Philosophy

Early Modern Philosophy

Module code: V7071
Level 4
15 credits in spring semester
Teaching method: Seminar, Lecture
Assessment modes: Essay

You are introduced to assumptions, arguments and ideas from major philosophers of the 17th and 18th centuries that ground the empiricist and rationalist traditions. These philosophers include Descartes, Locke, Leibniz, Berkeley, Hume, Spinoza.

You examine these assumptions, arguments and ideas in the context of contemporary discussions of the issues, in order to promote understanding both of the concerns which lie at the heart of much contemporary philosophy and of the history of those concerns.

Module learning outcomes

• Understand and discriminate various positions within the rationalist tradition.
• Understand and discriminate various positions within the empiricist tradition.
• Analyse key arguments from major philosophers working within rationalist and empiricist traditions.
• Analyse key texts from the Early Modern period.