Instructor: Dr. Steve Naragon, Office: Ad Bldg., #35b (Phone —  office: 982-5041; home: 982-6033)
	
Required Texts:
(1) Robert Solomon, Introducing the German Idealists (Hackett 1981). (ISBN: 0-915145-03-0)
(2) Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, The Phenomenology of Spirit, transl. A. V. Miller (Oxford UP, 1979).  (ISBN: 9780198245971)
(3) Charles Guignon and Derk Pereboom, ed., Existentialism: Basic Writings, 2nd ed. (Hackett, 2001).  (ISBN: 0-87220-595-9)
(4) Friedrich Nietzsche, The Gay Science (Knopf).  (ISBN: 0-394719-85-9)
(5) Friedrich Nietzsche, On the Genealogy of Morality, transl. Maudemarie Clark and Alan J. Swensen (Hackett, 1998). (ISBN: 0-87220-283-6)
(6) Handouts of texts by Hegel, Arthur Schopenhauer (selections from The World as Will and Representation), and Karl Marx (selections from various writings).
	
Recommended Texts:
	(1) Robert Audi, ed., The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy, 2nd ed.
	
Course Objective.  
	By the end of all your ruminations in this course, you should be able to mark improvement in the following areas: (1) your understanding of the nature and history of Western philosophy; (2) your skills for critically evaluating arguments and beliefs; (3) your ability to read primary texts; (4) your sense of the historiography of philosophy; and (5) your ability to reflect carefully on certain questions that confront us all: How can I know something to be true?  What is the good life and how is it attained?  What is it to be human?  
	Some virtues to bring with you into the philosophy classroom: humility when comparing your beliefs with those of others; patience for listening closely to views that seem foolish or misguided to you; courage to advance in the face of adversity what seems to be the correct view; endurance for following arguments to their conclusion; humor for those moments when you feel the utter futility of your efforts.

Requirements and Grading
	
Readings.  Read the assignments closely prior to class, and always bring the text.  Class discussions and your success in this class depend upon this.  If you are not willing to commit yourself to this, then it would be best to withdraw from the course.
	
Attendance. A course on philosophy is by its nature aimed at self-examination and discussion; consequently, taking the class requires being there, and thus six absences (excused or otherwise) are allowed.  After that, each additional absence (of any kind) results in a 1% drop in your course grade.
	
Student Presentations.  Students will take turns presenting introductory material on a 19th century philosopher whose work is not being studied by the class this semester.  This presentation should include a brief chronology of their life, both biographical and literary, and a quick summary of their work.  A one page handout should be prepared to distribute to the rest of the class at that time; this handout must be given to me one week before it is to be presented in class.
	
Exegetical essays. Once every two or three weeks you will need to write a two-page exegetical essay assigned for a paragraph or two of text or perhaps an expository essay on some topic.  These need to be typed and proofed, but otherwise shouldn’t involve more than an hour or two of your time.  Staple your pages together, but please avoid title pages, covers, or other such peripheral junk.  Papers are graded on spelling, grammar, punctuation, and clarity of style, but I’m primarily interested in how well you can tackle a bit of text on your own and make sense of it.  Late papers are penalized.
	
Exams.  There will be three in-class essay exams.  
	
Grading.  Each exam is worth 25%; the group of exegetical essays is worth 20%; and the class presentation is worth 5% of the course grade.

Schedule of Discussion and Reading
A Kantian Prelude
Thu, Sep 4
Introduction to the Course: 
Overview of 19th Cent. Philosophy
Tue, Sep 9
Review of Kant:
Read: Solomon, pp. 1-41.
Thu, Sep 11
Post-Kantian Idealists
Read: Solomon, pp. 43-61.
Hegel
Tue, Sep 16
Introduction
Read: Hegel, “Introduction” to the Encyclopedia (1st ed: 1817; 3rd ed: 1830) (handout)
Thu, Sep 18
Intro/Sense-Certainty
Read: Hegel, The Phenomenology of Spirit (1807), §§73-89, 90-110.
Tue, Sep 23
Master/Slave Dialectic
Read: Hegel, The Phenomenology of Spirit (1807), §§166-77, 178-96.
Thu, Sep 25
Absolute Knowing
Read: Hegel, The Phenomenology of Spirit (1807), §§788-808
Tue, Sep 30	First Exam
Schopenhauer
Thu, Oct 2
Introduction
Read: The World as Will and Representation, vol. 1, §19.
Tue, Oct 7
Read: The World as Will and Representation, vol. 2, §19.
Thu, Oct 9
(cont.)
Marx
Tue, Oct 14
Introduction
“Introduction” to A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s Theory of Right
Thu, Oct 16
1844-45
Read: Read: Read: Paris Manuscripts: Alienated Labor
Read: “Theses on Feuerbach”
——Fall Break——
Thu, Oct 23
1845
Read: German Ideology
Tue, Oct 28
1848
Read: Communist Manifesto
Thu, Oct 30
1859
Read: “Preface” to a Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy (1859)
Tue, Nov 4	Second Exam
Kierkegaard
Thu, Nov 6
Introduction
Read: Fear and Trembling: Preface, Attunement, Praise of Abraham
Tue, Nov 11
Read: FT: Preamble and Problema I
Thu, Nov 13
Read: FT: Problema II
Tue, Nov 18
Read: FT: Problema III
Nietzsche
Thu, Nov 20
Introduction
Read: Genealogy of Morality, 1st Treatise
——Thanksgiving——
Tue, Dec 2
Read: Genealogy of Morality, 2nd/3rd Treatise
Thu, Dec 4
Read: Gay Science, Preface to 2nd ed. + §§1-3, 54-58, 99-107, 108-25, 270, 276-83, 289-90.
Tue, Dec 9
Read: Gay Science, §§333, 335, 340-42, 343-60.
Thu, Dec 11
Read: Gay Science, §§370-83.
Finals Week	Third Exam