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| PHIL0010-1 | History of contemporary philosophy
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| Duration : | 45h Th |
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| Number of credits : |
| Bachelor in Ancient Languages and Literatures, Classics, 2nd year | | 5 |
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| Bachelor in Ancient Languages and Literatures, Classics, 3rd year | | 5 |
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| Bachelor in Information and Communication, 2nd year | | 5 |
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| Bachelor in Modern Languages and Literatures, German, Dutch and English, 2nd year | | 5 |
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| Bachelor in History of Art and Archeology, General, 2nd year | | 5 |
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| Bachelor in History of Art and Archeology, General, 3rd year | | 5 |
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| Bachelor in History, 2nd year | | 5 |
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| Bachelor in History, 3rd year | | 5 |
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| Bachelor in modern languages and literatures, general orientation, 2nd year | | 5 |
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| Bachelor in History of Art and Archeology, Musicology, 2nd year | | 5 |
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| Bachelor in History of Art and Archeology, Musicology, 3rd year | | 5 |
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| Bachelor in Ancient Languages and Literatures: Oriental Studies, 2nd year | | 5 |
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| Bachelor in Ancient Languages and Literatures: Oriental Studies, 3rd year | | 5 |
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| Bachelor in philosophy, 2nd year | | 5 |
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| Bachelor in French and Romance Languages and Literatures, 2nd year | | 5 |
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| Bachelor in French and Romance Languages and Literatures, 3rd year | | 3 |
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| One-year preliminary programme leading to the Master in Philosophy | | 6 |
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| Lecturer : | Arnaud Dewalque |
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Language(s) of instruction :
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| French language |
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Organisation and examination :
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| Teaching in the second semester |
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Course contents :
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| The course aims at exploring the roots of the present-day philosophical scene in late nineteen- and early twentieth-century Austrian-German philosophy. It focuses on the so-called "renaissance" of the philosophy, viz. the renewal which followed the decline of German idealism. We will focus on two major events: the so-called 'Back to Kant'-movement and the rise of scientific psychology. One of the central figures of the course will be Franz Brentano (1838-1917), whose contribution to philosophy sees a spectacular surge of interest since several years. This course will be based on two inter-related axes:
- an historical axis: the Kant-reception and the antagonism between neo-Kantian tendencies and anti-Kantian tendencies.
- a metaphilosophical axis: the relationship between philosophy and psychology.
We will address, e.g., the following questions: What is the meaning of Kant's critical project? What are its strong points and its weaknesses? How to ground historical sciences? What is the basis of scientific psychology? Do we have a privileged access to our own mental states? What role should play psychological reports in philosophy? Can philosophy be based on psychology without turning into a kind of "psychologism"? etc. |
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Learning outcomes of the course :
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| By the end of the course, listeners are supposed to:
- master a series of historical informations about the nineteen-century Austrian-German philosophy.
- be able to look in a critical manner to the historiography of this period as it is available in classical manuals of the history of Western philosophy.
- be aware of a small number of controversial problems which have had a crucial role to play in the birth of contemporary philosophy.
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Prerequisites and co-requisites/ Recommended optional programme components :
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| At least one Philosophy course. |
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Planned learning activities and teaching methods :
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| The course involve a series of lectures, in most cases with powerpoint presentation. There is no syllabus available. Participants are asked to read one philosophical text before each lesson and to write several short reading reports. The list of the texts and the schedule will be made available at the beginning of the course and can be downloaded by following the link below. |
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Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning) :
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| Duration: 45 hours 2nd term, on Tuesdays. Lectures take place in the room "Philo II" (main building, 2nd floor). First lecture: Tuesday February 3 2015. See http://cipl82.philo.ulg.ac.be/horaires |
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Recommended or required readings :
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| A series of required readings will be made available at the first sessions, as well as a list of recommended books. Most of them may be helpful for students wishing to delve more deeply into the topic of the course. See e.g.:
- On the historical background of German-Austrian philosophy during the second half of the nineteen century:
- L. Freuler, La Crise de la philosophie au XIXe siècle, Paris, Vrin, 1997 (available at the ULg Philosophy library: 43FRE).
- M. Heidegger, "Genèse et première percée de la recherche phénoménologique", dans Prolégomènes à l'histoire du concept de temps, French translation. A. boutot, Paris, Gallimard, 2006, pp. 33-51 (50HEI.BOU).
- On the Brentano School:
- D. Fisette and G. Fréchette, "Le Legs de Brentano", from the collection A l'école de Brentano. De Würzbourg à Vienne, Pars, Vrin, 2007, pp. 13-160 (45BRE.FIS).
- L. Albertazzi, M. Libardi and R. Poli (eds.), The School of Franz Brentano, Dordrecht, Kluwer, 1996 (45BRE.ALB).
- On neo-Kantianism:
- E. Dufour, Les Néokantiens. Valeur et vérité, Paris, Vrin, 2003.
- M. Ferrari, Retours à Kant. Introduction au néo-kantisme, French translation, Th. Loisel, Paris, Cerf, 2001 (42KAN.FER).
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Assessment methods and criteria :
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| For students in Philosophy, the assessment will be made up of two parts:
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Part I: a series of reading reports (40% of the final grade) wich will be submitted during the classes. The schedule will be made available at the beginning of the course.
A 'reading report' is a short text (2 pages) presented as an analysis of a piece of reading. Each report will cover an article or chapter from the reading list given at the beginning of the course. It will be made up of three parts: (1) What is the main thesis of the author? (2) What are his arguments? (3) Is his position convincing? The aim is to develop the student's abilities of reading, analyzing and writting. The brevity of the reports makes it necessary to sharpen the focus and get to the essential. The compliance with stylistic and typographic rules (see Methodology of Philosophy, PHIL0005-2) is required. The criteria for assessment are: 1. understanding of the subject, 2. clarity and quality of language; 3. structure and internal coherence. Failure to comply with basic formal conventions (spelling, formatting, quotations, etc) as well as unmotivated delay will be automatically sanctioned by penalty points.
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Part II: Final oral examination (60% of the final grade) during the June session.
The exam will take the form of a short interview during which students should demonstrate their knowledge of the subject matter covered in class and understanding of the course reading material. This involves, for example, situating an author in the philosophical landscape of this period, describing the main features of a philosophical school, explaining a concept, commenting upon an extract of text covered in class or developing a line of argument analyzed during the year.
For students from other disciplines: oral examination only. |
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Work placement(s) :
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Organizational remarks :
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| All students enrolled in History and Romance Languages and Literature wishing to follow this course as an option are welcome. A part of the course is devoted to the critical philosophy of history and is likely to provide historians with some reflexion tools. |
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Contacts :
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| Teacher
Arnaud Dewalque
Philosophy Department
7, Place du 20-août, Building A1/2nd floor
B-4000 Liège
Phone 0032 (4) 366 55 93
E-mail a.dewalque@ulg.ac.be |
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| Items online : |
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| Trees of the neo-Kantian and Brentanian Schools |
Overview
- of the "Back to Kant"-Movement
- of the Brentano School and its ramifications
See "Teaching Documents" on my personal webpage. |
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| Practical informations |
- Printable version of the course webpage
- Document to fill in for the reading reports
- Schedule
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