Learning objectives
By the end of the course, the Student of History of Culture and Values will have:
1. understood the fundamental traits of moral-philosophy of Adam Smith, Friedrich Nietzsche and Max Scheler, with particular attention for the role played by feeling in moral-evaluation;
2. mastered the philosophical lexicon. Theoretical and historical-philosophical attention will be payed to the following terms: feeling, emotion, value, evaluation, sympathy, empathy, valence. He/she will improve his/her ability to orientate him/herself within the history of ideas in order to clearly grasp which philosophical terms are compatible with the contemporary debate (Damasio);
3. developed the capacity to take a stance on the philosophical issues discussed in class;
4. developed the ability to argue for the supported thesis considering the historical-philosophical context;
5. read and understood autonomously the works of the treated authors.
Prerequisites
None
Course unit content
Feeling’s Value: Smith, Nietzsche, Scheler and Damasio
Starting from the second half of eighteenth century, the nexus between feeling and moral-field manifest itself in the introduction and discussion of the concept of sympathy considered as a fundamental act or function for evaluating the appropriateness of actions and behaviors. If, on the one hand Adam Smith’s theory has been widely criticized – albeit for different reasons – by both Nietzsche and Scheler, on the other it has provided the possibility for developing different accounts of moral-experience. Moreover, Smith’s theory foreshadows the key-role played by the cognitive-function of feeling and emotion within the twentieth century philosophy. Accordingly, the course is aimed at shedding light on some important steps of the process by which emotion has become one of the most discussed topics within the contemporary moral-philosophical debate.
Full programme
Feeling’s Value: Smith, Nietzsche, Scheler and Damasio
- A. Smith, Teoria dei sentimenti morali, BUR, Milano 2018, pp. 81-138.
- F. Nietzsche, Aurora. Pensieri sui pregiudizi morali, Adelphi Milano 2017.
- M. Scheler, Il formalismo nell’etica e l’etica materiale dei valori, Bompiani, Milano 2013, Parte Seconda, Sezione V: Etica materiale dei valori ed eudemonismo (pp. 473-719).
- A. Damasio, Lo strano ordine delle cose, Adelphi, Milano, pp. 117-165.
Further suggested readings (optional)
G. Preti, Alle origini dell’etica contemporanea: Adam Smith, La Nuova Italia, Bari 1957.
K. Haakonssen, Adam Smith: The Theory of Moral Sentiments, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2002.
G. Campioni, Nietzsche. La morale dell’eroe, ETS, Pisa 2008.
G. Simmel, Friedrich Nietzsche filosofo morale, Diabasis, Parma 2008.
B. Leiter, Nietzsche on Morality, Routledge, London-New York 2015.
V. Venier, Fenomenologia delle emozioni. Scheler e Husserl, Mimesis, Milano 2016.
G. Cusinato, Biosemiotica e psicopatologia dell’ordo amoris. In dialogo con Max Scheler, FrancoAngeli, Milano 2018.
F. Caruana e M. Viola, Come funzionano le emozioni. Da Darwin alle neuroscienze, il Mulino, Bologna 2018.
Bibliography
- A. Smith, Teoria dei sentimenti morali, BUR, Milano 2018, pp. 81-138.
- F. Nietzsche, Aurora. Pensieri sui pregiudizi morali, Adelphi Milano 2017.
- M. Scheler, Il formalismo nell’etica e l’etica materiale dei valori, Bompiani, Milano 2013, Parte Seconda, Sezione V: Etica materiale dei valori ed eudemonismo (pp. 473-719).
- A. Damasio, Lo strano ordine delle cose, Adelphi, Milano, pp. 117-165.
Teaching methods
Lectures. Reading, analysis and discussion of the authors' works, written training.
Assessment methods and criteria
Oral examination. The oral examination is aimed to verify: I) command of the topics and of the texts presented in class; II) the ability to contextualize issues within the historical-philosophical reference-horizon
Assessment criteria and assessment thresholds:
30 cum laude: Excellent, excellent solidity of knowledge, excellent expressive properties, excellent understanding of the concepts
30: Very good. Complete and adequate knowledge, well-articulated and correctly expressed
27-29: Good, satisfactory knowledge, essentially correct expression.
24-26: Fairly good knowledge, but not complete and not always correct.
22-23: Generally sufficient knowledge but superficial. Expression is often not appropriate and confused.
18-21: Sufficient. The expression and articulation of the speech show important gaps.
<18: insufficient knowledge or very incomplete, lack of guidance in discipline, expression seriously deficient. Exam failed.
Other information
Further information about the course as well as didactic-resources will be made available on Elly.
