Admission requirements
Admission to this course is restricted to:
first-year BA students in Philosophy, who are enrolled in the BA Plus-traject;
international pre-master’s students in Philosophy who are in possession of an admission statement for the pre-master for Moral and Political Philosophy, Philosophical Perpectives on Politics and the Economy, or Philosophy of Law, Governance, and Politics, and who need to include an optional course in their programme.
Description
Descartes's Discourse on method, published anonymously in Leiden in 1637, is one of the key texts of modern philosophy. In it Descartes lays the ground of science, not on dogma, but on reason alone, and presents a method for rightly conducting one's reason. The fundamental certainty discovered by Descartes, "I think therefore I am", will be the touching stone of modern philosophy until our days. Descartes's text is a masterpiece of philosophy but it is also an enjoyable piece of philosophical writing, a gem of classical style. The aim of the seminar is to practice basic philosophical skills: reading a classical text, discovering and discussing its central arguments, and writing a philosophical analysis of the text.
Course objectives
This course aims to form students to a detailed, analytical close reading of a primary text of modern philosophy. Students also learn to use secondary sources and libraries and evaluate translation problems.
Students who successfully complete the course will have a good understanding of:
The main ideas of Descartes's Discourse on method.
The method of reading classical texts of philosophy.
Students who successfully complete the course will be able to:
Work on a classical philosophical text.
Present and discuss the arguments elaborated by the text.
Write a short philosophical essay developing a personal question related to a classical text.
Timetable
Visit MyTimetable.
Mode of instruction
- Seminars
Class attendance is required.
Assessment method
Assessment
Graded assessment
- Final paper
Non-graded exercises
Mid-term take-home exercise: research project in preparation of the final paper.
Each student has to present a reading of a passage of the text or of a commentary and discuss it with the group.
The non-graded exercises are required for getting admission to the final exam (paper).
Weighting
The final paper counts as 100% of the course grade.
Resit
The resit covers the final paper and the grade for the resit replaces the previously earned grade. Papers that fail will need to be rewritten in line with instructor’s comments. Students who have obtained a satisfactory grade for the first examination cannot take the resit.
The non-graded exercises are required for getting admission to the resit (paper).
Inspection and feedback
Discussion of the paper is by appointment after publication of the final grade.
Reading list
As the course is conducted in English, we will use the English translation of Descartes' Discourse on method, but the students who are familiar with French are encouraged to read the French edition instead or in addition. You can also read the Dutch edition, but the discussion refers to the English text.
The best English edition of Descartes's Discourse is in The Philosophical Writings of Descartes: Volume 1 (Cambridge Univ Pr, 1985).
This edition being quite expensive, you can also use the French edition (Discours de la méthode, Vrin) and compare with an online translation: Discourse, or Meditations
Registration
Enrolment through uSis is mandatory.
General information about uSis is available on the website.
Students are strongly advised to register in uSis through the activity number which can be found in the timetables for courses and exams.
Registration Studeren à la carte and Contractonderwijs
Not applicable.
Contact
Remarks
Not applicable.