Descartes, Spinoza, and Leibniz

Description of Course Goals and Curriculum

This course serves as an introduction to the three predominant figures of seventh century philosophical rationalism: Descartes, Spinoza, and Leibniz (while also briefly investigating Hobbes). All the readings can be found online. The course consists of 6 small papers (2-3 pages double spaced, with one being required for each major figure), a 50-minute in-class final exam (during the lecture slot), and a final 10-15-page paper. Don't let that scare you off, though! The short paper prompts are entirely in your control, which means you can write about a question you had on the material, an argument made in the reading, or the stylistic choice of the authors. You can also submit these papers during whatever week you choose, meaning you can get them out of the way early or cram them all until the last weeks of the semester (don't do that!). The course consists of two 50-minute lectures (10:00am to 10:50am) and one 50-minute precept. The course can be challenging at times as the topics are hard to comprehend for those that have not had any prior philosophical experience (especially Spinoza...), but it is well worth the effort. The topics discussed include standard metaphysical questions such as the nature of the mind and body, what a substance is, and the role of God, but all three figures have interesting takes on these ideas. Spinoza even extends his metaphysics into morality, which is an interesting connection all philosophical scholars should investigate. Professor Garber structures the readings in the course chronologically, so you can easily see how Desecrates influenced Spinoza and Spinoza influenced Leibniz. Every reading has a connection with another, so make sure to keep up with them! Keep in mind, however, that readings are usually only 30 pages a week, which is easily manageable. With most philosophy classes, however, this lightwork means you should take your time with each reading and go back and review the harder parts until you understand the arguments (again...Spinoza). If you are looking for a course with a renowned professor and engaging topics, this one is an excellent choice.

Learning From Classroom Instruction

During lecture, Professor Garber will highlight the main arguments from the week's readings, walking students through the more conceptually challenging ones while often including his own interpretations of novel sections. Professor Garber makes use of slides for lectures, and these slides are posted afterwards, but there is an incentive to attend lecture so as to ask questions and fully understand Professor Garber's analysis. During precept, Professor Garber or the TA will first open the floor for general questions to both help students understand and test their knowledge of the reading, and then move on to a specific concept or argument they want to be discussed (for example, one precept was devoted to the circular argument made in Desecrates' Meditations). While lecture is helpful for summarizing the material, precept is where novel analysis of the text comes into play, and where, if you have done the reading, you can engage with the material in nuanced ways.

Learning For and From Assignments

The prompts for the short papers, as stated above, are entirely up to you. To write an excellent short paper, therefore, you need to have a command of the readings, and an interesting idea won't harm you either. The best papers are the ones that push the readings in an unexplored direction or accurately portray the arguments made in them. For the latter, standard philosophical writing is perfect, yet many other strategies and writing styles can be employed for the former. Essentially, then, the mark of a good paper is evidence that you put care into writing it, and that you make clear that you understand the arguments made by the thinkers in your papers. The in-class final demands a simple command of the most important arguments. For the final essay you are given prompts to choose from, most of which connect two of the thinkers that have been discussed. This paper is better off in philosophical format, but you have the option to explore other dimensions of it as well. Grading is as follows: 30% Short Papers 40% Final Paper 20% In class Final 10% Participation

External Resources

There is only one thing you need to succeed in this course: office hours. Use them often, both with Professor Garber and the TA. During office hours, both Professor Garber and the TA are more than happy to discuss paper ideas with you as well as covering the material in general. They help push your papers in the right direction and are generous with their feedback. While doing secondary readings on the material (i.e. scholarly analysis of the thinkers), it is not at all needed for the course. If you are curious, however, Professor Garber would very likely navigate you to those readings. And one more time for emphasis: Office hours!

What Students Should Know About This Course For Purposes Of Course Selection

Having any philosophical background or knowledge of philosophical writing would be very helpful for this course (while there is no pre-req it is still something worth having). The readings are a great introduction to classic metaphysics, philosophy of mind, and more. Many of the concepts you learn in these courses will shape your philosophical thinking, so be sure to come in with an open mind and take away as much as you can!