Making of the Modern Western World View

• • • History of western philosophy.
  • • Plato and Aristotle.
  • • Hobbes and Rousseau.
  • • German idealism.
  • • Nietzsche.

No eligibility requirements

Additional requirements

No additional requirements

Focusing on major themes in the intellectual development of the Western world, from Greek metaphysics and ethics, through Christian theology to Modern (17-19 century) scientific, political, ecological or aesthetic understandings of our place and responsibilities in the wider world, we will investigate ideas that continue to inform and guide much contemporary thinking on the social, economic, or environmental challenges of our times, such as, living well, happiness, justice, freedom, knowledge and the power to produce change in the world. We will consider differences in approach, including competing empiricist, rationalist or idealist assumptions that underpin our knowledge claims, as well as the choices that these differences enable and their consequent impact on the public good now and in the future. We will ask: how might an appreciation of the historical emergence of such ideas assist us in reflecting on our responsibilities in relation to the demands of our times?

• Task 1: Critical Reading Exercise 1 (700 words). (20%)
• Task 3: Critical Reading Exercise 2 (700 words). (20%)
• Task 2: On-line Forum Discussion Activities (800 word equivalent) (20%)
• Task 4: Final Essay Assignment (1800 words) (40%)

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