This course will examine works by two of the most challenging philosophers, Kant and Hegel. Kant is one of the most revolutionary figures in philosophy. He was faced with the serious situation that metaphysics was in, where there was endless dispute on some of the most important issues for human reason. Kant addressed this problem in his Critique of Pure Reason. By examining the capacities of reason as a faculty, Kant was able to mediate between the extremes of Empiricism and Rationalism.

Kant's solution, however, placed limitations on the powers of reason that later generations found too confining. Hegel is the greatest of German Idealists, one of those who attempted to transcend these limitations so as to attain Absolute Knowledge. We will examine the Logic from his Encyclopaedia of the Philosophical Sciences to see how Hegel believed philosophical science to be attainable.

This course also counts towards the Foreign Language Department's German Studies Interdisciplinary Minor.

Prerequisites: PHIL 356: Rationalists of the 17^th & 18^th Centuries or PHIL 357: Empiricists of the 17^th & 18^th Centuries

TEXTS:

• Immanuel Kant, Critique of Pure Reason, trans. Werner Pluhar, Hackett Publishers.
• G. W. F. Hegel, The Encyclopaedia Logic, trans. T. F Geraets, W. A. Suchting & H. S. Harris, Hackett Publishers.

GRADING:

• 1 1250-2000 word essay (30%)
• 1 2500-3000 word essay (40%)
• 1 final exam (30%)

ATTENDANCE POLICY:

Students are expected to attend all classes. Students who have 4 absences without documented excuses will have 10% deducted from their final grade, and 10% for every 3 absences thereafter.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY:

East Stroudsburg University demands academic integrity from its students. Any form of academic dishonesty, including (but not limited to) plagiarism or cheating at tests or exams, is a sufficient ground for failure in this course and for further academic discipline.

SPECIAL NOTE TO PHILOSOPHY MAJORS:

Because of the inherent difficulty of the material, this course has the reputation for being the most difficult course in the Philosophy program. It is also a required course for the Philosophy major. Because of the level of difficulty, it is not recommended that this course be taken as an Individual Instruction course. Given these considerations, the student is urged not to make any plans to be away from ESU for whatever reason (time off, study elsewhere, etc.) for the semester of the student's Junior or Senior year in which this course is offered.