Philosophy 220/320: Late Modern Philosophy Course Homepage

Course Overview and Objectives
This course will concentrate on German philosophy from the end of the 18th century through the end of the 19th century.  There are many thinkers we will have to leave out, but the four we will concentrate on--Immanuel Kant, G.W.F. Hegel, Karl Marx, and Friedrich Nietzsche--are the four most important philosophers from this period.  These thinkers are as difficult to read as they are important, so we will spend a great deal of effort in close readings of the texts and trying to come to an understanding of what it is they are up to.  We will begin by looking at Kant's reaction to the philosophy of the 17th and 18th centuries, and his conception of the self.  The other three thinkers can be seen as reacting to Kant's conception of the self and we will investigate their criticisms of Kant and the positive views of the self and of society that they develop.

Instructor Information
Prof. Andrew P. Mills
Office: Towers 323
Office Phone: 823-1368
Spring Quarter Office Hours: M, W: 11-12 and 2-3 and by appointment.  I'm in my office every day, and I love to have visitors, so if you want to drop by, feel free to do so!!
E-mail: amills@otterbein.edu

Texts
There are four texts for this class:

Lewis White Beck (ed), Kant: Selections (Prentice Hall)
Frederick Weiss (ed), Hegel: Essential Writings (Harper Collins)
Lawrence Simon (ed), Karl Marx: Selected Writings (Hackett)
Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil (Vintage)

Course Requirements
This is a text-based course, and it is imperative that you do the assigned reading (preferably twice) before coming to class each day.  If you don't do the reading, you will not learn the material, and you will find the lectures much more difficult to follow.  I have provided a number of study questions to help you focus your reading on the important themes.  If I see that students are not doing the reading, I may start having pop reading quizzes.

The second imperative is that you have an email account, and regular, reliable access to the internet.  Email is the best and quickest way I know of to communicate with all of you, and for you all to communicate with each other.  I will make regular updates to this website, and you should get in the habit of checking it daily.  If you do not have an email account, visit the Information Technology department, and get set up.  It is easy to do, and it is free.

Here's a breakdown of the graded work for the course.  Following this breakdown is a fuller description of each of the graded requirements
 

Reading Journal Entries
Because the material we will be reading is especially difficult, grasping the ideas in the texts requires fairly close and intense attention to the text.  This is best achieved by writing as you read: by trying to work out in your own words what the author is up to.  The reading journals are not intended to be reactions to the text, but rather attempts to understand the text.  You should keep a reading journal for the entire quarter, but two of you will be required to read your journal entry to the class each day.  (This will result in your "presenting" to the class about eight times, if current enrollment stays put.)  You may then take a day to revise your entry in light of our class discussion, and turn it in the next day.  You may, if you like, use these journal entries as the basis for one of the longer papers.

Papers
There will be two papers, one in the 3-5 page range, and one in the 5-7 page range.  I will hand out topics for these as the due dates approach.  Sutdents enrolled in Philosophy 320 will write a 12-15 page paper in place of the 5-7 page paper.

Final Exam
The final exam will be a cumulative exam.  It will be in-class, and will require you to write mid-length essays on central texts from the course of the quarter.  I will provide a study guide as the end of the quarter approaches.  So that you can get a sense of the form of the final exam, here is a link to the final exam from the Early Modern Philosophy course I  taught last quarter.  The final exam for this class will be the same in format, though will, of course, focus on different texts.

Attendance
I will take attendance, and it will count toward your grade.  If you have to miss class, please notify me ahead of time.  In cases where you are missing class for an officially excuseable reason, please bring the relevant notes to me.  If you are going to miss more than 5 classes during the quarter, you should think about dropping the class.  For if you miss that many classes, it is not the case that you have actually taken the course.  If there are going to be persistent attendance worries, please see me and we can try to make some arrangements.  It is important that you show up having done the readings.  If I notice that students are not doing the readings, I may give some unannounced reading quizzes.

Participation
Participation, you will notice, is a different category from attendance.  Merely showing up and sitting in your seat will get you the attendance points, but it will not get you the participation points.  Asking questions during class, making comments that show evidence of having read and thought about the readings, and in general being engaged in the classroom are what will get you participation points.  Philosophy is an interactive discipline, and you will not learn the material if you do not take the risks and speak up in class.  Moreover, I cannot know just what it is you are not understanding unless you let me know, and that requires asking informed questions.

Opportunities for Extra Credit
You may earn up to 3 points (on a 100 point scale) of extra credit during the course of the term by attending academic talks and turning in a one-page summary of, reaction to, or discussion of the talk.  You will receive one point for each talk you attend, up to a maximum of 3 points.  You may attend any on-campus lecture (plays, musical perfomances, athletic events, etc. do not count), or, if you wish, an off-campus lecture (at OSU, for instance).  The written discussion should be turned in not more than 3 days after the talk, and should include the name of the speaker and the title of the talk.  For a listing of philosophy talks in the area, consult the For Otterbein Philosophers web page.

Policies on Late Papers, and Grades

Late work
Due dates for the short writing assignments will be specified when the assignments are given.  Late work will not be accepted without prior approval of the instructor.

What grades mean

A Excellent. An 'A' is awarded for original insight, sound reasoning, and the ability to evaluate the scope of the material studied. In addition, an 'A' indicates sensitivity to the important issues and an ability to carry on philosophical thinking beyond the confines of the text. In the case of written work, lucid, grammatically correct prose and clear organization are necessary to receiving a grade in the A range.  An ‘A' on a paper is like a rating of five stars on a movie--it is really something special.

B Good. A 'B' reflects an interpretive skill and a clear understanding of the meaning and interrelatedness of the course materials. A 'B' indicates the ability to report the views of others in one's own words with no glaring flaws, errors or misunderstandings. In the case of written work, 'B' papers include generally readable prose, which does not include too much irrelevant information or discussion off the assigned topic.

C Fair. A 'C' indicates a thorough familiarity with basic course materials. Work which receives a 'C' does more or less what was assigned, though is unable to move beyond the texts in any significant way (e.g., unable to clearly render in one's own words the views of others). In the case of written work, 'C' papers have numerous grammatical, spelling, stylistic, or organizational errors which make it difficult to understand written work, and/or frequent or significant forays into the realm of the irrelevant.

D Poor. A 'D' reflects only a minimal grasp of course material. 'D' work exhibits serious factual errors and misunderstandings.

F  Failure. An 'F' is assigned for failing work and indicates a lack of interest in the course and/or an ability to handle it. Work not handed in, or turned in late without the proper permission, will receive an F.

One Last Thing About Writing

You will notice that there is a fair bit of writing in this class.  One cannot learn philosophy via multiple choice exams, but one must learn it by writing. The writing takes the form of a number of brief assignments, so it should not be too onerous.  Developing the skill of getting one or two thoughts down in a page or two is a skill that will serve you well in other classes, and in your post-collegiate career.  If you can write well, you can think well.  Toward this end, let me encourage you to obtain, or have at your ready disposal, a good dictionary and a writer's aide, such as The Elements of Style by Strunk and White. You all should have copies of The Blair Handbook, and that will serve as well.  You will find these to be invaluable tools not only for this class, but for any class in which you are required to write essays. When it comes to the peculiarities of philosophical writing, the selections in the coursepack will be helpful.  As you can tell from the above elaboration of the grades, 'grammar counts'. If your writing is sloppy, your reader cannot figure out what it is you are trying to say, and, as a result, you will likely get a low grade. In the age of computers and spell-checkers, there is no excuse for misspellings, but do not rely on spell-checkers alone. Proof-read your papers. You might find it helpful, when proof-reading, to read your paper aloud; often times one's ear can catch awkward prose better than one's eye can.  Everyone who writes should read George Orwell's "Politics and the English Language".  If you haven't, or want to review, you can access it on-line here.

NAVIGATION BAR