Modern Thought (20019) 

Degree/study: Degree in Humanities
Year: 2nd
Term: 2nd
Number of ECTS credits: 4 credits
Hours of studi dedication: 100 hours
Teaching language or languages: Spanish 
Teaching Staff:

Antonino Firenze (G.2), Jacobo Zábalo (G.1). E-mail addresses: [email protected] 

1. Presentation of the subject

This course consists on a historical and philosophical approximation to some of the main topics dealt with in modern thought. The subject will range from Humanism to Enlightenment. The course is structured in ten units which are intended to give a vision of historical and methodological aspects. The main philosophical movements of modernity will be studied both through a gnoseological perspective (Humanism, Renaissance, Rationalism, Empiricism, Kantan Criticism) and through an ethical and political perspective (Iusnaturalism, Absolutism, Liberalism, Democratic Contractualism, Enlightenment). The course consists on both plenary sessions and seminar sessions. Students will have to read and interpret guided texts which are fundamental in the modern philosophy tradition. It is advisable for students to take the course Ancient and Medieval Thought before enrolling in Modern Thought.

Class schedule details: Tuesday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.

2. Competences to be attained

General competences

Specific competences

1. Analysis and synthesis skills.  2. Planning and organising skills.  3. Oral and written communication skills.  4. Teamwork skills. º5. Analytical mind.  6. Ethical compromise.  7. Autonomous learning skills.  8. Capacity to adapt to new situations.  9. Motivation for quality.

1. Selecting and consulting specific bibliography of the philosophical tradition.  2. Being able to organise, plan and develop an analytical discourse about a text. 3. Being able to comment on philosophical texts. This will entail analysing them, establishing connections, indentifying key aspects, relating them to secondary ideas and understanding their meaning. 4. Being precise in the use of technical terminology and philosophical concepts. 5. Capacity to judge and argue the value or meaning of the studied teachings belonging to different schools of thought. 6. Capacity to relate an author's point of view with those of his or her predecessors, opponents or followers, as well as with later trends of thought. 7. Capacity to set the text in its historical and cultural context and to describe the conception of the world that the authors had in connection to the one that was prevalent during their time. 8. Capacity to structure and reproduce the knowledge acquired both in oral and written language. 9. Capacity to express and justify opinions both in oral and written language.

3. Contents

Block 1: 

• Unit 1: Humanism

• Unit 2: Renaissance

• Unit 3: Rationalism

• Unit 4: Empiricism

• Unit 5: Kantian criticism  

 

Block 2: 

• Unit 1: Iusnaturalism

• Unit 2: Absolutism

• Unit 3: Liberalism

• Unit 4: Democratic Contractualism  

• Unit 5: Enlightenment         

 

*The full version with the sections 4. Assessment, 5. Bibliography and teaching resources, 6. Methodology and 7. Planning of activities is available in the original version.

 

4. Assessment

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5. Bibliography and teaching resources

5.1. Basic bibliography

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5.2. Complementary bibliography

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5.3. Teaching resources

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6. Metodology

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7. Planning of activities

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