'Enlightenment' is a label for an immensely influential European movement that flourished in the eighteenth century. Enlightenment thinkers generally believed in the unity and autonomy of human reason; they were opposed to clericalism and argued for religious toleration. As a form of philosophical thought that emphasises rationality, innovation, intellectual progress, and critique, the enlightenment project is an object of much present-day philosophical debate.

This course will focus on some of the most important philosophical texts from the eighteenth century. It will cover a number of areas: epistemology, philosophy of mind, ethics, philosophy of religion, and aesthetics. Authors to be discussed include John Locke, Christian Wolff, Francis Hutcheson, David Hume, the French philosophes, and Immanuel Kant. Attention will also be given to twentieth century re-examinations and critiques of the Enlightenment project (eg Horkheimer/Adorno, Dialectic of the Enlightenment).

A short Essay[1800 words] (45%), a long essay [2500 words] (45%) and tutorial presentation and participation (15%).

Any two philosophy courses

PHIL2056 The Empiricists and PHIL2055 The Rationalists.

Cassirer, E, The Philosophy of the Enlightenment, Princeton University Press, 1979