Professor Matthew Leisinger

mleising@yorku.ca
Office Location:  S441 Ross Building
Phone Number:  (416) 736-2100 Ext. 77592
Office Hours:  Tuesdays 3:00–4:00 in Ross S441 (in-person) or by appointment via Zoom.

This course is an introduction to topics in eighteenth-century European philosophy, focusing in particular on the tradition in eighteenth-century British philosophy that originates with John Locke’s An Essay Concerning Human Understanding. This course presupposes no prior knowledge of philosophy, although it does pick up and develop some of the topics and themes of AP/PHIL 2020 (“Descartes, Spinoza and Leibniz”). We will begin with a detailed introduction to Locke’s Essay before going on to study how later figures built upon and responded to Locke’s views, both in moral philosophy (Cockburn, Hutcheson, Hume, Smith) and in metaphysics and epistemology (Berkeley, Hume, Shepherd, Reid). We will also pay special attention to the complex relationship between eighteenth-century British philosophy and the rise of modern racism.

Technical requirements for taking the course:

This course will employ a “flipped classroom” instructional strategy. Students will be required to view pre-recorded lecture videos via eClass/YouTube prior to each class meeting and will therefore require an Internet browser with a higher-speed Internet connection.

All required readings will be posted to eClass. All writing assignments will be submitted to eClass via TurnItIn. Students will require the ability to read Adobe PDF files and to read and create text documents.

The instructor will be available for office hours both in-person and by appointment via Zoom. In order to meet with the instructor via Zoom, students will need the Zoom video-conferencing software, a working microphone (webcam optional), and a stable, higher-speed Internet connection.

Students shall note the following:

• Zoom is hosted on servers in the U.S. This includes recordings done through Zoom.
• If you have privacy concerns about your data, provide only your first name or a nickname when you join a session.
• The system is configured in a way that all participants are automatically notified when a session is being recorded. In other words, a session cannot be recorded without you knowing about it.

There is one required textbook for this course:

• John Locke. An Essay Concerning Human Understanding. Abridged and edited by Kenneth P. Winkler. Indianapolis: Hackett. ISBN: 9780872202160

All other readings will be available online via eClass.

Two writing assignments: 10% + 20% = 30%

This is an in-person course. The course will employ a “flipped classroom” instructional strategy. Students will be required to do the required readings and to watch pre-recorded lecture videos prior to coming to class. Each class will begin with a short one-question quiz on the material presented in the pre-recorded lecture video, followed by discussion and other activities.

• To introduce students to some of the major ideas and arguments of eighteenth-century European philosophy
• To introduce students to techniques of philosophical analysis
• To develop students’ written philosophical skills

Winter classes begin M Jan 9

Week 1

T Jan 10: Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, “The Epistle to the Reader” and Book I Chapter i [I.i] (Winkler 1–7).

R Jan 12: Locke, Essay I.ii–iii (Winkler 7–23)

Week 2

T Jan 17: Locke, Essay II.i.1–6, II.ii–vi, II.viii (Winkler 33–35, 40–45, 47–56)

R Jan 19: Locke, Essay I.ix–xi, II.xii, II.xvii, X.xxii (Winkler 56–66, 66–68, 85–89, 114–117)

Week 3

T Jan 24: Locke, Essay II.xxiii–xxiv, IV.iii.6 (Winkler 117–129, 236–239)

R Jan 26: Locke, Essay II.xxvii (Winkler 133–150)

Week 4

T Jan 31: Locke, Essay III.i–iii, III.vi (Winkler 176–187, 192–203)

R Feb 2: Locke, Essay IV.i.1–2, IV.ii.1–7, IV.ii.14–15, IV.iii.1–17, IV.ix, IV.x.1–6, IV.xi (Winkler 224, 228–231, 233–234, 235–243, 274–277, 284–292)

Week 5

T Feb 7: Locke, Essay II.xx.1–2, II.xxviii.4–15, IV.iii.18-20 (Winkler 90–91, 151–153, 243–245) and Catherine Trotter Cockburn, “A Defence of Mr. Locke’s Essay,” in Catharine Trotter Cockburn: Philosophical Writings, edited by Patricia Sheridan (Peterborough, ON: Broadview Press., 2006), pages 34–48.

R Feb 9: Francis Hutcheson, An Inquiry into the Original of Our Ideas of Beauty and Virtue, Treatise II [“An Inquiry Concerning the Original of our Ideas of Virtue or Moral Good”], Introduction and Sections I–II.

First writing assignment due Thursday February 9

Week 6

T Feb 14: George Berkeley, A Treatise concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge, Introduction.

R Feb 16: Berkeley, A Treatise concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge, Part I, ¶¶ 1–24, 25–33, 89, 135–149.

Winter reading week Feb 18–24

Week 7

T Feb 28: David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Sections I–III.

R Mar 2: Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Section IV.

Week 8

T Mar 7: Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Sections V.i, VII, and IX.

R Mar 9: Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Section XII.

Week 9

T Mar 14: Hume, A Treatise of Human Nature, Book I Part IV Section VI.

R Mar 16: Hume, An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals, Section V Part II [pages 178–190] and Section IX [pages 217–233].

Second writing assignment due Thursday March 16

Week 10

T Mar 21: Thomas Reid, An Inquiry into the Human Mind on the Principles of Common Sense, Chapter V Sections I-IV [pages 99-118] and Chapter VI Section XXI [pages 375-385].

R Mar 23: Reid, An Inquiry into the Human Mind on the Principles of Common Sense, Chapter V Section VII [pages 130-142] and Chapter VI Section XX [pages 360-375].

Week 11

T Mar 28: Mary Shepherd, An Essay upon the Relation of Cause and Effect, Chapter II, Introduction and Section II [pages 27–28 and 40–63].

R Mar 30: Shepherd, An Essay on the Perception of the External Universe, Chapter I [pages 13–38] and Essay VII [pages 314–324].

Week 12

T Apr 4: No reading

R Apr 6: No reading

Final paper due Monday April 10

Final exam to be held during Winter examinations April 12–27