Jacksonville, Illinois 62650
Fall Semester, 2000
Philosophy 401
Senior Phenomenology Seminar
Meeting Time: T Th 12:35-1:50
Required
Texts
ISBN
1. Moral, D. Introduction
to Phenomenology. Routledge,
2000. 0415183731
2. Derrida, J. Husserl’s
Origin of Geometry. U. Nebraska, 1989. 0803265808
3. Heidegger, M. Being and Time. SUNY Press, 1993. 0791426785
4. Heidegger, M. Basic
Writings. Harper San Francisco,
rev. 1993. 0060637633
5. Gadamer, H-G. Truth
and Method. Continuum, 1989 rev.
trans. 0826405851
Reading assignments not contained in the above texts will be available
in the library on reserve or as handouts.
Facilitator: Richard E. Palmer
Emeritus Professor of Philosophy and Religion
MacMurray
College,
Jacksonville, IL 62650
Office: Norris Academic Bldg,
446 East State, Room 402
e-mail address: richard.palmer@mac.edu
Web
page: www.mac.edu/faculty/richardpalmer
Philosophy of the Seminar
This
is not a “lecture course” but a seminar. As such, it will focus on discussion
and on questions asked in class over the terminology and intentions of the
reading. Normally, we will not address
material about which there is not a question from members of the seminar—something
they want to know. The assigned reading
is the “lecture.” The seminar is the discussion
of the lecture. Write out your
questions, mark passages you would like to discuss in class. Although you have only one specific
assignment in the the secondary resource on phenomenology, it will provide you
throughout the semester with valuable biographical background and with clear
explanations of the key concepts in each philosopher. You are encouraged to consult it when you want to know more about
the background of the philosopher or about key concepts.
This
is not a graduate level seminar such as you would find in Germany. Such a seminar in Heidelberg, for instance,
would spend a semester on one text by one philosopher. I recall one such seminar, on Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit, where, under
Professor Gadamer’s leadership, we spent a semester on the first four sections,
omitting the introduction. I have to
admit that he did a great deal of the talking in commentary on the text. Another seminar by Professor Gadamer, on
Heidegger’s Letter on Humanism, got
only one third of the way through the text!
The first two paragraphs took two meetings. And a seminar I took led by Konrad Kramer, on Heidegger’s Being and Time, spent a whole semester
on the first few sections of that masterwork.
The present seminar will look at only a few essential texts by three
major thinkers: Husserl, Heidegger, and Gadamer. We will struggle together with the works of each thinker for
about four weeks and then ask you for an exam or paper. So you would be well advised to come to each
class meeting prepared to discuss the text at hand, seeking to be active
learners, absorbing as much as you can.
Reading Assignments
Unit 1: Husserl and Derrida
Week #1
Aug.
29 T Organizational Meeting
31
Th Moran, Introduction to Phenomenology, pp. 1-22.
Week #2
Sept. 5
T Husserl, Britannica article (1928), “Phenomenology,”
Part I, pp. 159-171 (in handout). Moran, pp. 124-142.
7 Th Husserl, Britannica article, pp. 171-179.
Moran, pp. 142-163.
Week #3
Sept.
12 T Husserl, “The Origin of Geometry,” pp. 157-180 in Derrida,
Husserl’s Origin of Geometry: An Introduction.
14 Th Derrida, Introduction to
Husserl’s OG, pp. 25-57.
Week #4
Sept. 19 T Derrida, Introduction to Husserl’s OG,
pp. 58-90.
21 Th
Derrida, Introduction to
Husserl’s OG, pp. 91-121.
Week #5
Sept.
26 T Derrida, Introduction to Husserl’s OG, pp. 122-153.
28 Th Exam over Husserl and Derrida.
Unit 2: Heidegger and Sartre
Week #6
Oct.
3 T Heidegger, Being and
Time, sections 1-7, pp. 1-35.
5 Th Heidegger, Being and Time,
sections 31-33, pp. 134-150.
Possible field trip to the
annual meeting of the Society for
Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy at Penn State U., State College,
PA, Oct. 5-7.
Week #7
Oct. 10 T
Heidegger, Being and Time,
section 44, pp. 196-211.
12
Th Heidegger, “The Origin of the Work of Art,”
in Basic Writings,
pp. 139-176 (first half)
Week #8
Oct. 17
T Heidegger, “The Origin of
the Work of Art,” BW, pp. 177-212.
19 Th FALL
BREAK (I will go to Budapest to present a paper.)
Week #9
Oct. 24 T No
class meeting (I will be in Heidelberg, Germany, conferring
with
Prof. Gadamer). Read Sartre, “Existentialism is a Humanism.”
26 Th Read Sartre, “No Exit.” In class, discuss both “Existentialism is a
Humanism” and “No Exit.” If necessary, we will schedule an
extra make-up meeting to cover Sartre.
Week #10
Oct. 31 T
Heidegger, “Letter on Humanism,” Basic
Writings, pp. 213-239.
Nov. 2
Th Heidegger, “Letter on
Humanism,” BW, pp. 240-265.
Week #11
Nov. 7 T
Finish discussion of Heidegger “Letter on Humanism.”
Review Heidegger, Sartre, Husserl. No reading assignment.
Nov. 9
Th Heidegger paper to be presented in class and discussed.
Unit 3: Gadamer
Week #12
Nov. 14
T Gadamer, Truth and Method, pp. xxi-xxxviii,
89-144.
16 Th Gadamer, Truth and Method,
pp. 265-311.
Thanksgiving Recess, Nov.
18-26
Week #13
Nov. 28 T
Gadamer, Truth and Method,
pp. 312-379.
30 Th Gadamer, Truth and Method,
pp. 438-491.
Week #14
Dec. 5
T Gadamer, “The Relevance of
the Beautiful,” pp. xi-xxi, 3-31.
7 Th Gadamer, “The Relevance of the Beautiful,”
pp. 31-53.
Week #15
Dec. 12
T Gadamer, Conversations 1 and
5 of Gadamer in Conversation
(forthcoming from Yale
University Press in 2001)
14 Th Gadamer
paper presented in class. Final Class Meeting.
Discussion of Final Exam: Which will involve
definition of Key Terms, plus essay questions.
Dec. 16 S Reading Day
Dec. 18 M
Final Examinations begin.
List
of Primary Source Texts
Unit 1: Husserl and Derrida
Husserl, Britannica article,
“Phenomenology” 1 week
Husserl, The Origin of Geometry .5 week 4.5 weeks
Derrida,Intro to Husserl’s Origin of Geometry 2 weeks
Husserl/Derrida Exam .5 week
Unit 2: Heidegger and Sartre
Heidegger, Being and Time 1.5 weeks
Heidegger, The Origin of a Work of Art
1 week
Sartre, Existentialism is a Humanism/No Exit 1 week 5 weeks
Heidegger, Letter on Humanism
1 week
Heidegger research paper presented in
class .5 week
Unit 3: Gadamer
Gadamer, Truth and Method
2 weeks
Gadamer, The Relevance of the Beautiful 1 week
4 weeks
Gadamer
in Conversation (prepublication) .5
week
Gadamer research paper presented in class .5 week
Total time for seminar 14.5 weeks
Weighting of
Grades
Husserl/Derrida Exam - 20%
Heidegger/Sartre Paper -
25%
Gadamer Paper -
25%
Final Exam - 20%
Participation Rating - 10%
A deficient Husserl exam may be made up by supplementary reading in Existentialism verified by an oral interview. A missed, late, or weak paper on Heidegger or Gadamer may be replaced by an oral or written exam over the unit.