M5 – Module Overview
Web Page
Perhaps “modern” seems like a peculiar term to use for the period from around 1600 to 1800.
Surprisingly, perhaps, it was in the 1580s that the term ‘modern’ came to refer to ‘present times’, according to the Online Etymology Dictionary.
The Modern Period is most associated with the concept of Enlightenment: the enlightenment of new relationships with nature, with God, and with one’s social order. .
Readings
All required readings for this module are in the module itself. Please read this material carefully, reflect on it, and read it again.
You can also access the assigned reading for this module online: Modern Era (1600 CE – 1800 CE) (pdf; 1.4 MB)
Learning Activities
Discussion 1 – The Blank Slate
How and why has this preference for the blank slate come about and what social and political factors are involved in its continuing promotion?
Discussion 2 – At the Coffee House
A center of communication and discourse in the 17th and 18th Centuries was the Coffee House. The article The Lost World of the London Coffeehouse explores the scene as a haven of caffeine-fueled debate that helped shape the modern world. To what would you liken the Coffee House in today’s society?
Written Assignment – Lives of the Peasants
What was it like living in the 17th Century? In this assignment, take a closer look at some aspect of life then. The article Stuart Britain: A Look at Everyday Life will give you some ideas. Do you want to focus on marriage? On food? On transportation? On wars? On The Great Fire of London? Find three references that provide more depth, other than Wikipedia. Please have a paper of 500 words in length.
DISCUSSION 1 TOPIC
PLATO AND LOKE ON THE BLANK SLATE
In this discussion, you are comparing two different views on human nature, in particular the controversy as to whether our natures are innate or shaped by our environments.
In his book The Blank Slate, Stephen Pinker argues that “every society must operate with a theory of human nature” and that “our intellectual mainstream is committed” to the notion of the blank slate. (Pinker, 2002). How and why has this preference for the blank slate come about and what social and political factors are involved in its continuing promotion?
An early argument for innate structures in the mind comes from the Plato/Socrates.
In “Phaedo” Plato creates a dialogue, with Socrates as the primary spokesperson, that speaks against the conception of the human mind as initially empty, waiting to be filled only from experiences. The Phaedo argues that when we learn something, we are recollecting the knowledge we gained before we were born. In contrast, John Locke take the position that the human mind is a blank slate (tabula rasa) and that we gain all knowledge through sense experience.
Phaedo recounts the last day of Socrates’ life, specifically a conversation in which Socrates explains to his friends why, as a philosopher, he is not afraid to die. The dialogue covers a lot of material related to the immortality of the soul, which is not directly relevant to this course. Therefore, you will read a selection of the dialogue in which Socrates discusses the nature of knowledge. Socrates argues that when we learn something, what is really happening is that we are reminded of something we learned before we were born. That is, for Socrates, learning is not a matter of information or data being impressed on a blank mind, but rather the knowledge already lies dormant within the person, waiting to be activated. So, learning something is remembering what we once knew (before birth) but forgot. This argument (that knowledge is recollection) fits into the larger dialogue because it is one of four arguments Socrates makes for the immortality of the soul.
Compare and evaluate these two positions by first clearly stating the essential points of the philosophical positions of Plato/Socrates and John Locke, and then explain which theory you find more compelling. Support your evaluation with reason, logic, and evidence. The video clip by Steven Pinker outlines the debate.
Please post a response, and remember to respond to two other people’s postings.
Please Note: Each discussion response must have a minimum of 125 words, spell checked, well written and citing references in support of arguments. Be sure to also respond to at least two classmates later in the week (making for a minimum of three posts total. More are encouraged)
References
Pinker, S. (2002). The blank slate: The modern denial of human nature. New York: Viking Press.
Steven Pinker. (2008). Human nature and the blank slate. TED Talks. [video; 24:08]
DISCUSSION 2 TOPIC
AT THE COFFE HOUSE
A center of communication and discourse in the 17th and 18th Centuries was the Coffee House. Before engaging with this discussion, please read Dr. Matthew Green’s article, The Lost World of the London Coffeehouse (PublicDomainReview.org; 2013).
To what would you liken the Coffee House in today’s society? Provide three reasons how these two environments are similar and three in which they are very different. Defend your arguments with evidence and examples.
Please post a response, and remember to respond to two other people’s postings.
Please Note: Each discussion response must have a minimum of 125 words, spell checked, well written and citing references in support of arguments. Be sure to also respond to at least two classmates later in the week (making for a minimum of three posts total. More are encouraged)
Image: A disagreement about the Cartesian Dream Argument (or similar) turns sour. Note the man throwing coffee in his opponent’s face. From the frontispiece of Ned Ward’s satirical poem Vulgus Brittanicus (1710) and probably more of a flight of fancy than a faithful depiction of coffeehouse practices (Source).
WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT – THE LIVES OF THE PEASANTS
Assignment
Completion checkbox for M5 Assignment – The Lives of the Peasants
What was it like living in the 17th Century? In this assignment, take a closer look at some aspect of life then. The following links will give you some ideas.
17th Century Crisis by John Green is a video (13:29; CrashCourse; June 29, 2019)
Life in the 17th Century is an article (Lambert, T. [2021]; LocalHistories.org)
Do you want to focus on marriage? On food? On transportation? On wars? On The Great Fire of London?
Find three references that provide more depth, other than Wikipedia. Please have a paper of 500 words in length.
Image: Village Fair by David Teniers the Younger (1610–1690) (public domain; via Wikipedia)
NOTES FROM THE CLIENTS: PLEASE RESPOND TO EACH DISCUSSION SEPARATELY ( DISCUSSION 1, DISCUSSION 2) AND THE WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT SEPARATELY. IDENTIFY EACH OF THEM.
THANK YOU
