PHIL 426 Twentieth-Century Continental Philosophy

Course #49451RMW3:304:45MHP105
Professor Edwin McCann,
MHP-205F, mc. 0451, Tel. 213-740-5169
Fax 213-740-5174, Email mccann@dornsife.usc.edu

Fall 2012

Fall term office hours: Tuesdays 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.; Thursdays 4:15 p.m.
to 5:30 p.m.; other times by appointment
Teaching Assistant: Dr. Brian Bowman
STO 224, Email bcbowman@usc.edu
Fall term office hours: Mondays 10:00 a.m. to 11 a.m.; Tuesdays 12 p.m.
to 1:30 p.m.; Thursdays 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Cataloguedescription:Mainphilosophersandmovementsfrom1900,includingthe
majordevelopmentswithinphenomenologyandexistentialism,theemergenceof
structuralismandhermeneutics.
Wewilltracethedevelopmentinthecourseofthetwentiethcenturyofthemainlinesof
continentalphilosophicalthoughtoutofitsbasisinthephenomenologyofEdmund
Husserl.Theoverallhistoryofphilosophyinthetwentiethcenturyis,somewhat
simplisticallybutinbroadtermsaccurately,depictedasdividedbetweentwotraditions
developingalmostentirelyindependentlyofoneanother,namely,Continentalphilosophy
andAnalyticorAngloAmericanphilosophy.Theformerisbestseenasbuildingonthe
workofEdmundHusserl,thelatterupontheworkofHusserlsnearcontemporary,
GottlobFrege.Interestingly,FregeandHusserlengagedinsubstantiveandimportant
exchanges;butsincethattimethetwotraditionshavelargelydisregarded,andeven
shunned,oneanother.
WewillfirstfamiliarizeourselveswiththemainpointsofHusserlsclassicformulation
oftranscendentalphenomenologyinhis1913bookIdeas:GeneralIntroductiontoPure
Phenomenology.Thisisafundamentalstartingpointforthemajorexistentialist
philosophersMartinHeidegger(BeingandTime,1926)andJeanPaulSartre,
TranscendenceoftheEgo(1937)andBeingandNothingness:AnEssayin
PhenomenologicalOntology(1943),andfortherelatedbutsomewhatdifferentlyfocused
workbyMauriceMerleauPontyinThePhenomenologyofPerception(1949).Tracing
thedevelopmentofthislineofthinking,whichwilltakeupthebulkofthecourse,willbe
organizedchronologically;afterstudyingHeideggersBeingandTimewewillexamine
HusserlsCrisiswritings,whichareusefullyreadasaresponsetoandpartialrepudiation
ofBeingandTimeandwhichattemptstochartanewcourseforphenomenologyinso
calledphenomenologicalpsychology.Althoughthesewritingswerecomposedinthe
period193438(theyearofhisdeath),mostwerenotpublisheduntil1954.After
studyingthedevelopmentofphenomenologythroughtheworksbyHusserl,Heidegger,
SartreandMerleauPontywewillconsidersomelaterstrandsofcontinentalphilosophy,
mostlyconnectedwithhermeneutics,inlaterHeideggerandinWalterBenjamin,who

wasveryinfluentialontheFrankfurtSchoolofCriticalTheory(includingnotablyMax
HorkheimerandTheodorAdorno)butwhosemajorimpactinsemioticsandmediatheory
cameonlyinthe1950sandlater.
Booksforthecourse
1.

EDMUND HUSSERL, IDEAS: GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO PURE

PHENOMENOLOGY. ROUTLEDGE; 1 EDITION (APRIL 26, 2012).
ISBN: 978-0415519038

2.

EDMUND HUSSERL, THE CRISIS OF EUROPEAN SCIENCES AND

TRANSCENDENTAL PHENOMENOLOGY; AN INTRODUCTION TO
PHENOMENOLOGICAL PHILOSOPHY. NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
PRESS (JUNE 1, 1970). ISBN: 978-0810104587

3.

MARTIN HEIDEGGER, BEING AND TIME. HARPER PERENNIAL

MODERN CLASSICS; REPRINT EDITION (JULY 22, 2008). ISBN:
978-0061575594

4.

JEAN-PAUL SARTRE, TRANSCENDENCE OF THE EGO. HILL AND

WANG (JANUARY 1, 1991). ISBN: 978-0809015450

5.

JEAN-PAUL SARTRE, BEING AND NOTHINGNESS. WASHINGTON

SQUARE PRESS (AUGUST 1, 1993). ISBN: 978-0671867805

6.

MAURICE MERLEAU-PONTY. PHENOMENOLOGY OF PERCEPTION.

ROUTLEDGE; TRA EDITION (JANUARY 12, 2012). ISBN: 9780415558693

7.

MARTIN HEIDEGGER, POETRY, LANGUAGE, THOUGHT. HARPER

PERENNIAL MODERN CLASSICS (NOVEMBER 6, 2001). ISBN: 9780060937287

8.

WALTER BENJAMIN, THE WORK OF ART IN THE AGE OF ITS

TECHNOLOGICAL REPRODUCIBILITY, AND OTHER WRITINGS ON
MEDIA. BELKNAP PRESS OF HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS (MAY
31, 2008). ISBN: 978-0674024458

Courserequirements
1.Regularattendanceandparticipation.Countsfor15%ofthecoursegrade.
2.Two56pagecritical/analyticalpapers.Eachpapercountsfor25%ofthecourse
grade.
3.Takehomefinalexam(1012pagesynopticoverviewofcourse);countsfor35%of
thecoursegrade.

Scheduleoftopicsandreadings
MonAug27(1.1.1)Introductionandoverview.
WedAug29(1.2.2)Husserlonphilosophicalfoundationsandrigoras
presuppositionfreedescriptionoffactandessence.Reading:Ideas,Authors
PrefacetotheEnglishEdition,Introduction,PartOne(pp.xxxivl,147)
MonSep3LaborDay,Universityholiday,noclass
WedSep5(2.1.3)Husserlonthethesisofthenaturalstandpointanditssuspension,and
thephenomenologicalreductions.Reading:IdeasPartTwo(pp.51121)
MonSep10(3.1.4)Husserlonthestructuresofconsciousness;noesisandnoema.
Reading:IdeasPartIIIchap.276,80,84,chap.3,chap.497115(pp.
146149,162164,170172,182203,204239)
WedSep12(3.2.5)Husserlonthephenomenologyofreason.Reading:IdeasPartIV
(pp.265324)
MonSep17(4.1.6)HeideggeronthequestionofBeing.Reading:BeingandTime
Introduction,113(pp.1990)
WedSep19(4.2.7)HeideggerontheWorldhoodoftheWorld.Reading:BeingandTime
1424(pp.91148)
MonSep24(5.1.8)Heideggeronbeingwithothersandbeinginassuch.Reading:
BeingandTime2538(pp.149219)
WedSep26(5.2.9)Heideggeroncareandbeingtowarddeath.Reading:Beingand
Time3853(pp.219311)
MonOct1(6.1.10) Heideggeronauthenticityandresoluteness.Reading:Beingand
Time5466(pp.312382)
WedOct3(6.2.11)HusserlontheEuropeancrisis.Reading:CrisisPartOne18;
TheViennaLecture,AppendicesIV,VIIpp.318,269299,335341,379383
MonOct8FIRSTPAPERDUE.
MonOct8(7.1.12)Husserlonthelifeworld.Reading:Crisispp.103189.
WedOct10(7.2.13)Husserlonpsychologyasanewmodeofapproachtotranscendental
philosophy.Reading:CrisisPartIIIB5672,pp.191265

MonOct15(8.1.14)Sartrevs.HusserlandDescartesontheegocogito.Reading:
TranscendenceoftheEgopp.31106
WedOct17(8.2.15)Sartreonthebeingofconsciousnessastheconsciousnessofbeing.
Reading:BeingandNothingnesspp.330,119158.
MonOct22(9.1.16)Sartreonnothingnessandbadfaith.Reading:Beingand
Nothingnesspp.33116.
WedOct24(9.2.17)Sartreontheproblemofothers:theLook.Reading:Beingand
Nothingnesspp.340400.
MonOct29(10.1.18)Sartreonconcreterelationswithothers;loveandsexualdesire.
Reading:BeingandNothingnesspp.471534.
WedOct31(10.2.19)Sartreonfreedom.Reading:BeingandNothingness,pp.619711.
MonNov5(11.1.20)MerleauPontyonmethodologyandsubjectmatter:
phenomenologicalpsychologydistinguishedfromintrospectionistpsychology.
Reading:PhenomenologyofPerceptionPrefaceandIntroduction,pp.lxxlxxxv,
365
WedNov7(11.2.21)MerleauPontyonthebody,thecausalityofaction,andthefactof
embodiment.Reading:PhenomenologyofPerceptionPartOne,Introductionto
PartOneandchaps.14,pp.69155
MonNov12(12.1.22)MerleauPontyonthebodyasasexedbeingandasexpressionor
speech;sensing.Reading:PhenomenologyofPerceptionPartOne,chaps.56,
andPartTwo,IntroductiontoPartTwoandchap1.pp.156252
WedNov14(12.2.23)MerleauPontyonthethinginthenaturalworld,andonothers
andthehumanworld.Reading:PhenomenologyofPerception,PartTwo,chaps.
34,pp.312360
MonNov17SECONDPAPERDUE
MonNov19(13.1.24)MerleauPontyonbeingfortselfandbeingintheworld.
Reading:PhenomenologyofPerceptionPartThree,pp.387483
WedNov21ThanksgivingRecess,Universityholiday,noclass

MonNov26(14.1.25)Heideggerrevisitsbeingintheworld.Reading:Building
DwellingThinking,TheThing,Language,...Poeticallymandwells....in
Hofstadterpp.143227
WedNov28(14.2.26)Heideggeronartandtruth.Reading:TheOriginoftheWorkof
ArtinHofstadterpp.1786
MonDec3(15.1.27)Benjaminonthereproducibleworkofartandthedestructionof
aura.Reading:TheWorkofArtintheAgeofitsTechnological
Reproducibility(SecondVersion)inJennings,DohertyandLevinpp.1955
WedDec5(15.2.28)Benjaminonimages,photography,andfilm.Reading:Selections
1217and2736inJennings,DohertyandLevinpp.171194,271341
TuDec18,2:00p.m.to4:00p.m.:FINALEXAMPERIODFORTHISCOURSE