Early Modern Philosophy
Welcome to this course in the history of philosophy, which covers a period in the history of Western philosophy – the 16th to 17th centuries – whose significance for today’s philosophy and for Western cultural history in general can hardly be overstated. See Course Structure for more information!
The course is offered as a standalone 7.5 ECTS course, but it is also one of the modules in Theoretical Philosophy I (30 ECTS) and in the first term of the Bachelor’s Program in Logic, Philosophy, and Mathematics.
Registration
Well before the course starts, an email will be sent to all admitted students with information and instructions. Admitted students are expected to register themselves (online registration).
More about the course content:
Early modern philosophy – sometimes also called classical modern philosophy – begins around the 1500s and extends to the end of the 1700s. This course is an introduction to this period in the history of Western philosophy. It begins with Montaigne's skepticism and ends with Kant's original turn in philosophy, shifting the focus from the objects of experience to experience itself. The course also covers philosophers such as Descartes, Hobbes, Spinoza, Locke, Leibniz, Berkeley, and Hume. Additionally, thinkers like Isaac Newton, Pierre Bayle, Christian Wolff, and Voltaire, as well as female philosophers such as Princess Elizabeth, Mary Astell, Margaret Cavendish, and Anne Conway, will also feature in the course. Some of the classic philosophical problems addressed in the course include external world skepticism, the mind-body problem, primary and secondary qualities, epistemological realism and idealism, mechanism, the existence of God, the problem of evil, and views on humanity, as well as issues related to racism, slavery, and the concepts of masculinity and femininity.
Language of instruction, Autumn 2025: English
Learning platform:
Reading instructions, detailed course planning, etc., will be posted on the course's Athena page. Admitted students who have activated their student accounts and registered for the course will automatically be participants on the course's Athena page.
Intended learning outcomes and grading scale: See the course syllabus.
Teaching Format
The course will be taught through lectures and seminar discussions. See the course syllabus for attendance requirements.
Assessment
The course will be examined through a written exam.
Examiner
Instructor/Examiner for Autumn 2025: Miira Tuominen.
Student Office
Director of Studies Mattias Högström mattias.hogstrom@philosophy.su.se
Study Councelling studievagledning@philosophy.su.se
Teacher: Henrik Lagerlund henrik.lagerlund@philosophy.su.se
