Study the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality and existence.

What a century! There are so many towering intellects to choose from it is difficult to decide who has had the most impact on the twentieth and twenty-first century. Marx utterly transformed political theory and political reality; Darwin’s evolutionary theory has affected almost every area of science and social theory; and even if Freud’s theory of the unconscious is objectively a ‘fiction’, it became one of the most powerful subjective realties of self understanding. We will discuss these theorists, and cover the beginnings of Existentialism, Mill’s contribution to political theory, and the novels of Eliot and Dostoyevsky.

Outcomes

By the end of this course, you should be able to:

• discuss the intellectual history of the 19th Century
• name and describe the individual theories of the main philosophers of the 19th Century
• identify the causes of the significant shifts which took place in the 19th Century
• discuss the impact of the 19th Century on the 20th and 21st Century.

Content

Introduction to the Nineteenth Century

We commence with an overview of the course content.

J. S. Mill (1806-1873) Mill and modernism

In the last twenty years Mill’s philosophy has grown in importance compared to other theories of social and political life. We will study his psychology, moral science, political economy and his views on women. Text: On Liberty (J.S. Mill, 1859).

Mill on utilitarianism

Utilitarianism is one of the most powerful tools for making social and political judgements; the problem is that it appears seductively simple: we need to consider if this theory meets the needs of a complex, global world.

Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855)

We will investigate the nature of ‘faith’ and its relation to ethics. Kierkegaard uses Biblical stories such as Abraham’s sacrifice of his son to give an arena in which to examine ethical responsibility: is it ethical ever to give judgement to another, even if that other is God? Text: Fear and Trembling (S. Kierkegaard, 1986).

Soren Kierkegaard and existentialism

Kierkegaard provides an odd beginning to existentialism in that most subsequent existentialists were atheistic; however the ‘existential angst’ of human existence is central to his ideas, and freedom to choose one’s essence the core of being human.

Karl Marx (1818-1883)

Don’t give up on Marx just yet! In the last few years some notable thinkers have reassessed Marx’s ideas for the contemporary world; we will consider some of these new approaches.

Emerson’s nature and transcendental poetry.

We will consider Emerson on the issue of how humans ‘understand’ nature, and how language functions as a creative entity.

Charles Darwin (1809-1882)

Darwin is not a philosopher, but his ideas had profound philosophical implications. One way of seeing the philosophy in the ideas is to study them through the work of philosophers such as G.E. Moore (1903) who is one of the first to understand the impact of evolution on moral philosophy. Text: The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex (C. Darwin, 1871).

Sigmund Freud (1850-1939)

Even if Freud’s theory of the unconscious is objectively a ‘fiction’ it became one of the most powerful subjective realties of self understanding. Text: Three Essays of the Theory of Sexuality (S. Freud, 1949).

Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Texts: The Idiot (F. Dostoyevsky, 1869) and Crime and Punishment (F. Dostoyevsky, 1866).

Intended audience

Anyone with a general interest in philosophy and the course themes.

Delivery style

Lecture/seminar

Materials

Course notes are distributed electronically using Dropbox.

Recommended reading

• Darwin, C., 1871, The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex, London, UK.
• Dostoyevsky F., 1866, Crime and Punishment, The Russian Messenger.
• Dostoyevsky F., 1869, The Idiot, The Russian Messenger.
• Freud, S., 1949, Three Essays of the Theory of Sexuality, Imago Publ. Co.
• Kierkegaard, S., 1986, Fear and Trembling, Penguin UK.
• Mill, J.S., 1859, On Liberty, Longmans.