Professor Matthew Leisinger

mleising@yorku.ca

Virtual office hours:

TBD (online via Zoom)

Times and locations:

M, W: 2:30-5:30

Please note that this is a course that depends on remote teaching and learning. There will be no in-person interactions or activities on campus. All meetings will take place online via Zoom.

Expanded Course Description:

What is free will? Do humans possess free will? Is free will compatible with determinism? These and related questions were hotly debated in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. This course will examine the problem of free will in early modern philosophy, focusing on the British debate from Thomas Hobbes’s exchange with John Bramhall (1654–1658) to David Hume’s An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding (1748). After brushing up on the theological and philosophical background, we will study some of the famous forerunners of contemporary compatibilism (e.g. Hobbes, Locke, Leibniz, Collins, Hume) as well as several attempts to articulate and defend libertarianism (e.g. Clarke, King, Cudworth).

This is a remotely delivered course. We will meet twice a week via Zoom. In order to participate in the course, students will require (1) the Zoom application, (2) a stable, higher-speed Internet connection, and (3) a working microphone (webcam preferred but optional).

Prerequisite / Co-requisite:

AP/PHIL 2020 3.00 or AP/PHIL 2025 3.00

All readings will be made available online via eClass

Seminar participation: 10%

Assignments: 30%

Term paper proposal (abstract and outline, due June 18): 10%

Term paper (3000 words, due June 25): 50%

1. To familiarize students with philosophical discussions of free will in the early modern period
2. To introduce students to some recent, cutting-edge research on the early modern philosophy
3. To refine the ability to reconstruct and evaluate arguments and positions from historical texts
4. To develop students’ written and oral philosophical skills

Grading:  The grading scheme for the course conforms to the 9-point grading system used in undergraduate programs at York (e.g., A+ = 9, A = 8, B+ - 7, C+ = 5, etc.).  Each assignment will bear either a letter grade designation or a corresponding number grade (e.g.  A+ = 90 to 100, A = 80 to 90, B+ = 75 to 79, etc.)

(For a full description of York grading system see the York University Undergraduate Calendar - http://calendars.registrar.yorku.ca/2010-2011/academic/index.htm

Assignment Submission: Proper academic performance depends on students doing their work not only well, but on time.  Accordingly, assignments for this course must be received on the due date specified for the assignment.  All assignments are to be handed in via eClass.

Lateness Penalty: Late submissions will be accepted for written assignments but will be penalized one-half letter grade per day. Exceptions to the lateness penalty for valid reasons such as illness, compassionate grounds, etc., may be entertained by the Instructor but will in some cases require supporting documentation (e.g., a doctor’s letter).

Missed Assignments:  Students with a documented reason for missing a course assignment, such as illness, compassionate grounds, etc., which is confirmed by supporting documentation (e.g., doctor’s letter) may request accommodation from the Course Instructor.