Philosophy 471b/571b, Spring 2006
The Empiricists
Instructor: David Owen
Monday/Wednesday/Friday
2.00 - 2.50, Soc Sci 311
In this course will consider two of the great texts of the British
Empiricist tradition of the 17th and 18th centuries: John Locke's An Essay
concerning Human Understanding and David Hume's A Treatise of Human
Nature. The goal of the course is to enable students to read and understand
texts written in a tradition and literary style with which they may be
unfamiliar, and thus come to understand some philosophical and scientific
themes which, though different from our own, form part of the background of the
modern age.
Among the themes we will discuss are: the innateness hypothesis, the
origin and nature of ideas, associationism and abstraction, necessary or
analytical truths, the nature of demonstrative and probable reasoning,
varieties of scepticism and responses to them, knowledge and opinion, the
possibility of science, natural kinds and real essences.
The Monday and Wednesday classes will be primarily lectures, and the
Friday class will be primarily discussion for the undergraduates only.
Attendance at the Friday discussion is mandatory for all those taking 471b.
Graduates taking 571b will meet separately at a time to be arranged.
.
Requirements
There will be two tests and a final, representing equal parts of the
total grade. The final will be cumulative. The two tests will be made up of an
in-class and a take-home component, while the final will be in-class only.
Required Texts
John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (
David Hume, A Treatise of Human
Nature (