From One to Many: Theories of the Individual in Seventeenth-Century Thought

  • What makes something an individual, and what distinguishes one individual from another? This course explores how seventeenth-century philosophers approached these questions across metaphysics, epistemology, moral philosophy, and political thought. We begin with metaphysical theories of individuals, asking what makes something a distinct, unified being and what accounts for differences between individuals. What is the nature of an individual, and how do individuals relate to one another? We then examine how early modern thinkers understood the status of the knower and the process of acquiring knowledge. Is knowledge always tied to individual minds, or can groups also count as knowers? What qualifies as a genuine process of knowing, and how does it depend on the nature of the subject involved? Finally, we examine how these metaphysical and epistemological ideas shaped early modern views on moral responsibility, individual rights, and the nature of the state. Throughout the course, we trace how early modern debates about the individual continue to shape our understanding of personhood, knowledge, and political community.

  • This is an advanced course in the history of modern philosophy. As a philosophy course, we will examine the philosophical positions and arguments our philosophers offer. As a history of philosophy course, we will engage in the sympathetic reconstruction of our philosophers’ positions and arguments; this will require that we take into consideration their philosophical motives and intellectual context. Successful completion of this course will enable you to:

    • understand central debates in early modern metaphysics, moral and political philosophy, and epistemology, especially those concerning the concept of the individual.

    • improve your ability to articulate, analyze, evaluate, and criticize philosophical arguments in discussion and writing.

    • develop your skills in a cooperative philosophical discussion that aims at the shared goal of better understanding the texts, positions, and arguments.

    • develop your research skills through the writing of a research paper.

    • Attendance: We meet twice a week, but each time we focus on different topics. If you miss class, you will miss some critical discussions, and the rest of us will miss your contributions. That said, I realize that even the most diligent students have to miss a class on occasion due to illness or some other emergency. Please notify me if you have such an issue.

    • Participation: While there will most likely be a lecture component in every class meeting, your discussion will also drive each meeting to a significant degree. So, your participation constitutes a significant portion of your course grade. Active participation includes things like attentively listening, asking questions, offering supporting evidence for someone’s claim, and even clarifying what someone else has said. Of course, not everyone is equally comfortable talking in front of the class. If that is you, then talk with me, and we will work on ways to help you participate in class but potentially also outside of class.

    • Preparation: Because participation in discussion is central to this course, it is important that you come to the class prepared: carefully read the required texts, take notes on them, and formulate questions about them for the discussion.

    • Weekly Online Correspondence: To help you prepare for the course and review course materials after it, you will participate weekly online discussions with your classmates. You will be divided into two groups. Group 1 will post a thought-provoking question about the reading due by 5 p.m. on [The Day Before the Class]. The question should be well-developed based on the primary text: cite or quote the relevant text, state the question, explain why the question seems important to answer, and perhaps suggest possible ways to answer the question. Group 2 will post a considered response to one or more of Group 1’s posts by 9 a.m. on [The Days After the Class]. OPTION: Group 1 may, if it likes, get together to construct a single group question for Group 2. And Group 2 can, if it likes, get together to construct a single group answer for Group 1.

    • Term Paper: You will write a research paper of around 18 double-spaced pages due by 9 p.m. on [Due Day]. Writing a research paper is a process that includes exploring the field and literature, identifying an appropriately focused topic, gathering suitable secondary literature, creating an annotated bibliography, formulating a thesis, gathering evidence and counterevidence for your thesis, drafting the paper, consulting with others, and rewriting your paper. To assist you in the process, you will have a set of weekly tasks to complete during the second half of the course.

    • Roundtable Presentation: At the end of each unit, we will hold a roundtable discussion session in place of our regular class meetings. These sessions are an opportunity to explore key questions raised in the unit, share ideas for further research, and prepare for your term paper. You are expected to participate in all three roundtable sessions and to present in one of them. Your presentation should be no longer than 6 minutes, focusing on a question or argument that you are interested in pursuing further. This could be an interpretation of a text, a tension between thinkers, or a philosophical issue raised in class. In addition to presenting, you should actively engage with the discussion during the sessions you are not presenting. To help foster a productive exchange, all presenters must upload a presentation outline (1–2 pages) to the course website at least 24 hours before the session, allowing everyone to review it in advance.

  • See the Syllabus