LIB558
Modern Philosophy: Ideas that Shaped the 20th and 21st Centuries
This course introduces major transitions in modern philosophy, from 1900 to the present, by tracing how earlier ideas—ancient, early modern and 19th-century—gave way to new questions about language, experience, society and technology. We will explore four pivotal shifts: the turn to logical and linguistic analysis; the turn to lived experience and existential meaning; the turn to social structures, ideology and power; and the turn to mind, identity and technological transformation. Thinkers discussed include Russell, Wittgenstein, Husserl, Heidegger, Sartre, Beauvoir, Foucault, Derrida, Rawls and contemporary philosophers of mind and technology.
This course is offered in person.
A $50 discount is available during check-out for adults 55+.
Overview
Location: Vancouver
Duration: 6 weeks
Tuition: $180 plus GST
Can be applied to:
Liberal Arts for 55+ Certificate
Upcoming Offerings
- Thu, May 7, 1:30 p.m. - 3:20 p.m. Pacific Time (class/lecture)
- Thu, May 14, 1:30 p.m. - 3:20 p.m. Pacific Time (class/lecture)
- Thu, May 21, 1:30 p.m. - 3:20 p.m. Pacific Time (class/lecture)
- Thu, May 28, 1:30 p.m. - 3:20 p.m. Pacific Time (class/lecture)
- Thu, Jun 4, 1:30 p.m. - 3:20 p.m. Pacific Time (class/lecture)
- Thu, Jun 11, 1:30 p.m. - 3:20 p.m. Pacific Time (class/lecture)
Apr 15, 2026
Course outline
- Week 1: From early philosophy to modern thought (1900-present)
Ancient/medieval assumptions of a stable, knowable order; early-modern turn to the subject (Descartes to Kant); 19th-century destabilizations: Hegel, Marx, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Darwin, industrialization; crisis of truth, meaning, rationality and social order by 1900; four major transitions that shape modern philosophy. - Week 2: The turn to language and logic—analytic philosophy
Bertrand Russell, G.E. Moore, early and late Wittgenstein, logical positivism and verification, W.V.O. Quine and Saul Kripke. - Week 3: The turn to experience and existence—phenomenology and existentialism
Husserl, Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir and Camus. - Week 4: The turn to society and power—critical theory and social philosophy
19th-century roots: Marx, alienation, ideology; Frankfurt School (first and second generation) and Foucault: power and knowledge. - Week 5: The turn to language, culture and meaning—structuralism and post-structuralism
Structuralism: Saussure and Levi-Strauss; post-structuralism/postmodernism: Derrida, Foucault and Deleuze. - Week 6: The turn to mind, identity and technology—contemporary philosophy
Philosophy of mind; ethics and political philosophy: Rawls and Nozick; identity and social philosophy: Butler, Mills, Fanon and Said.
What you will learn
By the end of the course, you should be able to:
- Describe the four philosophical shifts in modern philosophy
- Identify a specific philosopher who is part of each shift
- Explain the difference between analytic, pragmatist and existentialist philosophies
How you will learn
- Lectures
- Participation in discussions
- Supplementary resources accessed through Canvas
- Reflective essay (applicable only to certificate students)
Learning Materials
No textbook is required. We will provide all course materials online.
Technical Requirements
Handouts and other course resources will be available on Canvas, SFU’s online learning system.
To access the resources, you should be comfortable with:
- Using everyday software such as browsers, email and social media
- Navigating a website by clicking on links and finding pages in a menu
- Downloading and opening PDF documents