ENLIGHTENMENT PHILOSOPHY
On Rousseau’s Discourse on Inequality
Ian Johnston explores Rousseau’s account of human nature and the origins of inequality, examining how civilization, property, social institutions, and amour propre
Read resource →Classical Reference Library
Enlightenment Philosophy
Explore the thinkers and ideas of the Enlightenment, from reason, freedom, and human nature to questions of knowledge, morality, society, and political authority.
Lectures
MODERN POLITICAL THOUGHT
Why Should I Obey the State?
Ian Johnston examines why citizens should obey the state, comparing the political ideas of Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, and Marx and their competing views of authority, liberty, equality, consent, and justice.
Read resource →Student Guides
STUDENT’S GUIDE · ENLIGHTENMENT PHILOSOPHY & DIALOGUE
A Student’s Guide to Denis Diderot’s D’Alembert’s Dream and Rameau’s Nephew.
An accessible introduction to Diderot’s D’Alembert’s Dream and Rameau’s Nephew, with explanations of materialism, consciousness, morality, and satire, plus reading questions and activities.
Read resource →STUDENT’S GUIDE · MODERN PHILOSOPHY & MORALITY
A Student’s Guide to Friedrich Nietzsche’s Beyond Good and Evil
A student-friendly introduction to Nietzsche’s Beyond Good and Evil, examining truth, perspective, conventional morality, the will to power, and independent thought. Includes reading questions and activities.
Read resource →STUDENT’S GUIDE · MODERN PHILOSOPHY & MORALITY
A Student’s Guide to Friedrich Nietzsche’s On the Genealogy of Morals
An accessible introduction to Nietzsche’s three essays on the origins of moral values, resentment, guilt, bad conscience, and the ascetic ideal. Includes key terms, reading questions, and activities encouraging students to evaluate Nietzsche’s arguments critically.
Read resource →STUDENT’S GUIDE · MODERN PHILOSOPHY & GREEK TRAGEDY
A Student’s Guide to Friedrich Nietzsche’s The Birth of Tragedy
An accessible student introduction to Nietzsche’s The Birth of Tragedy, explaining the Apollonian and Dionysian, the role of music and Greek tragedy, and Nietzsche’s criticism of Socrates and Euripides. Includes questions and activities for close reading.
Read resource →STUDENT’S GUIDE · POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY
A Student’s Guide to Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s On the Social Contract.
A student-friendly guide to Rousseau’s On the Social Contract, explaining political freedom, sovereignty, the general will, and legitimate government, with reading questions, key concepts, and activities.
Read resource →TEACHER’S GUIDE · MODERN PHILOSOPHY & MORALITY
A Teacher’s Guide to Friedrich Nietzsche’s On the Genealogy of Morals
A teaching guide to Nietzsche’s On the Genealogy of Morals, examining the origins of moral values, ressentiment, guilt, bad conscience, and the ascetic ideal. Includes essay-by-essay explanations, discussion questions, close-reading suggestions, and classroom activities.
Read resource →STUDENT’S GUIDE · REASON, DOUBT & THE SEARCH FOR CERTAINTY
Discourse on the Method — A Student’s Guide
A student-friendly introduction to René Descartes’ Discourse on the Method, with an overview of its six parts, explanations of key philosophical ideas, reading suggestions, discussion questions, and an activity applying Descartes’ method to everyday claims.
Read resource →STUDENT’S GUIDE · ENLIGHTENMENT THOUGHT & MORAL PROGRESS
Discourse on the Sciences and the Arts — A Student’s Guide
An accessible introduction to Rousseau’s 1750 argument that advances in science, literature, and the arts do not necessarily improve human morality. Explores virtue, manners, luxury, vanity, and the meaning of progress, with reading questions and a contemporary comparison activity.
Read resource →STUDENT’S GUIDE · DOUBT, KNOWLEDGE & THE THINKING SELF
Meditations on First Philosophy — A Student’s Guide
An accessible guide to Descartes’ six meditations, introducing methodical doubt, the cogito, the wax example, mind–body dualism, and the search for certainty. Includes reading prompts, discussion questions, and a practical activity.
Read resource →STUDENT’S GUIDE · PEACE, GOVERNMENT & INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE
On Perpetual Peace — A Student’s Guide
An accessible guide to Kant’s On Perpetual Peace, explaining the six preliminary articles, three definitive articles, republican constitutions, a federation of free states, and cosmopolitan hospitality. Includes reading prompts, discussion questions, and an activity designing a peace agreement.
Read resource →Teacher Guides
TEACHER’S GUIDE · ENLIGHTENMENT PHILOSOPHY & DIALOGUE
A Teacher’s Guide to Denis Diderot’s D’Alembert’s Dream and Rameau’s Nephew
A practical guide to teaching Diderot’s D’Alembert’s Dream and Rameau’s Nephew, examining materialism, consciousness, morality, social hypocrisy, and philosophical dialogue through close reading, discussion, and classroom activities.
Read resource →TEACHER’S GUIDE · MODERN PHILOSOPHY & MORALITY
A Teacher’s Guide to Friedrich Nietzsche’s Beyond Good and Evil
A practical teaching guide to Nietzsche’s Beyond Good and Evil, exploring philosophical truth, moral values, the will to power, and the philosopher of the future. Includes close-reading suggestions, discussion questions, and classroom activities.
Read resource →TEACHER’S GUIDE · MODERN PHILOSOPHY & GREEK TRAGEDY
A Teacher’s Guide to Friedrich Nietzsche’s The Birth of Tragedy
A teaching guide to Nietzsche’s The Birth of Tragedy, exploring Apollonian and Dionysian artistic forces, the origins of Greek tragedy, Socrates, Euripides, and the philosophical significance of art. Includes discussion questions, close-reading suggestions, and classroom activities.
Read resource →TEACHER’S GUIDE · POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY
A Teacher’s Guide to Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s On the Social Contract
A comprehensive teaching guide to Rousseau’s On the Social Contract, exploring political legitimacy, the general will, freedom, sovereignty, and civic obligation through close readings, discussion questions, and classroom activities
Read resource →TEACHER’S GUIDE · REASON, DOUBT & SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY
Discourse on the Method — A Teacher’s Guide
A guide to teaching René Descartes’ Discourse on the Method, exploring the four rules of inquiry, methodical doubt, the thinking self, provisional morality, and the relationship between philosophical reasoning and scientific investigation. Includes teaching objectives, discussion questions, and classroom activities.
Read resource →TEACHER’S GUIDE · ENLIGHTENMENT PHILOSOPHY & MORAL PROGRESS
Discourse on the Sciences and the Arts — A Teacher’s Guide
A guide to teaching Rousseau’s provocative 1750 discourse, examining whether advances in science, literature, and the arts improve human morality. Explores virtue, luxury, social appearances, and historical argument, with discussion questions, close-reading suggestions, and a classroom activity.
Read resource →TEACHER’S GUIDE · DOUBT, CERTAINTY & THE MIND
Meditations on First Philosophy — A Teacher’s Guide
A guide to teaching René Descartes’ Meditations on First Philosophy, examining its six meditations, the cogito, arguments concerning God, mind–body dualism, and the search for certainty. Includes teaching objectives, close-reading passages, discussion questions, and classroom approaches.
Read resource →TEACHER’S GUIDE · POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY & INTERNATIONAL PEACE
On Perpetual Peace — A Teacher’s Guide
A guide to teaching Kant’s On Perpetual Peace, examining the preliminary and definitive articles, republican constitutions, a federation of free states, cosmopolitan hospitality, and the relationship between morality and political expediency. Includes discussion questions, close-reading suggestions, and a classroom activity.
Read resource →TEACHER’S GUIDE · ENLIGHTENMENT SCIENCE & COSMIC ORIGINS
Universal Natural History and Theory of the Heavens — A Teacher’s Guide
A guide to teaching Immanuel Kant’s Universal Natural History and Theory of the Heavens, exploring the nebular hypothesis, Newtonian physics, cosmic development, and the relationship between scientific explanation and religious belief. Includes close-reading passages, discussion questions, and classroom activities.
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