God has re-emerged as a fundamental question in contemporary continental philosophy. Is it possible to think about God at all? If so, in what way? This unit examines developments in twentieth-century continental philosophy that establish the framework for contemporary thought about metaphysics, God and faith. Particular attention will be given to major texts covering nihilism, existentialism, phenomenology, hermeneutics, and postmodern thought.

Prerequisites:

• second level: two philosophy units at first level
• third level: two philosophy units at second level

Requirements:
3 hours per week

Assessment:

• second level
  • two 500 word seminar papers - 2 x 20%
  • one 2,000 word essay - 40%
  • one 1 hour written examination - 20%
    
• third level
  • two 500 word seminar papers - 2 x 20%
  • one 2,500 word essay - 40%
  • one 1 hour written examination - 20%

Bibliography:

• Critchley, Simon, and William Schroeder. A Companion to Continental Philosophy. Blackwell Companions to Philosophy. Oxford: Blackwell, 1998.
• Copleston, Frederick C. A History of Philosophy. Vols 7 and 9. London: Burns & Oates, 1963–75.
• Cutrofello, Andrew. Continental Philosophy: A Contemporary Introduction. London: Routledge, 2005.
• Gadamer, Hans-Georg. Truth and Method. 2nd ed. Translated by William Glen-Doepel. Translation revised by Joel Weinsheimer and Donald G. Marshall. New York: Crossroad, 1992.
• Heidegger, Martin. Being and Time: A Translation of Sein und Zeit. Translated by Joan Stambaugh. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1996.
• Husserl, Edmund. The Idea of Phenomenology. Translated by Lee Hardy. Collected Works, vol. 8. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic, 1999.
• Levinas, Emmanuel. “Philosophy and the Idea of Infinity.” In Collected Philosophical Papers, Translated by Alphonso Lingis, 47–59. Pittsburgh, PA: Duquesne University Press, 1998.
• McNeill, William, and Karen S. Feldman, eds. Continental Philosophy: An Anthology. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell, 1998.
• Sokolowski, Robert. An Introduction to Phenomenology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000.
• Teichman, Jenny, and Graham White, eds. An Introduction to Modern European Philosophy. 2nd ed. London: Macmillan, 1998.
• West, David. An Introduction to Continental Philosophy. Oxford: Polity, 1996.