The Notion of Body in Contemporary
aenahum@gsu.edu.tr
Content
Objective
This course aims to examine the relationships between revelation, reason and religion in seventeenth-century philosophy through the principal texts of Spinoza and Hobbes. It enables students to understand philosophical debates concerning prophecy, biblical interpretation and religious authority in their historical contexts, and to assess different philosophical approaches through comparative textual analysis.
Course Content
The historical and intellectual context of the relationship between religion and philosophy in the seventeenth century; the biblical tradition, the Reformation and religious conflicts; readings from Spinoza’s Theological-Political Treatise and Hobbes’s Leviathan; revelation and prophecy; reason, imagination and faith; biblical interpretation; miracles; the relationship between theology and philosophy; religious authority and freedom of thought.
Course Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
- Explain the principal issues shaping the relationship between religion and philosophy in the seventeenth century within their historical contexts.
- Analyse Spinoza’s and Hobbes’s accounts of revelation, prophecy and reason.
- Compare the two thinkers’ approaches to biblical interpretation.
- Evaluate the relationships between theology, philosophy and religious authority through selected texts.
- Identify the main theses and arguments of a philosophical text and develop a reasoned interpretation.
Teaching and Learning Methods
Lectures; close reading and analysis of primary texts; comparative textual analysis; questions and answers; classroom discussion; guided reading before class.
References
Spinoza, Theological-Political Treatise, selected chapters.
Spinoza, Ethics, selected passages.
Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan, selected chapters, particularly from Parts III and IV.
Thomas Hobbes, De Cive, selected chapters, particularly from Part III.
The Bible, selected passages.
Selections from secondary literature relevant to the course topics.
Weekly Contents
| Week | Weekly Contents |
|---|---|
| 1 | God, religion and revelation in seventeenth-century philosophy: principal issues |
| 2 | The Biblical tradition: revelation, covenant and Christianity |
| 3 | The Reformation, religious conflicts and the problem of religious authority |
| 4 | Spinoza: revelation and prophecy |
| 5 | Hobbes: revelation, prophecy and the word of God |
| 6 | Reason, imagination and faith in Spinoza and Hobbes |
| 7 | Spinoza: biblical interpretation |
| 8 | Hobbes: biblical interpretation and authority |
| 9 | Miracles and nature in Spinoza and Hobbes |
| 10 | Spinoza: knowledge of God and religion — Ethics and Theological-Political Treatise |
| 11 | Hobbes: God’s natural and historical sovereignty — De Cive and Leviathan |
| 12 | Theology and philosophy: truth, faith and obedience |
| 13 | Religious authority and freedom of thought |
| 14 | Spinoza and Hobbes: comparative assessment and synthesis |
Assessment System
| Activities | Number | Contribution |
|---|---|---|
| Contribution of in-term studies to overall grade | 2 | 40 |
| Contribution of final exam to overall grade | 1 | 60 |
| Total | 3 | 100 |
| Activities | Number | Contribution |
|---|---|---|
| Assignments | 0 | 0 |
| Presentation | 1 | 25 |
| Midterm Examinations (including preparation) | 1 | 75 |
| Project | 0 | 0 |
| Laboratory | 0 | 0 |
| Other Applications | 0 | 0 |
| Quiz | 0 | 0 |
| Term Paper/ Project | 0 | 0 |
| Portfolio Study | 0 | 0 |
| Reports | 0 | 0 |
| Learning Diary | 0 | 0 |
| Thesis/ Project | 0 | 0 |
| Seminar | 0 | 0 |
| Other | 0 | 0 |
| Make-up | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 2 | 100 |
Relation of Proficiency
| No | Program Learning Outcomes | Contribution | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 1 | Analyze philosophical texts with analytical and critical rigor; | X | ||||
| 2 | Get an exhaustive knowledge on the history of philosophy; from antiquity to 20th century; | X | ||||
| 3 | Provide access to information and expertise in the fields of systematic philosophy, such as ethic, esthetic, history of science, philosophy of society; | X | ||||
| 4 | Establish the relation between philosophy and other fields of knowledge, such as, history, psychology, anthropology, sociology and other positive sciences; | X | ||||
| 5 | Learn the theories of political science and the philosophical evaluation of historical and actual events; | X | ||||
| 6 | Have a sufficient level of French and English in order to follow philosophical debates; | X | ||||
| 7 | Have a sufficient level of the ancient Greek, Latin and Ottoman languages for reading philosophical texts written in these; | |||||
| 8 | Develop a creative thinking and a knowledge of aesthetic theories which will allow the analysis of artworks and the history of art; | |||||
| 9 | Acquire academic research methods and writing ability as well as to develop analytical skills, interpretation and criticism. | X | ||||
ECTS
| Activities | Number | Period | Total Workload |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class Hours | 14 | 3 | 42 |
| Working Hours out of Class | 14 | 2 | 28 |
| Assignments | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Presentation | 1 | 6 | 6 |
| Midterm Examinations (including preparation) | 1 | 10 | 10 |
| Project | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Laboratory | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Applications | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Final Examinations (including preparation) | 1 | 14 | 14 |
| Quiz | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Term Paper/ Project | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Portfolio Study | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Reports | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Learning Diary | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Thesis/ Project | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Seminar | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Make-up | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Yıl Sonu | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hazırlık Yıl Sonu | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hazırlık Bütünleme | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total Workload | 100 | ||
| Total Workload / 25 | 4.00 | ||
| Credits ECTS | 4 | ||