一、課程說明

笛卡爾被譽為近代哲學之父，同時也是解析幾何的奠基者，和首位明確表述出慣性定律的物理學家。在他那個時代，自十三世紀以來便居於主導地位的亞里斯多德主義之士林哲學傳統，已不再能令他感到滿意。他試圖為哲學另闢蹊徑，俾使一切學問能建立在最堅實穩固的基礎之上。笛卡爾對於當時及後世哲學影響之深，直到今日仍值得我們進一步細究。本課程將仔細研讀笛卡爾的一些著作，特別是Meditations on First Philosophy，並深入討論此中相關的問題，例如：methodical doubt, the Cogito argument, the argument for the existence of God, the epistemological principle of clear and distinct perceptions, the Cartesian circle, Cartesian dualism, the unity of human being, Descartes’ mechanistic physics等。
 

二、指定用書

J. Cottingham, R. Stoothoff and Murdoch (eds.), The Philosophical Works of Descartes, vols. I & II, Cambridge University Press, 1985. (以下簡稱CSM)
 

三、參考書籍

1. J. Cottingham (ed.), Descartes, Oxford University Press, 1998.
2. J. Cottingham (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Descartes, Cambridge University Press, 1992.
3. H. Frankfurt, Demons, Dreamers and Madman: The Defense of Reason in Descartes’ Meditations, Bobbs-Merill, 1970.
4. D. Garber, Descartes’ Metaphysical Physics, University of Chicago Press, 1992.
5. S. Gaukroger, Descartes’ System of Natural Philosophy, Cambridge University Press, 2002.
6. A. Kenny, Descartes: A Study of his Philosophy, Thoemmes Press, 1993.
7. B. Williams, Descartes: the Project of Pure Enquiry, Penguin Books, 1990.
8. M. Wilson, Descartes, Routledge, 1978.
9. C. Wilson, Descartes’s Meditations, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003.
10. S. Gaukroger, Descartes: An Intellectual Biography, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1995.
其他參考資料於課堂上視情況提供。
 

四、教學方式

我們將帶著同學逐字逐句研讀Meditations on First Philosophy，並進行講解、分析和檢討。同學們則必須負責整理每次沈思的Objections & Replies，並於上課時作摘要報告。在課堂上，我們鼓勵同學發問，發表自己的看法並且回應他人的見解。
 

五、教學進度

1.

課程說明+導論

2.

Descartes’ Project

3. & 4.

Dedicatory Letter to the Sorbonne, Preface to the Reader,
Synopsis, Meditations 1. (CSM II: 3-15)
Objections & Replies (CSM II: 121, 151, 172, 180, 241-242, 281-282, 294-296, 324-325, 366.)
Principles I.1-6. (CSM I: 193-194)

5. & 6.

Meditations 2. (CSM II: 16-23)
Objections & Replies (CSM II: 87-88, 93-96, 122-126, 139-140,
154, 180-193, 243-249, 278-279, 285-289, 352-354.)
Principles I.7-12. (CSM I: 194-197)

7. & 8.

Meditations 3. (CSM II: 24-36)
Objections & Replies (CSM II: 66-69, 74-82, 88-89, 96-100,
126-133, 145-150, 162-172, 193-214, 249-257.)
Principles I.13-28. (CSM I: 197-203)

9. & 10.

Meditations 4. (CSM II: 37-43)
Objections & Replies (CSM II: 89-90, 90-91, 101-106, 133-135,
151-153, 172-178, 214-221, 257-260, 279-281, 289-293.)
Principles I.29-42. (CSM I: 203-207)

11. & 12.

Meditations 5. (CSM II: 44-49)
Objections & Replies (CSM II: 69-71, 82-86, 89, 91, 100-101,
106-108, 135-136, 140-144, 154-162, 221-228, 261-264, 279,
281, 289, 292-293)
Principles I.43-65. (CSM I: 207-216)

13. & 14.

Meditations 6. (CSM II: 50-62)
Objections & Replies (CSM II: 136-137, 228-240, 264-267.)
Principles I.66-76. (CSM I: 216-222)

15.

回顧與總結＋期末報告大綱擬定

六、成績考核

參與成績20%：包括摘要報告、課堂上的發問與討論。
期中報告和期末報告80%。