PHI 140H - Science and Social Context

Institution:

University of Maine at Farmington

Subject:

Description:

With the scientific worldview having been turned upside down (literally) by the Copernican Revolution, and the political world having been rocked by the English Civil War, Europeans of the 17th and 18th Centuries were looking for some sort of certainty in their lives. In the world of science, this meant looking for some way to determine what was reliable in our knowledge of the physical world. In the political realm, it meant exploring the foundations of society so as to uncover what it was that made governmental authority legitimate. This course presents the leading philosophers of the period Descartes, Spinoza, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Hume, and Kant as engaged in an ongoing historical dialogue to work out the dual problems of knowledge and politics; the obvious relevance of their thinking to contemporary life will be discussed as well. Note: This is the second course in our History of Philosophy sequence (120H-160H); courses in this sequence may be taken in any order since no previous philosophy experience is necessary for any one of them. Every two years in Spring. Every two years in spring. Credit: 4

Credits:

4.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.umf.maine.edu

Phone Number:

(207) 778-7000

Regional Accreditation:

New England Association of Schools and Colleges

Calendar System:

Semester

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