PHIL 315-01, Nineteenth Century Philosophy, Spring 2008

Abstract

This course is a survey of the major thinkers of the nineteenth century: Hegel, Marx, Kierkegaard and Nietzsche. We will begin with a brief review of the Kantian legacy in order to situate the development of philosophy in the nineteenth century. Then, in our reading of Hegel, we will concentrate primarily on the dialectic of recognition and the various ways that process is frustrated or realized. Next, we will consider the Marxian “overturning” of Hegelian idealism by analyzing Marx’s dialectical materialism and its relationship to specific formulations of social, political and economic life. Following Marx, we will consider another “rejection” of Hegel in the work of Kierkegaard; specifically, we will address the unique formulation of religious responsibility presented in Kierkegaard’s interpretation of the Abraham/Isaac story. Finally, we will turn to Nietzsche, who famously rejected all philosophy before him, and we will analyze the merits and demerits of Nietzsche’s “genealogy of morals.” In addition to evaluating each of these philosophers individually, we will also attempt to measure their relationship (or lack thereof) to Kant in order to begin to understand what is meant by “post-Kantian” philosophy. In a similar vein, we will also pay close attention to the manner in which many of these thinkers foreshadow the major philosophical movements of 20th C. Continental philosophy, including existentialism, structuralism/post-structuralism, deconstruction, and the various philosophies of “identity.”