Introductory description

This module tackles a pressing question in both continental and analytic philosophy: what is the relationship between animality and rationality? Our focus will be on the question's logical character: how does the form of thought specific to human beings, manifest in our practical and epistemic activities, relate to the form of living beings as such? After Descartes, there is a tendency in modern philosophy to separate inner mental life from extended material substance, raising a series of problems regarding the relation of mind and world. Our task will be to trace an alternative, neo-Aristotelian stream in modern philosophy that situates human thought in the animal body. After a brief study of Aristotle's De Anima, we examine Kant, Hegel, and Heidegger's distinctive attempts to reanimate Aristotle's notion of living form. We then consider how various thinkers such as Marx, Arendt, and Agamben confront the obstacles that inhibit the form of flourishing distinct to animals like us. Students taking this module for assessment will give a seminar presentation and write an essay on one of the topics covered.

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.

The module will introduce students to the logic of life as a pressing philosophical question spanning continental and analytic philosophy. It combines historical and analytical methods, turning to key texts in the history of modern philosophy to shed new light on contemporary problems. Topics will be based on primary texts, which normally include:

Aristotle, De Anima
Kant, Critique of the Power ofJudgment
Hegel, The Philosophy of Nature
Hegel, The Science of Logic
Heidegger, The Fundamental Concepts of Metaphysics
Marx, Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844
Arendt, The Human Condition
Agamben, Homo Sacer

Learning outcomes

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

• contextualise and analyse historical texts
• evaluate the epistemological and ethical implications of our thinking about life
• understand the historical roots of the contemporary problem of mind and world
• critically assess the strengths and weaknesses of alternative accounts of the logic of life

Indicative reading list

Primary texts may include:
Agamben, Homo Sacer
Arendt, The Human Condition
Aristotle, De Anima
Derrida, The Animal That Therefore I Am
Descartes, Meditations
Hegel, The Philosophy of Nature
Hegel, The Science of Logic
Heidegger, The Fundamental Concepts of Metaphysics
Kant, Critique of the Power of Judgment
Marx, Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844

Secondary texts may include:
Bernstein, 'Judging Life: From Beauty to Experience, from Kant to Chaim Soutine'
Boyle, 'Essentially Rational Animals'
Cooper, 'Do Functions Explain?'
Ginsborg, The Normativity of Nature
Jonas, 'Life, Death, and the Body in the Theory of Being'
Korsgaard, 'Two Kinds of Matter'
Lovelock, 'Gaia: A planetary emergent phenomenon'
MacIntyre, Dependent Rational Animals
McDowell, Mind and World
Nussbaum, Aristotle’s De Motu Animalium
Thompson, E., Mind in Life
Thompson, M., Life and Action

Subject specific skills

Close textual reading skills.
Advanced reasoning skills.
Fluency in essay writing.

Transferable skills

Strong presentation skills, verbally and in writing.
Skills in logical and analytical reasoning.
Skills in creative thinking and critical evaluation of ideas and arguments.