Phi 449—Senior Seminar: Kant’s First Critique
Fall 2015—Glen Helman

Instructor: Glen Helman, Assoc. Prof. of Philosophy and Acting Chair

E-mail: helmang@wabash.edu

Office: Center 311, (765) 361-6334

My posted hours currently are 2:30-3:30 on T and 3:10-4:10 on F (but this can change). I usually arrive on campus between 9 and 10 and leave between 5 and 6, and you stand a good chance of finding me in my office whenever I am not teaching. My other classes meet at 2:10 MWF and 1:10 TTh. (While I am in my office most noon hours, the noon hour is also a common time for meetings and other events, as is the afternoon after 4.)

Home: 314 W. Wabash Ave., (765) 362-0428

This is your best bet evenings and weekends, but try my office too.

Cell phone: (765) 366-0791

Texts

In the bookstore:

Immanuel Kant, Critique of Pure Reason, Paul Guyer and Allen Wood, tr. (Cambridge University Press, 1998).

Grading

Requirements:

Writing:

Several papers—

(1)two short papers of 600-900 words, one reporting something you noticed in Kemp Smith’s commentary and another framing an interpretative issue,

(2)a longer paper of 1500-1800 words commenting on the item of secondary literature that you have chosen for class discussion, and

(3)a final paper of c. 4000-5000 words in which you pose and answer a interpretative question in a way that is informed by secondary literature.

Participation:

(4)Regular, prepared, and active participation in class discussion and timely completion of graded assignments.

Your final grade will be based on these in the following way: 7.5% each for the short papers, 15% for the secondary literature comment, 50% for the final paper, and 20% for participation in discussion and other aspects of class participation.

Attendance and due dates:

As part of my evaluation of your participation, I will be keeping a record of your attendance. You will be automatically excused if you notify me in advance that you will miss a class (e-mail or voice-mail messages are fine). After the fact, I will expect you to have a good reason. Due dates for the papers are subject to negotiation. I set a default due date for the class, but I am willing to set individual due dates (within reason) for those who find that inconvenient. My policy on missed deadlines is similar to that on missed classes: I’ll re-negotiate the deadline (again within reason) if I hear in advance; but after the fact, I’ll expect an excuse. Unexcused missed deadlines will have an effect on your participation grade.

Calendar

Calendar. The assignments below are approximate and tentative. (Pages marked ‘A’ and ‘B’ are those in the 1st and 2nd edition, respectively; ‘GW’ indicates pages in the Guyer-Wood translation.)

8/28pref prefaces (A vii–xxii, B vii–xliv; GW 99–124)
8/31intro introduction (B 1–30; GW 136–152)
9/2aesthetic §§1-7 (B 33-58; GW 172–184)
9/4  §8 (B 59–73; GW 185–192)
9/7categories logic & and the table (B 74–116; GW 193–218)
9/9  transcendental deduction, 2nd ed. version (B 116–143; GW 219–226, 245–252)
9/11  B deduction cont’d (B 144–169; GW 253–266)
9/14principles schematism & principles (B 176–197; GW 271–283)
9/16  first analogy (B 197–202, 218–232; GW 283-286, 295–304)
9/18  2nd analogy (B 232–256; GW 304–316)
9/21  refutation of idealism (B 274–294; GW 326–337)
9/23  phenomena and noumena (B 294–315; GW 354–365)
9/25dialectic ideas (B 349–396; GW 384–408)
9/28  paralogisms (B 396–432; GW 409–415, 445–458)
9/30  1st antinomy (B 432–475; GW 459–475)
10/2  3rd & resolution of 1st (B 472–479, 545–551, 556–560; GW 484-489, 525-528, 530-532)
10/5  resolution of 3rd (B 560–586; GW 532–546)
10/7  ideal of pure reason (B 596–619; GW 551-563)
10/9  ontological and cosmological arguments (B 620–648; GW 563–578)
10/12  regulative use of the ideas (B 671–696; GW 590–604)
10/14method canon of pure reason (B 823-859; GW 672–690)
midsemester break
10/19  secondary literature discussion 1
10/21  cont’d
10/23  discussion 2
10/26  cont’d
10/28  discussion 3
10/30  cont’d
11/2  discussion 4
11/4  cont’d
11/6  discussion 5
11/9  cont’d
11/11  discussion 6
11/13  cont’d
11/16  discussion 7
11/18  cont’d
11/20  paper discussion 1
Thanksgiving break
11/30  discussion 2
12/2  discussion 3
12/4  discussion 4
12/7  discussion 5
12/9  discussion 6
12/11  discussion 7