Philosophy of History B [ LFILO2291 ]

Basic instruction in the history of philosophy.

The course will attempt to lay out the origin of the concept of a " philosophy of history " by distinguishing it from epistemological questions about the foundations of historical science.

The course will present a historical overview of the evolution of the concept of a philosophy of history.

Next, the course will present some observations on differing interpretations of the concept in order to point out the conflicts that set these interpretations against each other.

On this basis, a more specific debate shall be studied in order to provide an example of the general presentation.

Upon successful completion of the course, the student should :

Be able to identify the major schools of thought in the philosophy of history ;
Know the fundamental concepts associated with those schools of thought ;
Be able to explain briefly the conflicts of interpretation that have resulted within contemporary thought.

Method of Evaluation

The student will be required to present a written work of ten pages taking bearing from the reading of the proposed commentary in the reading file. Having sent this work by mail, the student will in return receive a question on the sent work which he or she has to prepare in readiness for the oral examination.

 Presentation of the question during the oral exam takes the duration of fifteen minutes.

 The written work can be done in French, English, Spanish, or German, in agreement with the Professor.

Specific theme of the course this year:

 The question of the philosophy of history will be tackled from a comparative perspective by treating two trends of thought, one of which is modern, and the other contemporary. This year, German Idealism and Critical Theory will be studied by way of privileging the opposition between material genesis or the objective of history, and transcendental genesis or subjectivity. A particular attention will be devoted to attempts towards transcending this conflict in Freudian Marxism of the Second Generation Frankfurt School, especially in the later Marcuse and in the Althusserian philosophy.

ADORNO, Th. W., Philosophische Frühschriften, in Gesammelte Schriften, Bd. 1, Frankfurt, 1973.

Althusser,L., Pour Marx, Paris, La Découverte, coll. « La Découverte / Poche », 1996.

Balibar, E., La crainte des masses, Politique et philosophie avant et après Marx, Paris, Galilée, 1997.

Balibar, E., Écrits pour Althusser, Paris, La Découverte, 1991.

HORKHEIMER, M., Les débuts de la philosophie de l’histoire bourgeoise, Paris, Payot, 1974.

MARCUSE, H., Culture et société, Paris, Les Éditions de Minuit, 1970.

SCHELLING, F.W.J., Introduction à la Philosophie de la Mythologie, I. Introduction historico-critique ; II. Philosophie rationnelle pure, Paris, Gallimard, 1998.

Compulsory Readings

Two chapter articles, of which at least one is from Althusser or Balibar, and another from Marcuse, Adorno or Horkheimer.