History of contemporary philosophy

Duration

45h Th

Number of credits

Lecturer

Arnaud Dewalque

Language(s) of instruction

French language

Organisation and examination

Teaching in the first semester, review in January

Schedule

Schedule online

Units courses prerequisite and corequisite

Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program

Learning unit contents

Many philosophers have argued that knowledge always derives from experience (greek, empeiria): everything you know is connected, in one way or another, to the fact that you have experiences, in the sense that seeing colors and hearing sounds are experiences. The transmission of this thesis is at the origin of a vast tradition known as the "empiricist tradition" (or "empiricism"). The course reconstructs the development of this tradition from Locke to Russell via Brentano. It examines different ways of understanding experience and the experientially given through the lens of a classic philosophical problem, namely: the problem of other minds. In essence, the problem is this: how do you know that there are other people in the world beyond yourself? More specifically, how can you attribute others mental states similar to your own, such as joy, fear or anger, based on what appears to you in experience? The course shows how the evolution of empiricism has led philosophers to offer different answers to this problem.

Learning outcomes of the learning unit

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.

Prerequisite knowledge and skills

At least one Philosophy course.

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

The course involve a series of lectures, in most cases with powerpoint presentation. There is no syllabus available. The course schedule is available in the "portable version" of the teaching commitment (see the "course plan" downloadable below or under the "course support" tab).

Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)

Face-to-face course


Additional information:

Duration: 45 hours, 1st term. Face-to-face is the default teaching mode but some sessions might be taught online.

Course materials and recommended or required readings

Mandatory reading:

Franz Brentano, Psychologie descriptive, trad. fr. A. Dewalque, Paris, Vrin, 2017.

The preface (pp. 7-57) is part of the course content. Participants are also requested to be able to comment a passage of the book during the oral exam.

Exam(s) in session

Any session

- In-person

oral exam

Continuous assessment


Additional information:

In accordance with study regulations, attendance is compulsory to pass the course.

The exam takes the form of a short oral interview in which the student must demonstrate his/her knowledge of the material covered in the course. The main aim is to present the position of an author studied, or the meaning of a concept examined during the year, in a clear and structured manner.

The examination will consist of three questions drawn at random:

Question 1: explain the position of an author (8 points out of 20 = 40% of the final mark)
Question 2: explain a concept (4 points out of 20 = 20% of the final mark)
Question 3: comment on an passage from the assigned reading (4 out of 20 points = 20% of the final mark)
Skills: clarity, structure and comprehension (4 out of 20 points = 20% of the final mark)

Work placement(s)

Organisational remarks and main changes to the course

All students enrolled in History and Romance Languages and Literature wishing to follow this course as an option are welcome.

Contacts

Prof. 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@uliege.be

Association of one or more MOOCs

Items online