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PHIL
354 Prof. L. Shapiro |
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Welcome to the homepage of PHIL 354, Descartes and Rationalism. Here you will find basic resources for the course, as well as links to supplemental secondary sources.
In this course we will be engaging in a close reading of Descartes' Meditations, with an eye towards bringing out his positions on key issues in philosophy of mind and metaphysics, as well as his view about human nature. We will pursue some of these questions by looking at elements of Malebranche's and Spinoza's positions as responses to perceived problems in Descartes' philosophical program.
Course requirements include four (4) papers, of 1500 words each. The papers will be weighted equally. Papers must be turned in on the due date. Late papers will be penalized. Students are expected to attend class regularly and attentively.
The syllabus is available in both HTML and PDF formats. Handouts and paper topics are available only in PDF formats. To read these files you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader, which you can download for free by clicking on the link, and then following instructions on the website. This same program will also be helpful in accessing some links to supplemental material.