The Idea of the Ethical

What is the basis for morality? The great turning point of the history of modern European philosophy, particularly ethical philosophy, came at the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century with Kant's new account of the possibility of moral philosophy and Hegel's critique of that account. In this course, we shall investigate Kant's moral philosophy and Hegel's response to it, and then we will consider the ways in which a series of major thinkers attempted to rethink the idea of the ethical in the light of this dispute. We will consider Schopenhauer, Kierkegaard, Marx, Emerson, and Nietzsche and conclude with an account of 20th century developments. (Some prior work in philosophy would be useful background) 3 hrs. lect.