| CODE | PHI2029 | ||||||
| TITLE | Early Modern Ideas: Science, Politics and Religion | ||||||
| UM LEVEL | 02 - Years 2, 3 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 5 | ||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Philosophy | ||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit introduces students to thinkers and ideas of the early modern period (c. 1500–1650). Overlapping with what is sometimes referred to as Renaissance philosophy, it examines the emergence of new scientific, political and religious ideas that shaped modernity. Special attention will be given to philosophers who are not usually included in the canon of Anglophone history of philosophy, which often neglects the period between the Middle Ages and Descartes. The unit also looks at the philosophical elements in the works of luminaries such as Galileo, the contribution by women writers of the period, and the intellectual correspondence network known as the respublica literaria (the ‘Republic of Letters’). Methodologically, this unit introduces students to the methods of intellectual history, which lies at the interface between philosophy and history (including the philosophy and history of science and religion, and the history of political thought). Past ideas are examined with reference to their cultural, political, social, scientific, religious and scientific contexts, as well as to the biographies and relationships of their originators. Although this unit is not strictly text-based, its contextual approach is intended to encourage a more meaningful engagement with early modern texts. Study-unit Aims: The unit aims to introduce students to (a) key figures and themes in early modern philosophy and intellectual history, and (b) techniques and methodologies in intellectual history. Students will also be guided to analyze, articulate and present aspects of key philosophical debates in the early modern period. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the study-unit students will be able to: - consolidate their earlier knowledge of modern philosophy by placing it within its broader historical and cultural context; - engage critically with primary texts in early modern philosophy and intellectual history; - analyze more closely early modern texts and; - appreciate different methodologies applied to the study of early modern philosophy and intellectual history; - identify and review relevant secondary literature concerning specific authors and/or themes in early modern philosophy and intellectual history. 2. Skills By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - identify and reflect upon key concepts and debates in the early modern philosophy; - read analytically and critically a selection of texts in early modern philosophy; - engage in meaningful discussions on the main themes covered in the unit; - present coherent arguments related to topics early modern intellectual history and philosophy and their bearing on contemporary ideas; - write an assignment on a specific author/theme/text of the early modern period. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: A selection of primary and secondary texts, and other resources, will be indicated during lectures. Students will be assigned a primary text for the purpose of their assignment. Background reading: Essential: - Grafton, Anthony, ‘The History of Ideas: Precept and Practice, 1950-2000 and Beyond,’ Journal of the History of Ideas, 67 (2006), 1-32. - Skinner, Quentin Skinner, ‘Meaning and Understanding in the History of Ideas,’ History and Theory, 8 (1969), 1-53. Suggested: - Blum, Paul Richard, Philosophers of the Renaissance. Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 2010. - Copenhaver, Brian P., and Charles B. Schmitt. Renaissance Philosophy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992. - Rutherford, Donald (ed.) The Cambridge Companion to Early Modern Philosophy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006. - Whatmore, Richard, What is Intellectual History? Cambridge-Malden, MA: Polity, 2016. Further reading: - Grafton, Anthony. Defenders of the Text: The Traditions of Scholarship in an Age of Science, 1450- 1800. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1991. - De Lucca, Jean-Paul. ‘Un fiume piccolissimo di quel mare immenso’: Universalism, Navigation and the Rethinking of the Mediterranean in Campanella’, Mediterranea – International Journal on the Transfer of Knowledge, 2 (2017), 17-39. - Fumaroli, Marc. The Republic of Letters. Trans. L. Vergnaud. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2018. - Grant, Edward, A History of Natural Philosophy: From the Ancient World to the Nineteenth Century. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007. - Hannam, James, God’s Philosophers. How the Medieval World Laid the Foundations of Modern Science. London: Icon, 2009.Tierney, Brian. The Idea of Natural Rights: Studies on Natural Rights, Natural Law, and Church Law, 1150-1625. Atlanta, Georgia: Scholars Press, 1997. - Kraye, Jill. Cambridge Translations of Renaissance Philosophical Texts. 2 vols. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997. - Nederman, Cary J. "Empire and the Historiography of European Political Thought: Marsilio of Padua, Nicholas of Cusa, and the Medieval/Modern Divide." Journal of the History of Ideas 66 (2005): 1-15. - Sorrell, Tom; Rogers, G.A., and Kraye, Jill (eds), Scientia in Early Modern Philosophy: Seventeenth-Century Thinkers on Demonstrative Knowledge from First Principles. Dordrecht: Springer, 2010. - Yates, Frances A. Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1964. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Seminar | ||||||
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| LECTURER/S | Jean-Paul De Lucca |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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