Enlightenment Invention of the Modern Self

Enlightenment Invention of the Modern Self

Enlightenment Invention of the Modern Self

Explore the idea of “self” as it developed as a concept in Enlightenment-era literature. You will take an in depth look at pivotal works by Voltaire, Franklin, Johnson, Descartes, and Rousseau, among many others. Discover how ways of thinking that we take for granted are actually startlingly recent and emerged from this rich time of thought and change.

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The Modern Intellectual Tradition: From Descartes to Derrida

The Modern Intellectual Tradition: From Descartes to Derrida

Explore the foundations of modern and contemporary Western approaches to reality and knowledge with The Modern Intellectual Tradition: From Descartes to Derrida. Guided by award-winning Professor Lawrence Cahoone, these 36 lectures take you on an engaging intellectual journey that encompasses prominent figures like Locke, Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche, Wittgenstein, and Heidegger—intellectual radicals whose ideas completely revolutionized how we look at and understand the world around us.

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Philosophy as a Guide to Living

Philosophy as a Guide to Living

This course is a stimulating and accessible discussion of how some of the greatest minds of the past three centuries have pondered the mysteries of existence and meaning. Join Professor Stephen A. Erickson as he guides you along the intellectual road traveled by post-Enlightenment thinkers such as Schopenhauer, Marx, Nietzsche, and Camus. This course requires no background in philosophy; you can comprehend what each philosopher has to say equipped only with your own intellect, curiosity, and fascination with the course's central questions. Lecture by lecture, you'll encounter some of the most inspirational minds Western civilization has produced.

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