Syllabus
Structure
The module will be entirely dedicated to a careful commentary upon the first four Meditations, in order to follow the manner in which Husserl first introduces the basic phenomenological tools and concepts and then builds up his crucial argument, namely, the one arguing for the “necessity” of the doctrine of transcendental idealism as the one and only coherent position to endorse. Even though our readings and in-class discussions will be mostly based on the English translation (see below for more information), the original German text will be always kept an eye on.
Requirements
Students will be evaluated based upon the following two distinct parameters:
(1) Participation (which includes, yet is not limited to: doing the assignments, attendance, in-class active participation). If you areabsent, please ask some of your classmates for any assignments or key discussion materials missed.
(2) A 2000 Word Final Paper (deadline for submission, prompt and additional information will be provided in due course)
Course Outline
Week 1
General Introduction to the Module
Week 2
Why “Cartesian”? The Need for a New Beginning in Philosophy
(Introduction: §§1-2)
Week 3
The Idea of Rigorous Science and the Problem of Evidence
(Meditation I: §§ 3-6)
Week 4
The Ego and the World
(Meditation I: §§7-9)
Week 5
Intentionality and The Transcendental Subject
(Meditation II: §§12-14)
Week 6
The Notion of Synthesis and the Life of Consciousness
(Meditation II: §§17-22)
Week 7
The Problem of “Constitution”
(Meditation III: §§23-24, 26)
Week 8
The Idea of Evidence and the World
(Meditation III: §§27-29)
Week 9
Ego, Person, Monad: The Threefold Structure of the Subject
(Meditation IV: §§30-33)
Week 10
Reality and Possibility
(Meditation IV: §§34, 36)
Week 11
Possibilities, Con-Possibilities, In-Con-Possibilities: Toward Transcendental Idealism
(Meditation IV: §§ 36-38, 40-41)
Week 12
A Critical Interpretation: Cartesianism and / or Phenomenology?
(J. Patočka, “Cartesianism and Phenomenology” (notably, pp. 285-317))
Week 13
Recapitulation and Closing Evaluations
Annotation
WINTER 2018
Charles University
Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies
(MA Module)
(NB: The course is for philosophy students only.
Students of other subjects need to be accepted to the course)
Daniele De Santis, Ph. D.
Office Hours:
Email: desantis_daniele@yahoo.it
Varieties of Idealism:
Transcendental Idealism in Edmund Husserl’s “Cartesian Meditations”
(Th 9:10-10:45)
Room: P225V 1. General Description and Aims of the Module
Almost the entire development and history of 20th century phenomenology (at least from Heidegger onward) can be described as a vigorous and systematic attempt at breaking once and for all with the “idealistic” doctrine associated with the understanding of “phenomenology” as originally embraced by Husserl. To be more precise: it is very often claimed, against Husserl, that the phenomenological method and the doctrine of “transcendental idealism” are not necessarily tied together, and that the former does not necessarily require the latter. In this specific respect, the Husserlian writing known as Cartesian Meditations represents and provides the best textual basis for introducing, discussing and seriously assessing such crucial and thorny topic.
The Cartesian Meditations (Cartesianische Meditationen), first presented as a series of lectures in 1929 and then published in French in 1931, represent in many respects the “peak” of the speculation of Edmund Husserl, the father of modern phenomenology. In particular, over the course of the first four meditations Husserl not only provides a systematic assessment of all the crucial concepts of his phenomenology (consciousness, intentionality, lived-experience, synthesis, monad, and so on and so forth) but also works out a full-fledged account of “transcendental idealism”, now construed as a “monadological” one. As a consequence, and in line with what has just been explained, the “aim” of the present module is twofold:
(i) On the one hand, it aims at providing a “close-up” reading of the first four meditations so as to introduce students to Husserl’s jargon and the more technical aspects and notions of his philosophy (this being the more analytic goal of the course);
(ii) On the other hand, we want to also offer a clear interpretation of the doctrine of “idealism” as the late Husserl understands it (this standing for the systematic goal of the present module).