"Intellectual history of the Enlightenment" is one of the complementary educational activities of the Philosophical Sciences programme. Through the reading of Enlightenment classics, the course aims to provide students with knowledge not only of the thought of the authors under study, but also of the epistemological and methodological foundations of historical-philosophical research. In particular, the course aims to make students aware of the development of this or that thinker, or of the dense web of convergences and divergences, of debts and distances, that the interlocution between several authors weaves, by comparing the works of the same author or of different authors. The aim is to stimulate critical reflection and independent judgement by highlighting the difficulties of the texts and the most representative interpretations. Finally, the recommended texts are intended to promote the student's ability to deal with the scientific literature and to develop the skills necessary for independent research. At the end of the course, students will have acquired knowledge of a central episode in the history of Enlightenment philosophy and the debates it provoked. They will also be able to use this knowledge to discuss and argue both theoretical and historical-philosophical issues. They will also develop their skills of critical reading and analysis of sources, and of placing propositions within the context of the history of Enlightenment. They will have been able to put their language and argumentation skills to the test in relation to the topics covered in the course.
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Programme
The course will examine the principal philosophical works of Julien Offray de La Mettrie. The reading will concentrate on the subject of materialism and its anthropological and moral implications. From the anthropological standpoint, the question will initially be posed as to how the notion of a 'machine man' can claim to account for the experience of thinking and feeling. It will also examine the boundary that, in a materialistic context, simultaneously connects and distinguish animals and humans. Additionally, the course will examine La Mettrie's arguments against the concept of free will. From a moral standpoint, it will analyse the link between a materialistic and deterministic ontology on the one hand, and, on the other, the revaluation of pleasure, voluptuousness, and their distinction from libertinism, a revaluation of repentance and guilt, and the criticism of the rigidity of the penal system. The position held by La Mettrie will be situated within the broader historical context of modern materialism, from Hobbes and Spinoza to d'Holbach and Sade.Core Documentation
La Mettrie, Oeuvres philosophiques (Fayard)Reference Bibliography
Aram Vartanian (ed.): La Mettrie's L'homme machine. A Study in the Origins of an Idea (Princeton UP) Théo Verbeek (Ed.): Le Traité de l'Ame de La Mettrie, 2 vols. (OMI-Grafisch Bedrijf)Attendance
One may follow or not follow. There are no additional texts for non-followers, unless explicitly requested by the students.Type of evaluation
The examination consists of an interview lasting approximately half an hour. The student will first be asked to present a topic of his or her choice. From there, adequate knowledge of the texts will be tested.