Learning objectives
The course is addressed to students with no specific acquaintance with
ancient and medieval philosophy. It aims to provide students with tools for critical, informed and independent judgment, and to enhance their skills for communication and continuing education.
In particular, the course proposes to provide students with the following abilities of acquiring knowledge and understanding (Dublin Descriptor I): - knowing the philosophical, theological, and scientific thought in the Antiquity and in the Middle Ages; - being able of reading and understanding the classical texts of ancient and medieval philosophy; - knowing the terminology of ancient and medieval philosophy and of the different philosophical methods required for the discussion of topics and the interpretation of texts; - knowing the historiography of ancient and medieval philosophy.
The course also proposes to provide students with the following abilities to apply the acquired knowledge and understanding (Dublin Descriptor II): - being able of elaborating clear, documented and argument-based papers; - being able of acquiring and applying knowledge in interdisciplinary fields; - being able of reconstructing the genesis and development of a concept, a doctrine or a philosophical debate; - being able of identifying the connection of ideas between the history of philosophy and other areas of science and philosophy, in particular early-modern philosophy and theology; being able of reconstructing the cultural contexts, with particular attention to the interplay of the different positions that are involved.
Finally, the course proposes Finally, the course proposes to provide students with the following communication and learning skills and abilities of making judgments (Dublin Descriptors III - IV - V): - being able of analyzing a philosophical text, both from a historical and a philosophical point of view; - being able of assessing the arguments used in a philosophical debate in order to resolve a problem or to defend a thesis; - being able of criticizing a philosophical position and/or a topic; - being able of analyzing concepts and their relations, also with regard to other disciplinary areas; - being able of reconstructing, historically as well as philosophically, the genesis of a concept, a problem or a philosophical debate; - being able of communicating the acquired knowledge and ablities of analysis and judgment in a clear, documented, complete and logically consequential and well-organized way, both orally and through written papers; - being able of evaluating and reconstructing their learning process and the skills, abilities and knowledge they have acquired.
Prerequisites
No specific prerequisite, except for an elementary and general knowledge of the history of philosophy.
Course unit content
Title of the course: "Ancient and Medieval Metaphysics". The course is intended to offer
a general introduction to the major authors, topics and philosophical and theological debates of the Antiquity and the Middle Ages. In particular, the course will treat some major issues of ancient and medieval metaphysics (especially Platonic and Aristotelian) such as the nature of being and substance, and the nature of God and separate substances.
Full programme
The course is an introduction to the most important thinkers of the Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Classes will follow the historical development of ancient and medieval philosophy, from the pre-Socratic schools to William of Ockham, through discussing the most significant issues of ancient and medieval philosophy. Historical reconstruction and textual analysis will be alternated with the discussion of ancient and medieval philosophical and theological topics. Among the many topics addressed by ancient and medieval authors, the course will focus especially on problems concerning four fundamental fields of philosophy: first of all metaphysics, but also three other disciplines connected to it (i.e. theory of knowledge, philosophy of language, and philosophical theology). More specifically, the course proposes to illustrate the most important views of philosophy elaborated in the Antiquity and the Middle Ages, and to reconstruct the influence exerted by ancient and late-antiquity thought (especially Platonism, Aristotelianism and Neo-Platonism) on medieval philosophy.
Bibliography
BIBLIOGRAPHY (FOR ATTENDING STUDENTS)
It is required the knowledge of a university-level handbook of the history of ancient philosophy and of one of the history of medieval philosophy. Recommended handbook:
- P. Porro and C. Esposito, "Filosofia. Vol. I: Filosofia antica e medievale", Laterza, Bari 2008.
Primary text on which students are required to compose a paper (5 pp. max.), which must be submitted some days before the exam:
- Aristotele, "Etica Nicomachea", I-II, VI, X, ed. C. Mazzarelli, Bompiani, Milano 2014.
Other material that could be distributed during the lessons will be uploaded on the ELLY platform.
BIBLIOGRAPHY (FOR NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS)
It is required the knowledge of a university-level handbook of the history of ancient philosophy and of one of the history of medieval philosophy. Recommended handbook:
- P. Porro and C. Esposito, "Filosofia. Vol. I: Filosofia antica e medievale", Laterza, Bari 2008.
Primary text on which students are required to compose a paper (5 pp. max.), which must be submitted some days before the exam:
- Aristotele, "Etica Nicomachea", I-II, VI, X, ed. C. Mazzarelli, Bompiani, Milano 2014.
Other recommended texts in addition to the handbook:
- M. Bonazzi, R. L. Cardullo, G. Casertano, E. Spinelli, F. Trabattoni (a cura di), "Filosofia antica", Raffaello Cortina, Milano 2005.
- M. Bettetini, L. Bianchi, C. Marmo, P. Porro (a cura di), "Filosofia medievale", Raffaello Cortina, Milano 2004.
Other material that could be distributed during the lessons will be uploaded on the ELLY platform.
Teaching methods
Oral lessons. During lessons the topics that will be discussed are those of the general contents of the course; they could be implemented by other didactic materials, in addition to those indicated in the bibliography, materials that will be however uploaded on ELLY platform. Oral lessons will be complemented with seminars and exercising reserved to the reading of texts and/or discussion of ancient and medieval texts and topics.
Assessment methods and criteria
Students' knowledge and understanding and learning skills, and their abilities to apply them, will be verified in two ways:
1) in itinere: a written paper in which students must measure themselves with the philosophical and historical analysis of a classical text that will be indicated in bibliography. The written paper is intended to verify students' historical and philosophical knowledge, their ability to apply the acquired knowledge and understanding skills, and to write a paper in a clear and documented way, logically rigorous and philosophically argument-based, and will be evaluated according to four criteria: 1) historical, philosophical, and historiographic knowledge reached by the students; 2) clearness of the paper; 3) logical accuracy and critical thinking; 4) ability to employ and assess philosophical arguments. The written paper is a practical test; it is necessary to the admission to the final exam.
2) Final exam: oral examination based upon the texts of the bibliography, and with the reading and the analysis of a philosophical text.
The final exam aims to verify the degree of preparation, knowledge and understanding skills reached by the students. Average duration of
the examination is about 30 min. In particular, the oral exam aims to verify: 1) students' degree of historical, philosophical and historiographic knowledge; 2) students' ability to follow the development of a concept or a doctrine in the same field and/or in related and interdisciplinary fields, and to reconstruct a cultural context, with particular attention to the interplay of the different positions that are involved; 3) students' acquaintance with the philosophical vocabulary and, specifically, with the terminology and concepts proper to the ancient and medieval philosophy; 4) students' ability to contextualize and analyze a philosophical text.
The final score (on scale 0-30) is the result of the final exam and will be determinated by five criteria: 1) speech clarity and accuracy; 2) argumentative skills; 3) ability to explain a concept or a doctrine, historically and philosophically, and to make historical and philosophical connections; 4) ability to read, understand and analyze a philosophical text; 5) extent and degree of the historical and philosophical preparation, reached on the basis of the texts indicated in bibliography.
The exam is passed if the minimum grade of 18/30 is reached. The final mark will be awarded according to the following scheme:
30 and praise: excellent; extensive knowledge and solid preparation, excellent expressive skills, comprehension and analysis of concepts, topics and arguments complete and exhaustive;
30: excellent; complete and adequate knowledge, excellent analysis skills, correct and well articulated expression;
27-29: very good; more than satisfactory knowledge, adequate analysis skills and essentially correct and structured expression;
24-26: good; good but not complete knowledge, satisfactory analysis skills and not always correct expression;
21-23: discrete; discrete knowledge although superficial, sometimes unsatisfactory analysis skills and sometimes inappropriate ability to express;
18-21: sufficient; acceptable but very superficial knowledge, unsatisfactory analysis skills, often inappropriate expression;
0-18: insufficient; the preparation has important gaps in terms of content, lack of clarity in exposition, inability to understand and analyze concepts, topics and arguments.
Other information
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