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Course Code: 
PHIL 222
Semester: 
Spring
Course Type: 
Core
P: 
3
Lab: 
0
Laboratuvar Saati: 
0
Credits: 
3
ECTS: 
8
Course Language: 
English
Course Objectives: 
Studying major texts of European rationalism and British empiricism in order to conceive the distingushing features of the philosophical tenets of the 17th century.
Course Content: 

A survey of the philosophical tenets of the 17th century through an analysis and interpretation of major texts by Francis Bacon, René Descartes, Gottfried Leibniz, Baruch Spinoza. The main controversy of the period between rationalism and empiricism is analysed through the texts of the relevant philosophers and the agreements and disagreements of the empiricists and rationalists are discussed with a special emphasis on a thorough inquiry and insight into the ways of thinking as well as their interpretation expressed in Descartes’ Meditations on First Philosophy, Spinoza’s Ethics, and Leibniz’s Monadology. Other philosophers of the era such as Thomas Hobbes and Blaise Pascal are also briefly studied

Course Methodology: 
1: Lecture, 2: Question-Answer, 3: Discussion
Course Evaluation Methods: 
A: Testing, C: Homework

Vertical Tabs

Course Learning Outcomes

Learning Outcomes

Upon the completion of this course a student:

Program

Learning Outcomes

Teaching Methods

Assessment Methods

1) is informed of the specificity of philosophical questioning.

1, 2, 3

1, 2, 3

A, C

2) is introduced to the philosophical concepts of the 17th century.

1, 7, 6, 8

1, 2, 3

A, C

3) starts acquiring the knowledge of how to look at texts of the 17th century philosophy through concepts. 

8, 9, 10

1, 2, 3

A, C

4) starts referring to philosophical concepts in relation to theoretical and practical matters.

4, 5, 6

1, 2, 3

A, C
 
 

Course Flow

Week

Topics

Study Materials

1

Introduction to 17th century Rationalist thought

Foundations of rationalism

2

 

 Descartes Meditations I-II: 1-3, 27-34.

Descartes

3

 

 Descartes Meditations III-IV: 34-45.

Descartes

4

 

 Descartes Meditations V-VI: 45-55.

Descartes

5

 

 Spinoza, Ethics 126-27, 151-57.

Spinoza

6

 

 Spinoza, Ethics 171-84 .

Spinoza

7

 

 Spinoza, Ethics 184-201

Spinoza

8

MID-TERM

 

9

 

 Leibniz, Discourse 210-212, 234-45.

Leibniz

10

 

 Leibniz, Discourse 245-57.

Leibniz

11

 

 Leibniz, Monadology 285-93.

Leibniz

12

 

Bacon, Novum Organum.

Bacon

13

Hobbes, Leviathan.

Hobbes

14

 

 Revision.

 

15

Final Examination

 
 
 

Recommended Sources

Textbook

F. Copleston, History of Philosophy, vol. 4. 

Additional Resources

Garrett Thomson, Bacon to Kant: An Introduction to Modern Philosophy, 2nd ed., Waveland Press, 2002.

René Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy, 3rd ed., translated by Donald A. Cress, Hackett, 1993.

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Discourse On Metaphysics and Other Essays, translated by Daniel Garber and Roger Ariew, Hackett, 1989.

Baruch Spinoza, Ethics, translated by Edwin Curley, The Collected Writings of Spinoza, Princeton University Press, 1985.

T. Hobbes, Leviathan, E. Curley (ed.), Leviathan, with selected variants from the Latin edition of 1668, Hackett, 1994.

F. Bacon, A Critical Edition of the Major Works, edited by Brian Vickers, Oxford University Press, 2000.
 
 

Material Sharing

Documents

-

Assignments

-

Exams

-
 
 

Assessment

ASSESSMENT

IN-TERM STUDIES

NUMBER

PERCENTAGE

Mid-terms

1

30

Assignments

2

20

Final Examination

1

50

Total

 

100

CONTRIBUTION OF FINAL EXAMINATION TO OVERALL GRADE

 

50

CONTRIBUTION OF IN-TERM STUDIES TO OVERALL GRADE

 

50

Total

 

100
 

COURSE CATEGORY

Core Area Course
 

Course’s Contribution to Program

No

Program Learning Outcomes

Contribution

1

2

3

4

5

1

Grasps the fundamental concepts and analytical methods necessary to succeed in academic studies in the field of philosophy.

 

 

 

 

X

2

Acquires a versatile critical and analytical approach, and problem-solving, interpretative and  argumentative skills necessary for a successful career in philosophy.

 

 

 

 

X

3

Communicates effectively, is specifically successful in written and oral presentation, has proper capacities for teamwork and interdisciplinary studies, takes the initiative, has developed a sense of responsibility, contributes original ideas to the field of philosophy, and is loyal to ethical principles.

 

 

X

 

 

4

Reaches the perfection of pursuing professional and personal development by using all means of knowledge with a view to lifelong learning.

 

X

 

 

 

5

Develops a consciousness of professional and social ethics.

 

X

 

 

 

6

Gains the skills of choosing and developing contemporary means required in philosophical applications as well as using computing technologies effectively.

 

 

X

 

 

7

Acquires substantial knowledge of the history of philosophy.

 

 

X

 

 

8

Learns a classical and at least one modern foreign language so as to read the historical texts of philosophy in the original.

 

 

 

 

X

9

Pinpoints, recognizes, grasps and discusses the problems of philosophy within their context in the history of philosophy.

 

 

 

X

 

10

Develops perfection in reading, understanding and analyzing philosophical texts in different languages.

 

 

 

 

X
 
 

ECTS

ECTS ALLOCATED BASED ON STUDENT WORKLOAD BY THE COURSE DESCRIPTION

Activities

Quantity

Duration
(Hour)

Total
Workload
(Hour)

Course Duration (Including the exam week: 15x Total course hours)

15

4

60

Hours for off-the-classroom study (Pre-study, practice)

10

6

60

Mid-terms

1

25

25

Assignments

2

10

20

Final Examination

1

35

35

Total Work Load

 

 

200

Total Work Load / 25 (h)

 

 

8

ECTS Credit of the Course

 

 

8
 

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