19th Century Philosophy (PHIL 320)
Manchester University, Spring 2017 Instructor: Steve Naragon
Reading and Essay Schedule
Required Texts
(1) Lloyd Spencer and Andrzej Krauze, Introducing Hegel (Totem Books/USA, 1996). [ISBN: 978-1840467-85-7]
(2) Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, The Phenomenology of Spirit, transl. A. V. Miller (Oxford UP, 1979). [ISBN: 9780198245971]
(3) Soren Kierkegaard, Fear and Trembling, edited by C. Stephen Evans and Sylvia Walsh (Cambridge UP, 2006). [ISBN: 978-0-521-61269-2]
(4) Friedrich Nietzsche, The Gay Science, transl. Walter Kaufmann (Vintage/Random House, 1974). [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).
After Kant
Wed, Feb 1
Overview of Philosophy in the 19th Century
Fri, Feb 3
Review of Kant
Reading: Naragon, “Kant’s Revolution” [pdf]; McQuillan, “German Idealism” [pdf]
Additional Material
• Video: Three Minute Kant [video]
• Video: Geoffrey Warnock on Kant (Brian Magee interview) [video]
• Audio: Adrian Moore explains Kant’s Metaphysics (Philosophy Bites)(19m 58s) [audio]
• Video: Kant and the Matrix (1m 56s) [video]
Mon, Feb 6
Post-Kantian Idealists
Reading: Spencer/Krauze, pp. 1-51.
Hegel
Wed, Feb 8
Introduction to Hegel
Reading: Spencer/Krauze, pp. 74-91
Video: Peter Singer on Hegel and Marx (Brian Magee interview) [Pt. 1] [Pt. 2] [Pt. 3] (see Marx, below, for the last two parts).
Essay: What does Hegel mean by ‘dialectic’? What are some examples? [rubric]
Fri, Feb 10
Introduction to The Phenomenology of Spirit
Reading: Hegel, The Phenomenology of Spirit (1807), §§73-89 [pdf]; Spencer/Krauze, pp. 52-59.
Essay: In this introduction, Hegel first explores the nature of knowledge and what is needed for us to acquire it. Write a paraphrase (= your own well-chosen words) of §§73, 81-82, and be sure to explain alongside this paraphrase what Hegel is trying to do. [rubric]
Mon, Feb 13
Sense-Certainty
Reading: Hegel, The Phenomenology of Spirit (1807), §§90-110.
Essay: Write a paraphrase (= your own well-chosen words) of §§90-94. [rubric]
Wed, Feb 15
The Truth of Self-Certainty
Reading: Hegel, The Phenomenology of Spirit (1807), §§166-77 [pdf].
Essay: Explain why self-consciousness is such an important phenomenon for Hegel in his search for knowledge, but also why it poses such difficulties. Focus on §§166-67, but the summary of the larger discussion that Hegel provides at §176 should help guide your understanding. [rubric]
Fri, Feb 17
The Master/Slave Dialectic
Reading: Hegel, The Phenomenology of Spirit (1807), §§178-96; Spencer/Krauze, pp. 60-63.
Essay: Explain in your own words what Hegel has in mind by the “Lordship and Bondage” dialectic. Paragraphs 179-81 form a convenient summary of the entire passage, so you should paraphrase this, and refer to other passages to elaborate. [rubric]
Mon, Feb 20
Absolute Knowing
Reading: Hegel, The Phenomenology of Spirit (1807), §§788-808 [pdf]; Spencer/Krauze, pp. 64-65.
Essay: Explain in your own words what Hegel means by “absolute knowing"”. [rubric]
Passage: Singer on Hegel [text].
Wed, Feb 22
Discussion Day: Mental Health
Fri, Feb 24
Hegel’s System
Reading: Hegel, “Introduction” to the Encyclopedia (1st ed: 1817; 3rd ed: 1830). §§1-18 only [pdf]; Spencer/Krauze, pp. 66-95.
Essay: Describe and evaluate Hegel’s use of the word ‘encyclopedia’. [rubric]
Mon, Feb 27
First Exam [study guide]
Schopenhauer
Wed, Mar 1
Introduction to Schopenhauer
Reading: The World as Will and Representation, vol. 1, §§17-18, pp. 95-103. [pdf]
Additional Material
• Text: Robert Wicks, “Arthur Schopenhauer” (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy [pdf]
• Video: Frederick Copleston on Schopenhauer (Brian Magee interview) [Pt. 1] [Pt. 2] [Pt. 1] [Pt. 3] [Pt. 4] [Pt. 5]
Fri, Mar 3
Reading: The World as Will and Representation, vol. 1, §19, pp. 103-6.
Essay: In the final paragraph of §19 of Schopenhauer’s World as Will and Representation, Part One, Schopenhauer writes that he will use the body “as a key to the inner being of every phenomenon in nature.” Explain how he does this, and what he discovers. [rubric]
Mon, Mar 6
Reading: The World as Will and Representation, vol. 2, §18-19, pp. 191-220. [pdf]
Essay: Schopenhauer writes of a “fundamental error of all philosophers” near the end of §2 of ch. 19 (p. 206). What is this error? Briefly summarize the arguments he provides for his claim in §§3-4 that follow. [rubric]
Wed, Mar 8
Reading: The World as Will and Representation, vol. 2, §19, pp. 220-44.
Essay: What does Schopenhauer understand to be the essential or real person? Do you agree? [rubric]
Marx
Fri, Mar 10
Introduction to Marx
Reading: Spencer/Krauze, pp. 148-71.
Additional Material
Video: Peter Singer on Hegel and Marx (Brian Magee interview) [Pt. 4] [Pt. 5] (see Hegel, above, for the first three parts).
Video: Mark Steel on Marx [Pt. 1] [Pt. 2] [Pt. 3].
Mon, Mar 13
1843
Reading: “Introduction” to A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s Theory of Right [pdf].
Essay: This selection includes an early appraisal by Marx of religion. Explain and evaluate this appraisal. [rubric]
Wed, Mar 15
1844-45
Reading: Paris Manuscripts: Alienated Labor [pdf].
Essay: ‘Alienated labor’ is a central concept in the Paris Manuscripts. Give a brief account of this concept, referring to the text when appropriate. [rubric]
Additional Material
Video: Bob Weick (as Karl Marx) explains ... [The Labor Theory of Value] [Alienation].
Fri, Mar 17
1844-45
Reading: “Theses on Feuerbach” [pdf].
Essay: Marx discusses the human essence in theses 6-10. What does he mean by this? Do you agree with him? [rubric]
——— Spring Break ———
Mon, Mar 27
1845
Reading: German Ideology [pdf].
Essay: Marx and Engels discuss the “materialist method” in ¶¶13-17 of The German Ideology (of the selection I printed out for you). They then describe some stages of material/economic development (¶¶18-27). Please summarize/paraphrase these paragraphs, and be sure to indicate the paragraph numbers as you go (these are numbers that I added to your reprint of the selection, to make referencing passages easier). [rubric]
Wed, Mar 29
1845
Reading: German Ideology (cont.)
Essay: Marx and Engels discuss language, consciousness, and the division of labor in ¶¶37-38. How do they connect these concepts together? What do you think? [rubric]
Fri, Mar 31
No Class: Off to a conference
Mon, Apr 3
1848
Reading: Communist Manifesto [pdf].
Essay: What is the relationship between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, as described in the Communist Manifesto? (Be sure to cite passages.) [rubric]
Additional Material
Video: The Internationale (Hungarian, with English subtitles) [YouTube].
Video: Communism (Coronet Films 1952) [DailyMotion].
Wed, Apr 5
1859
Reading: “Preface” to a Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy [pdf].
Essay: This short reading offers a classic statement of Marx’s materialist theory of history. Describe this theory using brief quotes from the reading (please give the paragraph number to source the quotations). What do you think of it? [rubric]
Fri, Apr 7
Second Exam [study guide]
Kierkegaard
Mon, Apr 10
Introduction to Kierkegaard
Reading: Charles Guignon and Derk Pereboom, “Introduction” to Kierkegaard, from their Existentialism: Basic Writings, 2nd ed. (Hackett Publ., 2001) [pdf]
Essay: At different times in the recent past, but especially with Kierkegaard, there has been considerable talk about authenticity. What do you think it means to be “authentic”? Examples? [rubric]
Additional Material
• Website: Kierkegaard Biography [www.sorenkierkegaard.org]
• Video: Rick Roderick on Kierkegaard [Pt. 1] [Pt. 2] [Pt. 3] [Pt. 4] [Pt. 5]
Wed, Apr 12
Fear and Trembling
Reading: Fear and Trembling: “Preface” + “Tuning Up”
Essay: Explain Kierkegaard’s allegories of the weaning child. What is being signified by the breast, the mother, and the child? Are they the same in every version of the story? [rubric]
Additional Material
• Text: The Testing of Abraham (Gen. 22:1-19) [pdf]
Fri, Apr 14
No Class: Good Friday
Mon, Apr 17
Reading: Fear and Trembling: “Tribute to Abraham” and “Preliminary Outpouring.”
Essay: Kierkegaard discusses the “knight of infinite resignation” and the “knight of faith” — compare and contrast these two figures. [rubric]
Wed, Apr 19
Reading: Fear and Trembling: “Problem I.”
Essay: Explain the following passage from p. 47: “Faith is exactly this paradox, that the single individual is higher than the universal.” [rubric]
Additional Material
• Video: Kierkegaard for '08 [YouTube]
Fri, Apr 21 [Meet in ACEN 354 today]
Reading: Fear and Trembling: “Problem II.”
Essay: Is there an absolute duty to God? How does Kierkegaard answer this question, and how does he justify his answer? [rubric]
Mon, Apr 24
Reading: Fear and Trembling: “Problem III.”
Essay: Abraham cannot speak. Explain why this is so. [rubric]
Wed, Apr 26
[No class for lack of electricity]
Nietzsche
Fri, Apr 28
Introduction to Nietzsche
Reading: Genealogy of Morality, 1st Treatise
Essay: Explain what Nietzsche means by ‘good’, ‘bad’, and ‘evil’. [rubric]
Additional Material
• Texts: Nietzsche texts and manuscripts [website]
• Video: J. P. Stern on Nietzsche (Brian Magee interview) [Pt. 1] [Pt. 2] [Pt. 3] [Pt. 4] [Pt. 5]
Mon, May 1
Reading: Genealogy of Morality, 2nd Treatise
Essay: How does Nietzsche explain the move from a pre-moral state to a moral state? [rubric]
Wed, May 3
Reading: Genealogy of Morality, 3rd Treatise
Essay: Why does Nietzsche find the “ascetic ideal” important? [rubric]
Fri, May 5
Reading: Gay Science, Preface to 2nd edition + §§1-3, 54-58, 99-107.
Essay: Connect §4 (of the Preface) and §57 (the opening section of Book Two) — making use of the surrounding texts as appropriate. [rubric]
Mon, May 8
Reading: Gay Science, §§108-25, 270, 276-83, 289-90.
Essay: Comment on §108 of The Gay Science. What does Nietzsche mean by “the shadows of God”? [rubric]
Essay: What one thing is needful, according to Herr Nietzsche? (Note also his discussion in Genealogy of Morality, 3rd Treatise, §16.) [rubric]
Wed, May 10
Reading: Gay Science, §§333, 335, 340-42, 354.
Essay: Comment on the last paragraph of §354 of The Gay Science. [rubric]
Fri, May 12
Reading: Gay Science, §§354, 370-83.
Essay: Comment on §374 of The Gay Science. [rubric]
Finals Week: Wed, May 17, 10:30 am-12:20 pm
Third Exam [study guide]
Manchester University // Registrar // Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies // Last updated: 3 May 2017