This course provides a high-level introduction to American and Western European philosophical thought in the twentieth century. To give this chaotic and diverse century some thematic unity, we will read major twentieth century philosophies as responses to the so-called "problem of modernity" -- roughly, the problem of how to know one's world and one's culture when the traditional understandings of world and culture are radically altered by contemporary science and the advent of global culture. Three major intellectual traditions address the peculiar historical problems of modernity: British Analytic Philosophy, Continental Phenomenology & Existentialism, and Postmodernism.
While there are no specific prerequisites for this course beyond Philosophy 301, this is an upper division history of philosophy course, cross-listed as a graduate course. Like other similar courses, it involves reading, discussing, and writing about very difficult texts. The reading load for this course is 57 pages per week. Students should browse the reading material to determine the suitability of this course for their interests and abilities.
The first thing we need to do is to establish the "problem of modernity." Then, in separate units of the course, we will sample British Analytic, Continental Phenomenological and Postmodern philosophical work. The four units of the course are:
1. The Problem of Modernity (2 weeks)
2. Logical Analysis, Empiricism, & Positivism (4 weeks)
3. Phenomenology & Existentialism (4 weeks)
4. Postmodernism (4 weeks)
Descriptions of each unit follow:
To study the problem of modernity in its historical context, we would have to go back at least to the nineteenth century and follow the development of contemporary physics and read Nietzsche's scathing attack on European culture. Other writers on modernity would have us look carefully at the industrial revolution for an understanding of the distinctive features of life in the twentieth century.
Some of this historical background is referred to in the reading from Marshall Berman, the introduction and part of the first chapter of his book, All That is Solid Melts in the Air. Berman also gives a very accessible conceptual definition of modernity as the dominance of the search for development. In a famous lecture by C.P. Snow, the problem of modernity is expressed as a split in the intellectual life of the West between, roughly, scientific and literary thinking. Snow's lecture is always referred to, but rarely is it read. Finally, a difficult but deep philosophical treatment of the problem of modernity is given by Edmund Husserl in the essay, "Philosophy and the Crisis of European Man." Husserl is the founder of phenomenology and we will return to this essay later in the course because, not surprisingly, Husserl thinks phenomenology solves the "crisis." In showing us how, he lays out some of the basics of phenomenological method. At this point, however, we will just read him for an understanding of the crisis of european man. (Unit begins: September 8)
The introduction and first part of the first chapter of this book define modernism and develop the author's thesis about the tragic dimension of modern experience.
Snow, C. P. "The Two Cultures." The Two Cultures: And A Second Look. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1964. 1-51. 20-47
An expanded version of Snow's 1959 Rede Lecture describing a split in intellectual culture between arts and sciences.
Participation Opportunity: You may want to read Snow's retrospective lecture, "The Two Cultures: A Second Look," in the same book from which your required reading is drawn. I did not find time to read it, but I'm curious about it. Provide brief oral comments in class. The book is on reserve.
Husserl, Edmund. "Philosophy and the Crisis of European Man." Phenomenology and the Crisis of Philosophy. Ed. Lauer, Quentin. New York: Harper & Row, 1965. 149-192. 48-70
Reading Tips: This is an extremely difficult text. You simply must take some notes on it as you read. Because it is soporific, you should read it in very small doses at the most alert time of your day.
1.What are the major characteristics of modernity and why do intellectuals think there is a "problem" with modernity?
2.Reflect on the "two cultures" thesis. What different ways of knowing are involved in each culture. Is it realistic to think that this split can be repaired? Consider some of the effects of this split on our approach to human problems in the twentieth century.
3.What's wrong with "naturalism," according to Husserl? In what ways does Husserl's prescription for european man resolve the problem of "two cultures" discussed by Snow?
The displacements and confusions engendered by modernity might lead one to doubt the adequacy of traditional philosophical conceptual schemes and methods. New developments in mathematics, mathematical logic, and physics, also led philosophers like Bertrand Russell to question the cogency of much traditional (pre-twentieth century) philosophy. If you believe, as Russell did for most of his career, that a philosophy is only as good as the logic it employs, then the new logics of the contemporary period might lead you to some disdain for the old philosophies. I'll provide some background information on positivism in the late 19th century as preparation for reading about Logical Atomism and Logical Positivism. J. O. Urmson provides a great critical overview of these movements. We'll supplement his account with a couple of essays by Russell.
As you'll learn from Urmson, Wittgenstein is a central figure in the development of twentieth century logical analysis. You'll learn about his early work through Urmson and the lecture material, but the later Wittgenstein has such a distinctive character, that he merits a separate inquiry. Our main text is On Certainty, but you will also read a chapter from one of his biographers, to give you some insight into his character. (Unit begins: September 22)
Urmson, J.O. Philosophical Analysis. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1956. 1-44. (71-97)
Russell, Bertrand. "On Denoting." Logic and Knowledge. London: Unwin Hyman Limited, 1956. 39-57. (141-148)
Urmson, J.O. Philosophical Analysis. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1956. 44-130. (97-140)
Reading Tips: There is a good deal of detail to this history. I think you should take some reading notes on this material.
Russell, Bertrand. "Logical Positivism." Logic and Knowledge. London: Unwin Hyman Limited, 1956. 365-382. (149-156)
Participation Opportunity: Around page 369 of this essay Russell makes reference to a variety of developments in mathematics in the late 19th century. I would appreciate it if an enterprising mathematics student would give us a layperson's gloss on some of these references.
McGuinness, Brian. Chapter 8. Wittgenstein: A Life. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988. (157-188)
Reading Tips: This reading is intended to be a pleasurable break from the somewhat dry reading in and about logical analysis. Just read for a feel of Wittgenstein's personality and character.
Wittgenstein, Ludwig. Paul, Denis; Anscombe, G. E. M., trans. On Certainty. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1969.
1.What is logical atomism and how did it emerge from a rejection of idealism?
2.Explain the problem of denotation and Russell's solution to it.
3.What criterion of meaning and truth do logical positivists employ?
4.Be prepared to give a summary account of Wittgenstein's view of certainty and his analysis of the phrase "I know ..."
As philosophical movements, phenomenology and existentialism are so thoroughly intertwined that it makes sense to talk of thinkers who are part of each movement without being part of the other, as well as "existential phenomenologists" and "phenomenological existentialists." The introduction to Kaufman's anthology should help you get your bearings on existentialism. The fundamental starting point of existential philosophy is, to put it too simply, a belief that traditional philosophy somehow misses an account of the concrete data of lived experience.
Spiegelberg gives an excellent, if dry, coverage of phenomonological method. You should be able to see from that account why phenomenology would be attractive to existentialists. The method of accounting for phenomena is oriented toward the experience of actual intending subjects. However, it should also become clear why these two philosophies may have separate destinies. The point of studying phenomena for a thinker like Husserl is to intuit essential structures of Being which transcend the local occasion of our experience. Many existentialists are suspicious of the movement away from the uniqueness of the particular individual's experience.
Before we try to understand their interrelation, we are well advised to study them separately. After Spiegelberg's essay, I'd like you to reread the Husserl article which you read at the beginning of the course. Heidegger is our other example of a phenomenologist. The remaining readings are all examples of existentialism. (Unit begins: October 20)
Spiegelberg, Herbert. "The Essentials of the Phenomenological Method." The Phenomenological Movement. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1982. 675-719. (189-211)
Husserl, Edmund. "Philosophy and the Crisis of European Man." Phenomenology and the Crisis of Philosophy. Ed. Lauer, Quentin. New York: Harper & Row, 1965. 149-192. (48-70)
Spiegelberg, Herbert. "Martin Heidegger (1889-1976) as a Phenomenologist." The Phenomenological Movement. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1982. 336-353. (212-221)
Heidegger, Martin. "The Question Concerning Technology." The Question Concerning Technology and Other Essays. New York: Harper and Row, 1977. 3-35. 222-238 (Also in Kaufman)
Ortega y Gasset, Jose. "Excerpt From, Toward a Philosophy of History, Retitled, 'Man Has No Nature.'" Existentialism from Dostoevsky to Sartre. Ed. Kaufman, Walter. New York: Penguin USA, Inc, 1975. 152-158.
Jaspers, Karl. "On My Philosophy." Existentialism from Dostoevsky to Sartre. Ed. Kaufman, Walter. New York: Penguin USA, Inc, 1975. 158-185.
Kafka, Franz. "Before the Law." Existentialism from Dostoevsky to Sartre. Ed. Kaufman, Walter. New York: Penguin USA, Inc, 1975. 145-151.
1.Identify, with examples, the major phases of phenomenological method.
2.What is technology, according to Heidegger, and how does he situate our understanding of technology within a value system for human existence.
3.Drawing on your reading of Ortega, Jaspers, and Kafka, identify the fundamental intuitions underlying existential thought.
Postmodernism is a difficult movement to characterize. In part, this is simply because of its newness. Like existentialism, the postmodern label applies to a wide variety of thinkers, not all of whom would even accept the label. Another similarity between postmodernism and existentialism is that both movements involve a suspicion about (if not a rejection of) traditional philosophic method. Postmoderns believe that philosophers have paid too little attention to the conditions under which thought is represented, accepting an overly simple distinction between thought and its representation in language. This suspicion often takes the form of a skepticism about the possibility of transcending the conditions of language. Our study of postmodernism will follow this linguistic line of argument. (Unit begins: November 17)
Eagleton, Terry. Literary Theory: An Introduction. Minneapolis, Minn: University of Minnesota, 1983. (239-254)
Culler, Jonathan. On Deconstruction: Theory and Criticism After Structuralism. Ithaca, New York: Cornell UP, 1982. (255-279)
Lyotard, Jean Francois. The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1984. 1-110.
Barthelme, Donald. "At the End of the Mechanical Age." (280-283)
Apple, Max. "Postmodernism." Free Agents. (284-286)
1.Briefly characterize Ferdinand de Saussure's view of language.
2.How do post-structuralists apply Saussure's thought to reading and philosophy?
3.What is logocentrism?
4.What are the implications of deconstruction for the possibility of grounding knowledge?