PHIL 415 001: the Philosophy of Immanuel Kant (Winter 2017, Term 2)
Syllabus
PHIL 415 001: The Philosophy of Immanuel Kant (Winter 2017, Term 2)
Lectures
Mon, Wed, Fri: 10:00-11:00 in West Mall Swing Place, Room 406.
Instructor
Dr. Anders Kraal
Email: fice: Buchanan E 158 Office hours: TBA
Teaching assistant TBA
Course description
Kant is often considered the greatest of modern philosophers. This course starts with a study of some metaphysical and ethical themes in Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason and Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals, and then focuses on how these themes come together in Kant’s Religion within the Boundaries of Mere Reason.
Required texts
Kant: Critique of Pure Reason, trans. J. Meiklejohn (Mineola: Dover, 2005).
Kant: Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals, trans. T. Abbott (Mineola: Dover, 2005).
Kant: Religion within the Boundaries of Mere Reason. And Other Writings, eds. A. Wood and G. Giovanni. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998).
(Note: the Critique and Fundamental Principles are in the public domain and available online, though the above editions are very inexpensive and are highly recommended.)
Course requirements
There will be one in-class exam (each worth 20% of the final grade), two take-home assignments (worth 15% of the final grade each), and a final exam (worth 50% of the final grade).
The in-class exam will be on Feb 7. You will be asked to provide answers to a few questions dealing with matters brought up in class. A missed in-class exams will be assigned a grade point of 0.
The take-home assignments will be announced on the course webpage on Feb 28 and March 16, and are due a week later. You will be asked to write a 5-8 page text in response to some questions. Late assignments will be docked by 3 points per Calendar day; missed assignments will be assigned 0 points.
The final exam will be held in April during UBC’s final examinations period. Information about the exact date, time and location will be announced in due course. A missed final exam will be assigned a grade point of 0 unless an explanation is provided that is acceptable by the standards of the UBC Academic Calendar (in which case there will be opportunity for a make-up exam).
Marking scale
90-100%: A+76-79%: B+64-67%: C+50-54%: D
85-89%: A72-75%: B60-63%: C0-49%: F
80-84%: A-68-71%: B-55-59%: C-
Plagiarism
Plagiarism, which is intellectual theft, occurs where an individual submits or presents the oral or written work of anotherperson as his or her own. Scholarship quite properly rests upon examining and referring to the thoughts and writings of others. However, when another person's words (i.e. phrases, sentences, or paragraphs), ideas, or entire works are used, the author must be acknowledged in the text, in footnotes, in endnotes, or in another accepted form of academic citation. Where direct quotations are made, they must be clearly delineated (for example, within quotation marks or separately indented). Failure to provide proper attribution is plagiarism because it represents someone else's work as one's own. Plagiarism should not occur in submitted drafts or final works. A student who seeks assistance from a tutor or other scholastic aids must ensure that the work submitted is the student's own. Students are responsible for ensuring that any work submitted does not constitute plagiarism. Students who are in any doubt as to what constitutes plagiarism should consult their instructor before handing in any assignments. See also
Tentative schedule with readings
KANT’S “CRITIQUE OF PURE REASON”Readings
Week 1
Jan 3: Kant’s historical contextNo readings
Jan 5: The project in historical contextCritique, Preface, pp. vii-ix
Week 2
Jan 8: The questions to be investigatedCritique, Introduction, pp. 1-18
Jan 10: The antimoniesCritique, pp. 241-74
Jan 12:continuedsame as above
Week 3
Jan 15: Space and timeCritique, pp. 21-43
Jan 17: continuedsame as above
Jan 19: continuedsame as above
Week 4
Jan 22: The pure concepts Critique, pp. 44-64, 94-96
Jan 24:continuedsame as above
Jan 26: continued same as above
Week 5
Jan 29: The solution of the antimonies Critique, pp. 278-87, 302-314
Jan 31: The collapse of natural theologyCritique, pp. 331-53
Feb 2: Moral theology Critique, pp. 446-66
Week 6
Feb 5: Digression: The neo-Kantian reception of the CritiqueNo readings
Feb 7: In-class exam #1
KANT’S FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF THE METAPHYSICS OF MORALS
Week 7
Feb 14:Towards a philosophy of moralityMorals: First Section
Feb 16:Towards a metaphysics of moralityMorals: Second Section
Week 8:
Reading week; no lectures
Week 9
Feb 26:Towards a critique of practical reason Morals: Third Section
Feb 28:continuedsame as above
*Feb 28: Take-home assignment posted (due March 9)
March 2: Philosophical TheologyReligion, pp. 33-41
KANT’S RELIGION WITHIN THE BOUNDARIES OF MERE REASON
Week 10
March 5:Part I: Humans and evilReligion, pp. 45-73
March 7:continuedsame as above
March 9: continuedsame as above
Week 11
March 12: Part II: Conversion, The Good Ideal, AtonementReligion, pp. 77-102
March 14: continuedsame as above
March 16: continuedsame as above
*March 16: take-home assignment posted (due March 23)
Week 12
March 19:Part III: Community, Scripture, Trinity, SatisfactionReligion, pp. 105-147
March 21:continuedsame as above
March 23:continuedsame as above
Week 13
March 26: Part IV: Service and counterfeit service Religion, pp. 151-191
March 28:continuedsame as above
Week 14
April 4:Kant’s influenceNo readings
April 6: ReviewNo readings
*April: Final exam (exact date and location TBA)