The specific topic investigated changes with each term. Student responsibilities may include evaluation of primary and secondary sources, short assignments, class activities, research, and essay writing.

Topic for Fall 2024: Leibniz's Monadology
PREREQUISITES: One course in philosophy, junior standing, or consent of instructor We will closely read G.W. Leibniz’s enigmatic text The Monadology (1714), beginning with his concept of ontological atoms, or monads. The goal is to attain a good understanding of Leibniz’s doctrines expressed in the Monadology, situated in his philosophical system and 17th and 18th century views on nature, souls, bodies, time, space, morality, and the afterlife. This course may be repeated when topic is different.