Introduction to German Philosophy

What can I know? What ought I to do? What may I hope? Proceeding from Kant’s trio of questions, this course explores the German philosophical tradition from the Enlightenment to the present through the study of its major figures (Kant, Hegel, Marx, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Adorno, Arendt). Based on direct engagement with original texts, the course offers both a survey of German intellectual history and an introduction to the foundations of modern critical thought. We will discuss problems in the theory of knowledge, moral and political philosophy, metaphysics, and aesthetics.