an independent critical assessment of them.

Indicative reading list

Readings will include short excerpts from key figures in post-Kantian continental philosophy selected for each week’s theme. These readings from primary texts will be accompanied by introductory study material and/or readings from introductory secondary literature. All readings will be made available in digital form.

Subject specific skills

The ability
(a) to understand the characteristic features and aims of post-Kantian ‘continental’ philosophy;
(b) to recognise the different forms taken by certain recurrent topics and concepts (freedom, experience, knowledge, critique etc.) in different post-Kantian philosophers;
(c) to analyse and critically evaluate the different theories and arguments connected with the topics presented, and to come to an independent assessment of their merits;
(d) the ability to pursue independent philosophical research.

Transferable skills

The ability
(a) to analyse, evaluate, critique and apply complex information gathered from reading, reflection, reasoning or communication;
(b) to discuss the issues raised by their close reading in speech and in writing
(c) communicate information (verbally and in written form) to people both expert and non-expert in the field;
(d) the ability to effectively manage schedules and deadlines.