UCL - Advanced Studies in Metaphysics

[FILO2250]

[30h] 5 credits

This course is taught in the 2d semester.

Teacher(s): Olivier Depré, Gilbert Gérard, Marc Maesschalck

Language: French

Level: Second

Aims
Main themes
Content and teaching methods
Other information (prerequisite, evaluation (assessment methods), course materials recommended readings, ...)

Aims

Upon completion the student will be able to :

Define major concepts employed by German idealist philosophers;
Explain various philosophical methods that differentiate one philosopher from another ;
Interpret in general terms some famously difficult passages with the help of reading hints furnished in the course.

Main themes

The course will be devoted to a major theme in German idealism, and refer to a text or set of texts judged particularly good illustrations of that theme. Beyond the exegetical approach required by this type of text and its contextualisation within the systematic development of a given major work, the course will attempt to illuminate the role played by the particular theme studied in the works of various German idealist philosophers insofar as it leads to differences between their positions.

Content and teaching methods

The course is devoted to the thorough analysis of metaphysical questions.
Its content changes every time it is organised (the course is biennial).
The method it is using is to start from the reading and the commentary of
one or some texts concerning the selected subject, so as to come to a
discussion about it.

Other information (prerequisite, evaluation (assessment methods), course materials recommended readings, ...)

Prerequisites :

Basic instruction in the history of modern philosophy ;
Reading knowledge of German sufficient at least to allow the identification of the key concepts in the original texts. Advanced reading knowledge of German, while helpful, is not a strict requirement.