History of Irish Thought

Course description: This course covers the history of Irish thought from the seventh century to the twentieth century, focusing in some detail on the ideas of selected individual thinkers. The course begins with the thought of the Irish Augustine, an Irish monk from the seventh century. It continues with an examination of the work of the great ninth-century thinker, John Scottus Eriugena. The bulk of the course will discuss the thought of the modern thinkers, including Robert Boyle, John Toland, George Berkeley, Jonathan Swift, Francis Hutcheson and Edmund Burke.

The course will conclude with a discussion of the work of the nineteenth-century radical thinkers, William Thompson and Anna Doyle Wheeler, and the twentieth-century thinkers, Iris Murdoch, William Desmond and Philip Pettit.

Teaching and learning methods: The course is lecture-based, supplemented by tutorials.

Methods of assessment and evaluation: Overall assessment is based on written examination. Written course work (essay) - if required - is added to the evaluation.

Core Texts:

Duddy, T., A History of Irish Thought, Routledge 2002.