126-474 From Kant to Habermas: a Cultural History of German Thought

Note

Available as 126-374 at 3rd-year level.

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Subject Description

This subject, taught in German, explores some prominent themes in the development of German thought from the late eighteenth century to the present. Its starting point is represented by the great Enlightenment philosopher Immanuel Kant, who has been remembered for his as yet unsurpassed attempts to determine how we have knowledge of the world. In a series of selected readings a number of important German thinkers and schools of thought will then be considered. These include: the early 19th century philosophers Schelling and the brothers Schlegel, the revolutionary thought of Karl Marx, the emancipatory philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche, the sceptical-critical philosophy of the Frankfurt School and the contemporary philosopher Jürgen Habermas, who has attempted to restore to prominence what he has famously called the "unfinished project of modernity".

Assessment

Written work in German of no more than 5,000 words for MA, 4,000 words for 4th year and 3,000 words for 3rd year.

Prescribed Texts

• Bahr, E (ed.), Was ist Aufklärung? Thesen und Definitionen. Stuttgart: Philipp Reclam, Universal-Bibliothek 9714.
• Freud, Sigmund, Abriß der Psychoanalyse. Das Unbehagen in der Kultur. Frankfurt/Main: Fischer Taschenbuchverlag 6043.
• Habermas, Jürgen, Die Moderne - ein unvollendetes Projekt. Philosophisch-politische Aufsätze, Leipzig: Philipp Reclam, Reclam-Bibliothek 1382.
• Horkheimer, Max, & Adorno, Theodor, W, Dialektik der Aufklärung. Philosophische Fragmente. Frankfurt/Main: Fischer Taschenbuchverlag 6144.
• Schmitt, Hans-Jurgen, Die deutsche Literatur in Text und Darstellung. Romantik I. Stuttgart: Philipp Reclam, Universal-Bibliothek 9629.