Philosophy of the Enlightenment
Code: 100307 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Philosophy | OB | 2 |
Contact
- Name:
- Alejandro Mumbrú Mora
- Email:
- alejandro.mumbru@uab.cat
Teaching groups languages
You can view this information at the end of this document.
Prerequisites
None.
Objectives and Contextualisation
This course offers a critical and contextualized introduction to the main philosophical debates of the European Enlightenment, particularly during the 17th and 18th centuries. Its aim is to explore how Enlightenment thought reshaped conceptions of history, politics, education, and reason, laying the conceptual foundations of our contemporaneity.
The course begins with a general overview of the Enlightenment as an intellectual and cultural project, emphasizing its faith in reason, progress, and emancipation. From there, we examine key issues in the philosophy of history, such as the idea of progress, the role of war, and transformations in educational theory. In the field of political philosophy, we address topics such as the origins of society and property, the legitimacy of the state, and the place of civil disobedience within established political orders.
A central part of the course is devoted to the critical analysis of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, often seen as an anomaly within the Enlightenment framework. Special attention is given to his reception and critique of Hobbes's and Locke’s social contract theories, as well as the tensions his work generates within Enlightenment ideals.
We also study Kant’s transcendental philosophy as a philosophical culmination of the Enlightenment project and as a decisive contribution to the critique of reason and morality. Finally, we examine the early German Romantic reception of the Enlightenment, focusing on figures such as Schiller and Hölderlin, who propose an aesthetic and existential reformulation of Enlightenment ideals.
Competences
- Act within one's own area of knowledge, evaluating sex/gender-based inequalities.
- Analysing and summarising the main arguments of fundamental texts of philosophy in its various disciplines.
- Placing the most representative philosophical ideas and arguments of a period in their historical background and relating the most important authors of each period of any philosophical discipline.
- Recognising and interpreting topics and problems of philosophy in its various disciplines.
- Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- Students must develop the necessary learning skills to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
- Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
- Thinking in a critical and independent manner on the basis of the specific topics, debates and problems of philosophy, both historically and conceptually.
- Using the symbology and procedures of the formal sciences in the analysis and building of arguments.
Learning Outcomes
- Accurately using the specific lexicon of the history of philosophy.
- Analyse the sex-/gender-based inequalities and gender bias in one's own area of knowledge.
- Arguing about several issues and philosophical problems for the purpose of different works and the assessment of the results.
- Assess how stereotypes and gender roles impact professional practice.
- Carrying out a planning for the development of a subject-related work.
- Demonstrating a personal stance over a problem or controversy of philosophical nature, or a work of philosophical research.
- Discriminating the features that define the writer's place in the context of a problem and reorganising them in a consistent diagram.
- Distinguishing and outlining the fundamental content of a philosophical text.
- Effectively communicating and applying the argumentative and textual processes to formal and scientific texts.
- Establishing relationships between science, philosophy, art, religion, politics, etc.
- Explaining the specific notions of the History of Philosophy.
- Expressing both orally and in written form, the issues and basic problems of the philosophical tradition.
- Identifying the main ideas of a related text and drawing a diagram.
- Indicating and discussing the main characteristics of the distinctive thought of a period and contextualizing them.
- Indicating and summarising the common content of several manifestations of various fields of culture.
- Indicating the main issues of the history of philosophy.
- Reading basic philosophical text thoroughly.
- Reading thoroughly philosophical texts of the History of Philosophy.
- Recognising, with a critical eye, philosophical referents of the past and present and assessing its importance.
- Relating the various orders of the philosophical ideas of different authors and historical moments.
- Rigorously building philosophical arguments.
- Submitting works in accordance with both individual and small group demands and personal styles.
- Summarising the topics and arguments exposed in a classical philosophical debate.
Content
- General remarks on the Enlightenment
- The Rousseau anomaly: critical reception of Locke and Hobbes' political philosophy
- Kant's Transcendental Philosophy
- Enlightenment and Counter-Enlightenment
- Early German Romanticism
Activities and Methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Classroom sessions | 50 | 2 | 3, 21, 10, 11, 12, 16, 18, 19, 1 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Supervised Individual Assignments | 30 | 1.2 | 3, 21, 7, 8, 9, 13, 16, 14, 17, 22, 20, 23, 1 |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Autonomous Individual Assignments | 50 | 2 | 10, 11, 9, 17, 19 |
Class sessions are primarily structured around the professor’s lectures, which are designed to provide the conceptual, historical, and critical framework necessary to engage with the course content. These lectures are complemented by spaces dedicated to questions, objections, and collective discussion. Student participation is actively encouraged in order to foster a rigorous philosophical dialogue in which multiple perspectives on the texts and topics can be compared and debated.
Student work is based on the material developed in class and the recommended bibliography. This reading list is intended to support and expand upon the topics addressed in the sessions, and includes both foundational texts from the period studied and contemporary critical studies. Careful reading of these materials is essential for successful engagement with the course and for preparing the assessment activities.
Individualized academic support is also planned as part of the learning process. Through tutorials or specific meetings, the professor offers personalized guidance to resolve doubts, clarify content, or assist in selecting and studying additional readings. This direct communication is intended to support students in developing critical and independent thinking and to promote a deeper understanding of the themes and issues addressed throughout the course.
Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.
Assessment
Continous Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assignment | 35% | 8 | 0.32 | 2, 3, 15, 21, 6, 7, 8, 10, 5, 11, 12, 9, 13, 16, 14, 17, 18, 22, 19, 20, 23, 1, 4 |
| Final exam | 40% | 8 | 0.32 | 2, 3, 15, 21, 8, 10, 11, 12, 9, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 1 |
| Partial Exam | 25% | 4 | 0.16 | 2, 3, 15, 21, 7, 8, 10, 11, 9, 13, 16, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 23, 1, 4 |
CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT
The assessment for this course consists of a midterm exam (25%), participation in an activity linked to the organization of a philosophy congress (35%), and a final exam (40%). The format of the activities and the exam dates will be announced at the beginning of the course.
To calculate the average with the midterm and the activity grades, a minimum score of 3.5 out of 10 on the final exam is required. No assignments will be accepted after the deadline. Any indication of plagiarism will result in a grade of 0 for the corresponding activity.
SINGLE ASSESSMENT
The assessment will consist of the submission of two activities (25% + 35%) and a final exam (40%). The format of the activities and the exam dates will be announced at the beginning of the course.
Students who have not submitted the required activities will be considered “not assessable” and must take the resit exam. No assignments will be accepted after the deadline. Any indication of plagiarism will result in a grade of 0 for the corresponding activity.
GENERAL REMARKS
It is possible that the Department of Philosophy will establish (as will be done during the first semester) a period dedicated to evaluative tests. The teaching staff will indicate whether such a period exists or what the test dates are at the beginning of each course.
On carrying out each evaluation activity, lecturers will inform students (on Moodle) of the procedures to be followed for reviewing all grades awarded, and the date on which such a review will take place.
Students will obtain a Not assessed/Not submitted course grade unless they have submitted more than 1/3 of the assessment items.
In the event that tests or exams cannot be taken onsite, they will be adapted to an online format made available through the UAB’s virtual tools (original weighting will be maintained). Homework, activities and class participation will be carried out through forums, wikis and/or discussion on Teams, etc. Lecturers will ensure that students are able to access these virtual tools, or will offer them feasible alternatives.
In the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the student will be given a zero for this activity, regardless of any disciplinary process that may take place. In the event of several irregularities in assessment activities of the same subject, the student will be given a zero as the final grade for this subject.
USE OF AI
This subject allows the use of AI technologies as an integral part of the submitted work, provided that the final result reflects a significant contribution from the student in terms of analysis and personal reflection. The student must clearly (i) identify which parts have been generated using AI technology; (ii) specify the tools used; and (iii) include a critical reflection on how these have influenced the
process and final outcome of the activity. Lack of transparency regarding the use of AI in the assessed activity will be considered academic dishonesty; the corresponding grade may be lowered, or the work may even be awarded a zero. In cases of greater infringement, more serious action may be taken.
Bibliography
Primary Sources
DIDEROT, Denis i D’ALEMBERT, Jean-Le-Rond, “Discurso preliminar” a la Enciclopedia de las artes y las ciencias, ed. Orbis, 1985 (versió online)
FOUCAULT, Michel, “¿Qué es la Ilustración?”, en Sobre la Ilustración, ed. Tecnos, Madrid, 2006 (versió online)
GADAMER, Hans-Georg., Verdad y método, vol. I, ed. Sígueme, 1993.
HEGEL, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich, Fenomenología del Espíritu, trad. Manuel Jiménez, ed. Pre-textos, 2006.
---: Filosofia del derecho, trad. J. L. Vermal, Edhasa, 1999.
HÖLDERLIN, Friedrich, Hiperión o el eremita en Grecia, trad. J. Munárriz, ed. Hiperión, 2015.
HORKHEIMER Max i ADORNO, Theodor., Dialéctica de la Ilustración, trad. J. J. Sánchez, ed. Trotta, 2018.
KANT, Immanuel, Crítica de la raó pura, trad. Miquel Montserrat, Edicions de la UB, Barcelona, 2024.
—, Crítica de la raó pràctica, trad. de Miquel Costa, edició a cura de Pere Lluís Font, Barcelona, Edicions 62, 2004 (Crítica de la razón práctica, trad. M. García Morente, ed. Sígueme, Salamanca, 1995).
—, Crítica de la facultat de jutjar, trad. de Jèssica Jaques Pi, Barcelona, Edicions 62, 2004 (Crítica de la facultad de juzgar, trad. R. R. Aramayo, Madrid, A. Machado Libros, 2003).
—, “¿Què és la Il·lustració?”, “Idea d’una història universal amb intenció cosmopolita”, “Conjectures sobre el començament de la història humana”, “La pau perpètua. Un projecte filosòfic”, “Replantejament de la pregunta: Si el gènere humà es troba en progrés constant vers el millor”, traduccions disponibles a Història i política, trad. Salvi Turró, ed. 62, 2002.
---: La religión dentro de los límites de la mera razón, trad. F. M. Marzoa, Alianza ed., 1969.
LESSING, Gotthold Ephraim, L’educació del gènere humà, trad. Jordi Jané, ed. Adesiara, 2021.
LOCKE, John, Segundo tratado sobre el gobierno civil, trad. C. Mellizo, Alianza ed., 2014.
LYOTARD, Jean-François, La condición postmoderna, trad. M. Antolín, ed. Cátedra, 2000.
ROUSSEAU, Jean-Jacques, El contrato social, trad. E. L. Castellón, Edimat Libros, 1999.
---: Profesión de fe del vicario savoyano, trad. A. Pintor-Ramos, ed. Trotta, 2007.
---: Discurso sobre las ciencias y las artes, trad. M. Armiño, Alianza ed., 2012.
---: Discurso sobre el origen de la desigualdad entre los hombres, trad. M. Armiño, Alianza ed., 2012.
---: Las ensoñaciones del paseante solitario, trad. M. Fiszman, ed. Losada, 2011.
SCHILLER, Friedrich, Cartes sobre l’educació estètica de la humanitat, trad. Jordi Llovet, ed. Adesiara, 2018.
VOLTAIRE (François Marie Arouet), Càndid, trad. M. Armiño, Ed. Espasa Libros, 2016.
Secondary Sources
ALCOBERRO, Ramon, La filosofia de la Il·lustració, ed. Barcanova, 1992.
BEISER, Frederick. C., The Fate of Reason, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1987.
— , Enlightenment, revolution, and romanticism : the genesis of modern German political thought, 1790-1800. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 1992.
— , German idealism : the struggle against subjectivism, 1781-1801, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2002.
BELAVAL, Yvon (dir.), Historia de la filosofía, Siglo XXI, Madrid, 1974. Vol. 6: Racionalismo, empirismo e Ilustración.
BERLIN, Isaiah, “The Counter-Enlightenment”, en Dictionary of the History of Ideas, 5 vols., ed. Philip P. Wiener, Charles Schribner’s Sons, NY, 1973, vol. II, pp. 100-112 (versió on-line disponible).
BREWER, Daniel (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to the French Enlightenment. 1st ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014.
BROADIE, Alexander & SMITH, Craig (eds.), The Cambridge Companion to the Scottish Enlightenment, Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 2019.
BURY, John, La idea del progreso, Alianza ed., Madrid, 1971.
CASSIRER, Ernst, La filosofía de la Ilustración, México, FCE, 1972.
--- : El problema del conocimiento en la filosofía y en la ciencia modernas, México, FCE, 1979 (vol. I y II).
--- : Kant. Vida y doctrina, México, FCE, 1993.
--- : Rousseau, Kant, Goethe. Filosofía y cultura en la Europa del Siglo de las Luces, trad. R. R. Aramayo, FCE, 2014.
---: Le problème Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Hachette, 1987.
---: “L’unité dans l’oeuvre de Rousseau”, a VVAA, Pensée de Rousseau, Ed. du Seuil, 1984, pp. 41-66.
DUSSEL, Enrique, 1492. El encubrimiento del otro. Hacia el origen del “mito de la modernidad”, Plural editores, La Paz, 1994.
—: El primer debate filosófico de la Modernidad, Clacso, 2020.
GUYER, Paul (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Kant, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1992.
HAZARD, Paul, La crisis de la conciencia europea, Madrid, Alianza, 1983.
--- : El pensamiento europeo en el siglo XVIII, Madrid, Alianza, 1985.
MARTÍNEZ MARZOA, Felipe, Historia de la filosofía, Madrid, ed. Istmo, 1973 y 1994, (vol. II).
--- : Releer a Kant, Barcelona, ed. Anthropos, 1992.
--- : De Kant a Hölderlin, La Oficina, 2018.
MILLS, Charles, The Racial Contract, Cornell University Press, 1997.
--- : “Kant’s Untermenschen”, a Black Rights/White Wrongs: The Critique of Racial Liberalism, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2017, cap. 6, pp. 91-113.
PADGEN, Anthony, La Ilustración y sus enemigos. Dos ensayos sobre los orígenes de la Modernidad, Península, BCN, 2002
PHILONENKO, Alexis, Essais sur la philosophie de la guerra, Librairie Philosophique J. Vrin, Paris, 1988.
---: L'oeuvre de Kant, 2vol., Librairie Philosophique J. Vrin, París, 1972.
RILEY, Patrick. (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Rousseau. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2001.
SCHMIDT, James, What is Enlightenment? Eighteenth-Century Answers and Twentieth-Century Questions, University of California Press, California, 1996.
SCHOTT, Robin May, Feminist Interpretations of Immanuel Kant, University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1997.
SOLÉ, María Jimena, Spinoza en Alemania (1670-1789): historia de la santificación de un filósofo maldito, ed. Brujas, Córdoba, 2011.
STAROBINSKI, Jean, J-J. Rousseau. La transparencia y el obstáculo, Madrid: Taurus, 1983.
TAVOILLOT, Pierre-Henri, Le Crépuscule des Lumières. Les documents de la querelle du panthéisme. 1780-1789, Coll. «Passages », 1995.
TAYLOR, Charles, Hegel, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1975, cap. 1.
TURRÓ, Salvi, Lliçons sobre història i dret a Kant, Edicions Universitat de Barcelona, 1997.
---: "Llei pràctica i esquematització (de Kant a Fichte)", en Anuari de la Societat Catalana de Filosofia (número IX), Barcelona, IEC, 1997.
--- : Filosofia i Modernitat. La reconstrucció de l’ordre del món, Barcelona, Edicions de la Universitat de Barcelona, 2016.
WEIL, Eric, “Rousseau et sa politique”, a VVAA, Pensée de Rousseau, Ed. du Seuil, 1984, pp. 9-40.
VVAA, La Ilustración olvidada. La polémica de los sexos en el siglo XVIII, ed. Anthropos, 2011.
Films
-
Arrival (2016), dir. Denis Villeneuve.
-
Into the wild (2007), dir. Sean Penn.
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Barry Lyndon (1975), dir. Stanley Kubrik.
On-line materials
- https://loliba.cat/
- http://www.philosophica.info/
- https://www.rousseauonline.ch/
Software
None.
Groups and Languages
Please note that this information is provisional until 30 November 2025. You can check it through this link. To consult the language you will need to enter the CODE of the subject.
| Name | Group | Language | Semester | Turn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 1 | Catalan | second semester | morning-mixed |
| (TE) Theory | 1 | Catalan | second semester | morning-mixed |