The aim of this module is to introduce students to some of the key thinkers, debates and developments in post-Kantian German philosophy. These thinkers have shaped the tradition of Continental philosophy, one of the two major strands within modern Western philosophy. Philosophers studied may include Immanuel Kant, J.G. Fichte, Friedrich Schelling, G.W.F. Hegel, Ludwig Feuerbach, Karl Marx, Arthur Schopenhauer, Friedrich Nietzsche, Edmund Husserl, Martin Heidegger, Hans-Georg Gadamer, Hannah Arendt, Theodor Adorno, Jürgen Habermas, or Axel Honneth.

The module will typically concentrate on two to three of these philosophers, analysing their ideas in detail. This will allow us to draw out the ways in which they respond to the problems bequeathed by their predecessors, develop their own positions in conversation with each other, and contribute to and criticise various philosophical “research programmes.” Depending on the selection of thinkers in a particular year, the module may focus on philosophical research programmes such as German idealism (Kant and Hegel), historical materialism (Marx and Adorno), phenomenology (Husserl and Heidegger), or critical theory (Adorno, Habermas, Honneth).   

The module will touch on themes such as the nature of human freedom, the foundations of morality, history and social change, differing interpretations of the subject, democracy, art and aesthetics, religion and reason, and the role of philosophy itself. 

• Demonstrate knowledge and critical understanding of the doctrines and arguments of post-Kantian German philosophers.
• Critically analyse, interpret and evaluate complex concepts and arguments.
• Refine and make use of conceptual understanding in order to address problems that have limited definition, e.g. Hegel’s critique of Kant’s deontological ethics in terms of the distinction between moralität and sittlichkeit.

(See “Level Descriptors – Level 6,” Credit and Qualifications Framework for Wales, January 2009.)

This 20 credit module will be taught through ten two hour lectures and ten one hour seminars. Lectures will introduce students to an aspect of a particular philosopher’s work. Seminars will take the form of discussion sessions led by a member of staff or discussion sessions where students work independently in small groups. They will focus on a particular text (e.g. Kant’s Religion within the Boundaries of Mere Reason) or a particular problem or argument (e.g. Hegel’s master / slave dialectic).

This module will be taught using printed books and also using journal articles which are available online (e.g. via Learning Central) or from the library. Timetabled sessions will be supplemented with written material in the form of a detailed summary of the session content and a list of further reading. This supplementary material will be provided on Learning Central and/or will be projected during the sessions using PowerPoint. Any supplementary material in a permanent form (e.g. a paper handout or downloadable document) will be made available on Learning Central at least 24 hours before the session.

Still images or diagrams will be used in this module as an occasional supplement to illustrate points which are also presented verbally (e.g. in text or by means of a caption).

Sound, video and other multi-media resources are not used in this module.

Students will practise and develop the following skills:

• the ability to describe several main theories
• the ability to critically assess the main strengths and weaknesses of these theories 
• the ability to extract material relevant to a particular problem from a body of literature
• the ability to interpret texts and to understand texts in the context of a tradition of thought
• the ability to interpret philosophical texts and to assess their historical and contemporary relevance
• the ability to work independently

Transferable / Employability Skills:

It is worth bearing in mind that, even though the point of the module is to do philosophy, many of the skills you’ll be developing are also highly valued by graduate employers. These include:

• Critical Thinking: e.g. the ability to understand, structure and critically evaluate the key points and arguments made in written texts and discussions––achieved through e.g. reading, small group activities in lectures and seminars, plenary discussions in seminars, reflecting on lecture materials, essay and exam preparation and writing.
• Communication: the ability to formulate and articulate your critical thinking, both orally and on paper, in ways that others can grasp and engage with––achieved through e.g. small group work in seminars, seminar discussions, essay/exam writing.
• Organisation: the ability to organise and coordinate workloads––achieved through balancing e.g. reading, seminar preparation, essay/exam preparation.
• Working with others: e.g. co-constructing ideas, responding sensitively to others––achieved through e.g. small group work in seminars, group presentations.

The module will be assessed by two essays of 2,000 words.

This module is assessed according to the Marking Criteria set out in the Philosophy Course Guide. There are otherwise no academic or competence standards which limit the availability of adjustments or alternative assessments for students with disabilities.

Note that the syllabus content of this module is liable to change, depending on which philosophers are its focus. The following syllabus is for a version of the module focusing on Kant and Hegel.

Indicative schedule of topics, by semester week:

1. Introduction – setting the stage for Kant’s Copernican revolution in philosophy.
2. Kant (I) Transcendental idealism.
3. Kant (II) The moral law – Kant’s deontological ethics and political theory.
4. Kant (III) Art, the Sublime, and the Summum Bonum – Kant’s aesthetics and philosophy of religion.
5. Fichte – the I and the world.
6. Schelling – nature and history.
7. Hegel (I) Spirit and dialectic – Hegel’s metaphysics.
8. Hegel (II) Philosophy of history and political theory.
9. Hegel (III) Art, philosophy and God – Hegel’s aesthetics and philosophy of religion.  
10. After Hegel – from idealism to materialism.

(Selections from primary texts will be made available to students.)

Rüdiger Bubner (ed.), German Idealist Philosophy (Penguin, 1997)

Immanuel Kant, Critique of Pure Reason (Cambridge University Press, 2009)

Immanuel Kant, Critique of Practical Reason, in Practical Philosophy (Cambridge University Press, 2008)

Immanuel Kant, Critique of the Power of Judgement (Cambridge University Press, 2009)

Immanuel Kant, Religion within the Bound of Mere Reason, in Religion and Rational Theology (Cambridge University Press, 2005)

Immanuel Kant, Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, in Practical Philosophy (Cambridge University Press, 2008)

Immanuel Kant, Toward Perpetual Peace, in Practical Philosophy (Cambridge University Press, 2008)

J.G. Fichte, Introductions to the Wissenschaftslehre and Other Writings (Hackett Publishing, 1994)

Friedrich Schelling, The Ages of the World (SUNY Press, 2000)

G.W.F. Hegel, Phenomenology of Spirit (Oxford University Press, 1977)

G.W.F. Hegel, The Science of Logic (Cambridge University Press, 2015)

G.W.F. Hegel, Elements of the Philosophy of Right (Cambridge University Press, 2011)

G.W.F. Hegel, The Difference between Fichte and Schelling’s System of Philosophy (SUNY Press, 1988)

G.W.F. Hegel, Early Theological Writings (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1971)

Karl Ameriks (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to German Idealism (Cambridge University press, 2000)

Frederick Beiser, Hegel (Routledge 2005)

Frederick Beiser (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Hegel and Nineteenth-Century Philosophy (Cambridge University Press, 2008)

Henk de Berg and Duncan Large (eds.), Modern German Thought from Kant to Habermas: An Annotated German-Language Reader (Camden House, 2012)

Andrew Bowie, Introduction to German Philosophy: From Kant to Habermas (Polity Press, 2003)

Andrew Bowie, Schelling and Modern European Philosophy: An Introduction (Routledge, 1993)

Howard Caygill, A Kant Dictionary (Blackwell, 1995)

Brian O’Connor and Georg Mohr, German Idealism: An Anthology and Guide (Edinburgh University Press, 2006)

Michael N. Forster and Kristin Gjesdal (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of German Philosophy in the Nineteenth Century (Oxford University Press, 2015)

Paul Gorner, Twentieth-Century German Philosophy (Oxford University press, 2000)

Paul Guyer, Kant (Routledge, 2006)

Anthony O’Hear (ed.), German Philosophy since Kant (Royal Institute of Philosophy Supplements) (Cambridge University Press, 2010)

Thomas E. Hill (ed.), The Blackwell Guide to Kant’s Ethics (Blackwell, 2009)

M.J. Inwood, A Hegel Dictionary (Blackwell, 1992)

Dudley Knowles, The Routledge Handbook to Hegel and the Philosophy of Right (Routledge, 2002)

Terry Pinkard, German Philosophy 1760-1860: The Legacy of Idealism (Cambridge University Press, 2002)

Robert Pippin, Hegel’s Practical Philosophy: Rational Agency as Ethical Life (Cambridge University Press, 2008)

Sally Sedgewick, Hegel’s Critique of Kant (Oxford University Press, 2012)

Charles Taylor, Hegel (Cambridge University Press, 1975)

Allen W. Wood, Kant’s Ethical Thought (Cambridge University Press, 1999)

Allen W. Wood, Kant (Blackwell, 2005)