PHIL 203Nineteenth Century Philosophy

3 credits · Philosophy · Penn State

The nineteenth century is a period of political upheaval and ongoing social, cultural, and scientific transformation, shaped in equal parts by the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution. This transformative character is reflected by the epoch¿s most influential philosophers. Kant's "critical" philosophy emphasizes the primacy of practice and the subject's active role in constructing reality. Hegel focuses on the rationality implicit in the historical growth of religion and the political institutions of the state. As the century wears on, escalating social and political conflicts lend credibility to outspoken critics of such optimistic rationalism. Schopenhauer¿s pessimism, Kierkegaard's existentialist focus on the irrationality of faith, Marx's historical materialism and emphasis on class struggle, Nietzsche's "genealogical" anti-realism and philosophy of power are prominent examples. The embrace of new paradigms in morality (Mill), natural science (Bergson), and psychology (Freud, James) round out the picture of a century in transition from "classical" European modes of thought to the self-conscious secularism and dynamism of the 20th century. By reading a broad selection of representative texts, students will learn about the major figures and streams of thought that shaped the course of this eventful period in the history of Western philosophy.