6 ECTS credits
150 h study time

Offer 2 with catalog number 4015446FNR for all students in the 1st semester at a (F) Master - specialised level.

Semester
1st semester
Enrollment based on exam contract
Impossible
Grading method
Grading (scale from 0 to 20)
Can retake in second session
Yes
Taught in
Dutch
Partnership Agreement
Under interuniversity agreement for degree program
Faculty
Faculty of Languages & Humanities
Department
History, Archaeology, Arts, Philosophy and Ethics
Educational team
Sonja Lavaert (course titular)
Activities and contact hours
26 contact hours Lecture
144 contact hours Independent or External Form of Study
Course Content

In this seminar we approach the issue of the Enlightenment and its actuality by reading, analyzing and discussing exemplary source texts structured by particular themes. It concerns texts of the historical Enlightenment and contemporary interpretations. The following themes are discussed: What is Enlightenment? (Kant, Mendelssohn, Foucault); Dialectic of the Enlightenment? (Horkheimer & Adorno); Radical Enlightenment (Spinoza, Traité des trois imposteurs); Freedom of thought and speech versus tolerance (Spinoza, Locke); Prejudices (Kant, Jaucourt, D’Holbach); Miracles (Hume, Spinoza); Evil (Bayle, Leibniz, Kant, Hume); Materialism, naturalism and freedom (D’Holbach, Diderot); History and progress (Condorcet, Rousseau). The seminar concludes with an open discussion, Quodlibet, that focuses on the themes that have been central throughout the sessions, texts and discussions, in particular: Enlightenment and democracy - critique and myths of the Enlightenment.

Course material
Digital course material (Required) : Bronteksten, kritische artikels, Powerpoints (met audio), e-lesopnames: verplicht, Canvas
Handbook (Recommended) : Vrijheid, gelijkheid, veelheid, Het moderne democratie-denken van Machiavelli tot Spinoza en zijn kring, Sonja Lavaert, VUBPress, 9789057187933, 2020
Additional info

Source texts, critical articles, Powerpoints with audio, e-lesson recordings via Canvas: required.

Sonja Lavaert, Vrijheid, gelijkheid, veelheid. Het moderne democratie-denken van Machiavelli tot Spinoza en zijn kring, Brussel, VUBPress, 2020, ISBN 978 90 5718 793 3: recommended.
 

Learning Outcomes

General competencies

  • The students know and have insight into the project of the Enlightenment.
  • The students have knowledge and insight into contemporary interpretations of the Enlightenment.
  • The students have knowledge about specific topics of the Enlightenment.
  • The students can reflect critically on the meaning of the Enlightenment and formulate a personal view on the basis of arguments.
  • The students can analyse and evaluate primary and secondary philosophical texts concerning the Enlightenment.
  • The students can communicate the result of their reflection and evaluation.

Grading

The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
LEC Paper determines 100% of the final mark.

Within the LEC Paper category, the following assignments need to be completed:

  • paper with a relative weight of 1 which comprises 100% of the final mark.

Additional info regarding evaluation

The exam consists of a termpaper.

Allowed unsatisfactory mark
The supplementary Teaching and Examination Regulations of your faculty stipulate whether an allowed unsatisfactory mark for this programme unit is permitted.

Academic context

This offer is part of the following study plans:
Master of Philosophy and Moral Sciences: Ethics and Humanism (only offered in Dutch)
Master of Philosophy and Moral Sciences: Philosophy (only offered in Dutch)
Research Master of Philosophy: Standaard traject
Master of Teaching in Arts and Humanities: History (only offered in Dutch)
Master of Teaching in Arts and Humanities: Art History and Heritage Studies (only offered in Dutch)
Master of Teaching in Arts and Humanities: Philosophy (only offered in Dutch)
Master of Teaching in Arts and Humanities: Ethics and Humanism (only offered in Dutch)