History of Modern Philosophy by Mark Thorsby

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source: Mark Thorsby      2017年2月5日

1. Descartes' Mediatations on First Philosophy 1:27:10 In this video, Professor Thorsby gives an Introduction to Descartes for the"History of Modern Philosophy" series. This video explores 'Meditations on First Philosophy" by René Descartes.
2. Thomas Hobbes 1:49:45 In this video, Professor Thorsby gives a lecture on the Philosophy of Thomas Hobbes, from his empirical views on sensation and thought, to his notion of the state of nature and the force of social agreement in the "Leviathan".
Pascal & Spinoza on Infinity & God 1:34:16 In this video, Professor Thorsby discusses the modern philosophers Blaise Pascal and Baruch Spinoza. In the first instance, Professor Thorsby explores Pascal's wager that even though teh existence of God cannot be proven, it is still a reasonable proposition. Next, we turn to the first part of Spinoza's "Ethics" in which he argues that God is the inifite substance and that all singular things are merely modes, affects, or attributes or that infinite substance.
Leibniz: Discourse on Metaphysics 2:06:55 In this video, Professor Thorsby introduces the "Discourse on Metaphysics" by Gottfried Leibniz.
John Locke and his Epistemology 1:48:17 In this video, Professor Thorsby discusses John Locke and some of the core elements of his epistemology as found in "An Essay Concerning Human Understanding."
The Idealism of George Berkeley 1:31:22 In this video, Professor Thorsby discusses the major arguments of George Berkeley. We see that Berkeley begins by denying the possibility of abstract ideas, at least in terms of their significance defined by John Locke. He contends that Locke makes a mistake by confusing the notion of abstract ideas with the limits of language. Our perception of an object is not generated through an accumulation of simple ideas, amalgamated in a abstract whole (all with valid representational content), but through the direct complete ideas themselves. Berkeley goes on to show that existence requires perception such that all things that exist must be perceived. The lecture traces some of the consequences that follow.
David Hume's Mitigated Skepticism 1:26:44 In this video, Professor Thorsby discusses David Hume and a selection from his "Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding." Topics discussed include the distinction between impressions and ideas, matters of fact and relations of ideas, and the critique of causality.
15. Kant's Copernican Turn 42:39 In this video, Professor Thorsby gives a summary of Kant's Epsietmology: Transcendenatl Idealism. Please watch Henry Markram's TED Talk prior to watching this video.
Kant's Prolegomena to a Future Metaphysics In this video, Professor Thorsby discusses several key points in Kant's metaphysics in a reading of Kant's "Prolegomena to a Future Metaphysics". Key topics include transcendental idealism, noumenon, phenomena, synthetic judements, and causality.
Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit 36:40 In this video, Professor Thorsby discusses GWF Hegel's "Phenomenology of Spirit" and the master/slave dialectic.
Søren Kierkegaard on Truth and Subjectivity 1:06:44 In this video, Professor Thorsby discusses a select passage on truth and subjectivity from the "Concluding Unscientific Postscript" by Søren Kierkegaard.