PHIL 422.001 – Empiricism

Instructor: Alan Nelson. This course meets R 4:00 – 6:30 p.m. in CW 213.

An intensive study of John Locke’s masterpiece, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding. We will also give some attention to secondary sources and to short readings from Hobbes, Berkeley, and Hume.  Depending on student interest, we might also consider some current trends in empiricist thinking.  Undergraduates will write short reaction papers, a take-home midterm exam, and a final paper of about 3000-4000 words.  Graduate students will write either two papers or else a final paper based on a substantial earlier draft.