This course will look at three of the most influential thinkers of the early modern period: Locke, Berkeley, and Hume. Through these thinkers, we will see the development of early empiricism. We will explore their views on the origin of mental contents, the nature of reality, skepticism, and language, through a close reading of their major texts: Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Berkeley's Principles of Human Knowledge, and Hume's Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding.

Course outline [1]