24.01
Classics of Western Philosophy
Introduction to Western philosophical tradition through the study of selected major thinkers such as Plato, Aristotle, Lucretius, Descartes, Hobbes, Leibniz, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, Kant, Nietzsche and Marx. Emphasis on changes of intellectual outlook over time, and the complex interplay of scientific, religious and political concerns that influence the development of philosophical ideas.
Spring 2016
Topics
- First class
- Socrates and the Law
- Elenchus
- Akrasia & Pragmatic Paradox
- Knowledge and Learning
- The Soul in Plato
- The Soul in Aristotle
- Happiness
- Virtue
- Skepticism
- Cogito
- Existence of God
- Distinction between Mind and Body
- Intelligent Matter
- Empiricism
- Induction
- Causation
- The Good Will
- Hypothetical and Categorical Imperatives
- Hypothetical and Categorical Imperatives (Cont.)
- Utilitarianism
- Women’s Rights?
- Slavery
- Double Consciousness
- Transcendence
- Last class
Readings
- [D] = Descartes, René. Discourse on Method and Meditations on First Philosophy . 4th ed. Translated by Donald A. Cress. Hackett Publishing Company, 1999. ISBN: 9780872204201.
- [H] = Hume, David. An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding . 2nd ed. Hackett, 2012. ISBN: 9780872202290.
- [PV] = Pojman, Louis P., and Lewis Vaughn. Classics of Philosophy . 3rd ed. Oxford University Press, 2010. ISBN: 9780199737291.
- SES #: 1 · TOPICS: First class · READINGS: None
- 8 · Happiness · [PV] “Nichomachean Ethics: Book I” (especially chapters 1 and 7–8).
- 9 · Virtue · [PV] “Nichomachean Ethics: Book II” (especially chapter 6).
- 21 · Utilitarianism · Mill, John Stuart. Chapters 2 and 4 in Utilitarianism . 4th ed. Edited by Longmans, Green, Reader, and Dyer. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2013. ISBN: 9781492144090.
- 22 · Women’s Rights? · ———. Chapters 1–2 in The Subjection of Women . 1st ed. Edited by Longmans, Green, Reader, and Dyer. Nabu Press, 2010. ISBN: 9871172450848.
- ———. “Book 2: Of Slavery.” Chapter 5 in Principles of Political Economy with Some of Their Applications to Social Philosophy . Edited by William J. Ashley. Adamant Media Corporation, 2001. ISBN: 9780543794505.
- W. E. B. DuBois (1868–1963)
- Simone de Beauvoir (1908–1986)
- 25 · Transcendence · Beauvoir, Simone de, Constance Borde, and Sheila Malovany-Chevallier. The Second Sex . Vintage, 2011, pp. 23–29. ISBN: 9780307277787.
Prerequisites & course information
Prereq: None U (Fall) 3-0-9 units. HASS-H; CI-H
Sources
- Course catalogue ↗2026–2027
- MIT OpenCourseWare ↗Spring 2016
- MIT OCW syllabus ↗
- MIT OCW calendar ↗
- MIT OCW readings ↗
- Historical MIT OpenCourseWare offering. Named reading entries and schedule topics are automatically extracted from the linked source pages.