PHIL 2035 - Foundations of Modern Philosophy

North Terrace Campus - Semester 1 - 2025

All traditions in western philosophy are shaped by a series of challenges which occupied philosophers from about the seventeenth century. Philosophers in this modern period tried to come to grips with the consequences of an emerging scientific approach for our understanding of the world and our place in it. Ethics, political philosophy, the theory of knowledge, philosophy of language, philosophy of religion, metaphysics and the philosophy of mind would never be the same again. In this course we look at the work of philosophers such as Rene Descartes, Princess Elizabeth of Bohemia, Margaret Cavendish, John Locke, George Berkeley, Gottfried Leibniz, David Hume and Thomas Reid on these themes, with particular emphasis on tracing connections between their arguments and those of present day philosophers. It turns out that many of our present day conundrums over, for example, the role of experience in gaining knowledge of the world, the fundamental character of physical reality, the nature of the mind and our knowledge of ourselves, were anticipated and discussed by these thinkers.

Open All

Course Details

Course Code	PHIL 2035
Course	Foundations of Modern Philosophy
Coordinating Unit	Philosophy
Term	Semester 1
Level	Undergraduate
Location/s	North Terrace Campus
Units	3
Contact	Up to 3 hours per week
Available for Study Abroad and Exchange	Y
Prerequisites	At least 12 units of Level I undergraduate study
Incompatible	PHIL 2007 or PHIL 3007
Assessment	Research essay (2000 words) 50%, Research essay (2500 words) 50%

Course Staff

Course Coordinator: Dr Jordi Fernandez

Course Timetable

The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

Course Learning Outcomes

Demonstrate familiarity with – specifically, to accurately restate and fluently discuss – the content and significance of selected views of at least three of these early modern philosophers: René Descartes, Princess Elizabeth of Bohemia, Margaret Cavendish, John Locke, George Berkeley, Gottfried Leibniz, Thomas Reid and David Hume
Explain, differentiate, and classify early modern views on at least three of the following philosophical problems in the areas of epistemology, metaphysics and the philosophy of mind: mind-body dualism, external world scepticism, the nature of perceptual knowledge, the role of ideas in thought and knowledge, the nature of causation and necessity, the character of physical reality, and the question of freedom and determinism.
Analyse and interpret written texts (original and translated) from a variety of European cultures in the early modern period in order to clarify their structure and express their main arguments and conclusions.
Examine and evaluate (as valid and/or sound) the arguments and conclusions of early modern philosophers, with some reference to the contemporary significance of those arguments and conclusions.
Prepare, refine, and express extended written arguments concerning the correct interpretation of early modern philosophical texts and the correctness of those texts thus interpreted, following disciplinary norms for the construction of such arguments.
Present and defend oral opinions on philosophical and interpretative questions arising from engagement with early modern philosophical texts.

University Graduate Attributes

This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

University Graduate Attribute	Course Learning Outcome(s)
Attribute 1: Deep discipline knowledge and intellectual breadth Graduates have comprehensive knowledge and understanding of their subject area, the ability to engage with different traditions of thought, and the ability to apply their knowledge in practice including in multi-disciplinary or multi-professional contexts.	1, 2
Attribute 2: Creative and critical thinking, and problem solving Graduates are effective problems-solvers, able to apply critical, creative and evidence-based thinking to conceive innovative responses to future challenges.	1, 3, 4
Attribute 3: Teamwork and communication skills Graduates convey ideas and information effectively to a range of audiences for a variety of purposes and contribute in a positive and collaborative manner to achieving common goals.	5, 6
Attribute 5: Intercultural and ethical competency Graduates are responsible and effective global citizens whose personal values and practices are consistent with their roles as responsible members of society.	1
Attribute 8: Self-awareness and emotional intelligence Graduates are self-aware and reflective; they are flexible and resilient and have the capacity to accept and give constructive feedback; they act with integrity and take responsibility for their actions.	5

Learning Resources
Required Resources
There are a number of primary texts we will be looking at. Here are some of those texts. I will provide links to online versions where these are available. Many of our target texts are available, in modified versions intended to make them more accessible for students at www.earlymoderntexts.com.
- René Descartes (1641), Meditations on First Philosophy, with selections from the objections and replies. Edited and translated by John Cottingham, revised edition 1996, Cambridge University Press, ISBN–13: 9780521558181.
  
  The Early Modern Texts version: www.earlymoderntexts.com/assets/pdfs/descartes1641.pdf.
- David Hume (1748), An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding. Edited by Tom L Beauchamp, 1999, Oxford University Press. ISBN–13: 9780198752486.
  
  There is a great online edition of this work at www.davidhume.org/texts/ehu.html, which is an unaltered but fully searchable version of Hume’s text.
- Thomas Reid (1785/1788), Inquiry and Essays. Edited by, 1983, Hackett Publishing. ISBN–13: 9780915145850.
  
  There are versions of both the essays we will be looking at parts of at Early Modern Texts: Essays on the Intellectual Powers of Man, and Essays on the Active Powers of Man.
- Gottfried Leibniz (1686), Discourse on Metaphysics. In Garber and Ariew, eds., 1989, Leibniz: Philosophical Essays, Hackett Publishing. ISBN–13: 9780915145850.
  
  The Early Modern Texts version: www.earlymoderntexts.com/assets/pdfs/leibniz1686d.pdf
Recommended Resources
Students might find the following companion books useful, especially if they are beginning reading some of the texts before semester begins:

Hatfield, G. (2003) Descartes and the Meditations. London: Routledge.

Noonan, H.W. (1999) Hume on Knowledge. London: Routledge.

Bennett, J. (2001) Learning From Six Philosophers (Vols. 1 & 2). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

â
Online Learning

Lecture notes will be made available on MyUni each week, and the lectures will be recorded. To prepare for workshops, you are required to answer a set of workshop questions. These will be made available on MyUni in the week preceding the workshop.
Learning & Teaching Activities

Learning & Teaching Modes

This course is taught in lectures+workshop format:

- Lectures are pre-recorded and will be made available through MyUni.
- You will have the option of attending either a face-to-face workshop, or an on-line workshop through Zoom.

Workload

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

2 x 1-hour lectures per week = 24 hours per semester
1 x 1-hour worshop per week = 12 hours per semester
4 hours assignment preparation per week = 48 hours per semester
3 hours tutorial preparation per week = 36 hours per semester
3 hours reading per week = 36 hours per semester
TOTAL WORKLOAD 156 hours per semester

Learning Activities Summary

We will concentrate on the writing of: R. Descartes, J. Locke, G. Berkeley, D. Hume, G. Leibniz and T. Reid. See the course program in MyUni for details.

The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
Assessment must maintain academic standards.

Assessment Summary

Assessment Task	Task Type	Weighting	Learning Outcome
Workshop Participation	Formative	0%	1 - 6
Essay 1	Summative	50%	1 - 6
Essay 2	Summative	50%	1 - 6

Assessment Related Requirements

Submission of two essays is a course requirement. The first one should be about 2,000 words long. The second one should be about 2,500 words long. You are strongly urged to attend the course workshops, though attendance is not compulsory.

Assessment Detail

Your assessment will involve weekly workshop participation and two essays. The word limits below are lower and upper bounds, respectively.
Workshops. Each week you will participate in the discussion of questions previously posted in MyUni.
Essay 1 (1500-2000 words).
Essay 2 (2000-2500 words)

Submission

a) Submitting your essays

All essays must be submitted electronically through MyUni. Please do not submit a hard copy of your essay. In this course, we will only accept electronic submission of essays through MyUni. Please remember that it is your responsibility to submit your essays correctly.

• The first page of your essay must include your name and student ID number.
• At the end of the submission process, please print (or take a picture of) the screen telling you that your file has been submitted. In the event of system failure, we will accept that as proof that you did submit your essay.
• You are required to keep both a hard copy and an electronic copy of each of your essays.
• Comments to Essay 1 will be returned electronically, approximately two weeks after the due date. If you require comments to your second essay back, please let the lecturer know by noon of the due date for Essay 2.

b) Overdue work

If your essay is submitted after 12pm of the due date without an extension, then your work will be considered late/overdue. Please note the following regarding late/overdue work:

(i) Late essays will be penalized at the rate of 2 marks of the percentage mark achieved for that
assessment component for each day that the work is overdue.
(ii) Essays submitted more than 7 days late without an extension will not be marked.

For the purposes of both (i) and (ii):

(A) the number of days that the assessment task is overdue will be counted by using noon as the cut-off point (since all pieces of assessment are due at noon). Thus, an essay submitted at 12:01pm of the due date will count as being 1 day late.
(B) 'days' will be considered calendar, and not business, days (weekends do count).

c) Extensions

Faculty of Arts policy states that students are eligible for extensions only on the basis of medical, compassionate or extenuating circumstances.

E-mail communication with your course coordinator, lecturer, tutor or marker does not constitute a request for an extension. In order to be granted an extension, you must submit an application, which will be available in MyUni, together with supporting documentation before the due date.

No other grounds for extension will be permitted. Extension requests made on other grounds, or made on/after the due date, will be declined. In particular, note that pressure of other work or sporting commitments are not accepted as grounds for extension.

Course Grading

Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
Grade	Mark	Description
FNS		Fail No Submission
F	1-49	Fail
P	50-64	Pass
C	65-74	Credit
D	75-84	Distinction
HD	85-100	High Distinction
CN		Continuing
NFE		No Formal Examination
RP		Result Pending

Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

Student Feedback

The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.
Student Support
Policies & Guidelines
This section contains links to relevant assessment-related policies and guidelines - all university policies.
Fraud Awareness

Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student’s disciplinary procedures.

The University of Adelaide is committed to regular reviews of the courses and programs it offers to students. The University of Adelaide therefore reserves the right to discontinue or vary programs and courses without notice. Please read the important information contained in the disclaimer.

Authorised by:	Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic)
Maintained by:	Course Outlines Administrator