Professor Matthew Leisinger

mleising@yorku.ca
Location:  S441 Ross Building
Phone Number:  (416) 736-2100 Ext. 77592
Office Hours:  TBA

This course is an introduction to topics in seventeenth-century European philosophy and presupposes no prior knowledge of philosophy. We will begin with an in-depth study of René Descartes’s Meditations on First Philosophy, in which Descartes argues for Cartesian Dualism, the view that the mind and the body are two completely distinct things. In the rest of the course, we will examine various consequences of and reactions to Cartesian Dualism in the seventeenth century.

Technical requirements for taking the course:

All required readings will be posted to eClass. 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.

All texts will be available online via eClass.

For students who prefer physical texts, the following recommended (not required) editions will be available from the bookstore. These are the texts that we will be reading for at least two full weeks.

• René Descartes. Discourse on Method and Meditations on First Philosophy. Translated by Donald A. Cress. Indianapolis: Hackett. ISBN: 978-0-87220-420-1.

Since we will be focusing on Descartes for approximately the first five weeks, students are particularly encouraged to purchase a physical copy of the Meditations. This edition is also available from the York Library website.

• Benedictus de Spinoza. A Spinoza Reader: The Ethics and Other Works. Edited and translated by Edwin Curley. Princeton: Princeton UP. ISBN: 9780691000671.

We will be focusing on Spinoza’s Ethics for two weeks. The Ethics is available online in a helpful hypertext edition (https://capone.mtsu.edu/rbombard/RB/Spinoza/ethica-front.html). But, since Spinoza can be particularly difficult to follow, students might find it especially valuable to have a physical copy. Note that this specific edition of the Ethics is not available from the York library website.

Exams (60% + 30% + 10% = 100%)

There will be three written exams. The first will be held in-class on Tuesday October 2. The second will be held in-class on Tuesday November 7. The third will be held during the final exam period. Your highest exam mark will be worth 60% of your overall grade, your second highest exam mark will be worth 30% of your overall grade, and your third highest exam mark will be worth 10% of your overall grade.

This is a lecture-style course that meets twice per week for in-person lectures.

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

Additional Information:

The following schedule is approximate and subject to revision.

Fall classes begin W Sep 4

Week 1

R Sep 5: Introduction (no reading)

Week 2

T Sep 10: René Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy

R Sep 12: René Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy (continued)

Week 3

T Sep 17: René Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy (continued)

R Sep 19: René Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy (continued)

Week 4

T Sep 24: Anna Maria van Schurman, The Learned Maid, or Whether a Maid may be a Scholar?

R Sep 26: François Poullain de la Barre, On the Equality of the Two Sexes

Week 5

T Oct 1: Mary Astell, A Serious Proposal to the Ladies

R Oct 3: First exam (no reading)

Week 6

T Oct 8: René Descartes and Princess Elisabeth of Bohemia, Correspondence

R Oct 10: Nicolas Malebranche, The Search After Truth

Fall reading week Oct 12–18

Week 7

T Oct 22: Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, “First Explanation of the New System”

R Oct 24: Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Monadology

Week 8

T Oct 29: Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Monadology (continued)

R Oct 31: Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Monadology (continued)

Week 9

T Nov 5: Émilie du Châtelet, Foundations of Physics (selections)

R Nov 7: Second exam (no reading)

Week 10

T Nov 12: Margaret Cavendish, Philosophical Letters

R Nov 14: Margaret Cavendish, Philosophical Letters (continued); René Descartes, Discourse on the Method

Week 11

T Nov 19: Spinoza, Ethics

R Nov 21: Spinoza, Ethics (continued)

Week 12

T Nov 26: Spinoza, Ethics (continued)

R Nov 28: Spinoza, Ethics (continued)

Week 13

T Dec 3: Spinoza, Ethics (continued)

Fall classes end T Dec 3

Third exam to be held during exam period Dec 5–20

Course policies

All assignments are to be handed in on time. Extensions are allowed in the event of illness, bereavement, disabilities, or special needs, but it is your responsibility to email the instructor BEFORE the deadline to request an extension. Work that is submitted late will incur a late penalty of 2% per day.

Please refer to Senate Policy on Academic Honesty.

Please refer to The Academic Integrity Tutorial