Topic: German Political Thought from Kant to Marx

This  course will be devoted to a study of one very influential period of modern political
philosophy: German political thought from Kant to Marx.  We will consider three main
currents of this period: romanticism, liberalism and communism.  We will examine these
movements through a detailed study of some of the classical texts of Kant, Fichte,
Novalis, Friedrich Schlegel, Schiller, Hegel and Marx.  The chief philosophical problems
we will consider will be the authority of reason in politics, the relationship between
morality and politics, the limits of state authority, and the loss of community in modern
civil society.

The main requirements for this course will be three essays, which will consist of several
short questions.  Grades will be based upon clarity of exposition, cogency of argument,
and originality.

The course can be taken for graduate credit, under P590, with the instructors written
permission.  Texts for the course can be read in either English or German.

Texts:
Kant, "Idea for a Universal History," "Perpectual Peace," "On the common Saying," in
Reiss, ed. Kant's Political Writings.

Novallis, "Christianity or Europe," "Faith and Love," "Pollen," in Beiser, ed. Early
Political Writings of the German Romantics.

Fichte, Lectures on the Vocation of a Scholar, in Breazeale, ed. Fichte's Early
Philosophical Writings.

Schiller, Letters on the Aesthetic Education of Man, ed. Wilkinson and Willoughby
translation.

Hegel, The Philosophy of Right, ed. Allen Wood Reason in History, ed. H. Nisbet.

Marx, "1844 Manuscripts," "The German Ideology," ed. Tucker, Marx-
Engels Reader.