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PHIL20790

Academic Year 2026/2027

Hegel and Heidegger (PHIL20790)

Subject:
Philosophy
College:
Social Sciences & Law
School:
Philosophy
Level:
2 (Intermediate)
Credits:
5
Module Coordinator:
Assoc Professor Joseph Cohen
Trimester:
Spring
Mode of Delivery:
Blended
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

The Module will study one of the central philosophical confrontations in the History of Contemporary Continental Philosophy. Our aim will be to explicate and thereby confront firstly how both Hegel and Heidegger engage with the question of Being and thereby with the idea of History. According to which Law and toward which orientation Being becomes and manifests itself in History? And which "place" does the Human Being engage its essence in this onto-historical deployment? Secondly, we shall explore and thereby relate and differentiate how both Hegel and Heidegger approach the passage between "Good" and "Evil". Is Being inherently Evil through its History? And if so, from where can the Good occur? Lastly, and in direct link with our second point, we will study the philosophical question each author draws in relation to the idea of God and religiosity. Far from the question of the existence of God, we will address the question of revelation and redemption, and indeed their place in the History of Philosophy from the perspective of Hegel and Heidegger.

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

Excellent knowledge of German Idealism and contemporary phenomenology.
Excellent understanding of the central philosophical questions developped from Hegel to Heidegger and how each have approached these.
Excellent capability of reading and understanding, as well as critically assess, central texts from the European philosophical tradition.
Very good understanding of the sources of the main philosophical debates in contemporary continental philosophy.
Very good grasp of the most important secondary litterature on the proposed subjects (and naturally of both authors) in the Course description.
Develop writing and hermeneutical skills in philosophy.

Indicative Module Content:

Key authors addressed: Hegel and Heidegger. But also, Heraclitus, Plato, Aristotle, Kant, Husserl, Nietzsche, Levinas.
Key concepts addressed: Being, Spirit, Dialectic, Speculative Reason, Truth, Good, Justice, History, Ethics, God, Religion, Meaning.
Key philosophical movements addressed: Kantianism, Hegelianism, Nietzscheanism, Phenomenology, Hermeneutics, Critical Theory.

The United Nations identified seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as core to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and UCD contributes in general to SDG 4 Quality Education. Further SDGs explored within this module if relevant are listed below. A scale of 1 - 5 indicates the extent to which the SDG is covered.


 

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

24
Tutorial

10
Autonomous Student Learning

80
Total

114

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
The Module is lecture based.

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 

Assessment Strategy
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade Component repeat (in-module) Offered
Assignment(Including Essay): Final Essay based on series of predetermined questions which will be handed out to students by Week 4.
Word Count: 3500 words.		 Week 15 Graded Yes
50
 Yes
Exam (In-person): In Class Exam based on a predetermined text from one of the two authors: Hegel or Heidegger. Week 6 Graded No
25
 No
Exam (In-person): In Class Exam based on a predetermined text from one of the two authors: Hegel or Heidegger. Week 12 Graded No
25
 No

As part of UCD's student support, under the Additional Consideration policy, extensions may be available for the following assessments in the module: Assignment (including essay/poster), Portfolio, Reflective Assignment, Report(s), and Individual Project.


Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 

Resit In Terminal Exam
Summer Yes - 2 Hour
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, on an activity or draft prior to summative assessment
• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Not yet recorded.

Kant, Critique of Pure Reason
Kant, Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals
Hegel, The Spirit of Christianity and its Faith
Hegel, Phenomenology of Spirit
Hegel, Science of Logic, Bk. 1: "Being"
Hegel, Reason in History
Heidegger, Being and Time
Heidegger, Time and Being
Heidegger, What is Metaphysics?
Heidegger, Identity and Difference
Heidegger, The Essence of Truth
Levinas, Of God who Comes to Mind
Levinas, Othrwise than Being or Beyond Essence

Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.
Spring Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 Mon 15:00 - 16:50
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