Handbook

In this course you will consolidate your grasp of the discipline of philosophy by examining a pivotal text in the history of philosophy that (a) weighs in on the relation between the two main streams of the discipline (mind/metaphysics/epistemology and value theory); and (b) has been broadly influential upon contemporary philosophical debates and practices. The selected text may vary from year to year, but some representative examples include: Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, Hume’s Treatise of Human Nature, Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason and Hegel’s Elements of the Philosophy of Right. The selected text will be examined with respect to: its historical context; its integrity as a unified and systematic work; the independent power of its arguments; the implications of these arguments for other areas of humanistic inquiry; and the enduring influence of the text over contemporary debates and philosophical practice. You will refine your skills for focused analytic writing that will serve you in a range of future career paths, both academic and non-academic.