The general aim of this module is to improve students' ability to read, understand and critically assess philosophical texts from a range of historical periods and philosophical traditions. The particular text (or texts) under consideration in any one year will operate as exemplary for the development of philosophical reading skills more generally. Some of the texts that may be addressed include: Kierkegaard's Philosophical Crumbs, Austin's How to Do Things with Words; Anscombe's Intention; Rousseau's The Social Contract; Descartes' Metaphysical Meditations; Plato's Gorgias, Merleau-Ponty's The Prose of the World.

Each year, we look in detail at a classic philosophical text. Close attention will be paid to reading the text on its own terms and developing students' critical and philosophical skills by engaging closely with the arguments and questions raised. We will look at the text not only as a historical document, but also study it with regard to its on-going contribution to philosophical thinking.

The text for 2023-24 will be Theodor W. Adorno and Max Horkheimer’s, Dialectic of Enlightenment. First published in 1944/1947, the Dialectic of Enlightenment (DE) is a major work of the first generation of Frankfurt School critical theory. Adorno and Horkheimer chart the rise and decline of enlightenment reason and analyse the most pressing social and political problems of their time, as they see them: the domination of nature, the repression of inner nature, the rise of the culture industry, and the character of antisemitism. The text presents some difficulties for first-time readers, but we will slowly work through it together and gain a solid understanding of its key arguments. 

 

Most of the teaching sessions will be devoted to reading and discussing sections of the texts, but there will also be lectures that will equip you with relevant background knowledge and sessions devoted to group work.