Learning objectives
Knowledge of main tendencies in the history of philosophy from the modern age to the end of the 20th century. Knowledge and understanding of a number of philosophical texts which are read in the lecture-hall (descriptor 1).
Knowledge of at least some terms of the Greek and German philosophical lexicon. Knowledge of main tendencies in the philosophical historiography of philosophy from the 18th to the 20th centuries.
Knowledge of the primary arguments of the History of Philosophy from the 18th to the 20th centuries.
Ability to comprehend the principal lines of argument of a philosophical text, including on the basis of lexical skills that make it possible to comprehend the relevance of given philosophical terms in given historical and cultural contexts (descriptor 2 and 3). Students are asked to demonstrate their skills in argumentation , in interdisciplinary connections and in clear communication by means of compiling essays on the subjects studied (descriptor 3 and 4). It also represents a useful exercise for students, requiring them to apply autonomous their knowledge to a variety of themes chosen (descriptor 5).
Course unit content
The course aims to provide a general reconstruction of the fundamental topics of the history of the philosophy from the end of the seventeenth century to the end of the twentieth century. The introductory part will provide basic information on the method for the study of the history of philosophy with the required bibliographical references.
The type of issues covered in this course makes it possible each year to examine key moments in the history of thought of this period with special attention given to the fundamental moments in preceding historical periods.
The first lessons are designed to supplement the student’s basic preparation by outlining a line of study for the history of philosophy that explains how the course material will be covered in general for key moments in modern and contemporary thought. Bibliographical information and reference texts for the History of Philosophy will be given, as well as basic texts of the History of Philosophy to allow students to create a solid basis of study.
Full programme
Materialism and Spiritualism, body and mind from the end of the seventeenth century to the end of the twentieth century.
The course aims to provide a detailed description and a critical examination both of the concept of materialism and of the concept of spiritualism, which are developed beginning from the thought of the Idéologues (Cabanis, D’Holbach) in the debate on the relations between mind and body. The thought of Kant, Brentano, Husserl is contextualized in this debate.
MODULO A
I. Kant, Critique of Judgement.
MODULO B
F. Brentano, The Psychology from an empirical point of view.
E. Husserl, Cartesian Meditations. IV Meditation.
Note: for the students of the course “Philosophical Studies”: it is required the knowledge of the life, works, general topics of Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Spinoza, Locke, Hume, Leibniz, Hegel
For students of the course “Philosophical Studies” which will go deep into the syllabus:
A. Guerra, Introduzione a Kant, Laterza, Roma-Bari 1998.
B. Centi, Coscienza, etica e architettonica in Kant. Uno studio attraverso le Critiche, Biblioteca di “Studi Kantiani”, Istituti Editoriali e Poligrafici Internazionali, Pisa-Roma 2002
V. Costa, Husserl, Carocci, Roma 2009
V. Costa, E. Franzini, P. Spinicci, La fenomenologia, Einaudi, Milano 2002.
R. Bernet, E. Mahrbach, I. Kern, Husserl, trad. it. a cura di C. La Rocca, il Mulino, Bologna 1992
D. Gillies, G. Giorello, La filosofia della scienza nel XX secolo, Laterza, Roma-Bari, 1995
S. Nannini, L’anima e il corpo, Laterza, Roma-Bari 2002
For students of other courses:
I. Kant, Critica della capacità di giudizio
A. Guerra, Introduzione a Kant, Laterza, Roma-Bari 1998.
E. Husserl, Meditazioni cartesiane,
V. Costa, Husserl, Carocci, Roma 2009
For students of the course in “Psychology”
I. Kant, Critica della capacità di giudizio
F. Brentano, La psicologia dal punto di vista empirico
R. Smith, Storia della psicologia, a cura di F. Toccafondi, il Mulino 2004
L. Mecacci, Storia della psicologia del Novecento, Laterza, Roma-Bari 2002
For students which don’t attend lessons the syllabus will be unvaried.
Bibliography
Materialism and Spiritualism, body and mind from the end of the seventeenth century to the end of the twentieth century.
The course aims to provide a detailed description and a critical examination both of the concept of materialism and of the concept of spiritualism, which are developed beginning from the thought of the Idéologues (Cabanis, D’Holbach) in the debate on the relations between mind and body. The thought of Kant, Brentano, Husserl is contextualized in this debate.
MODULO A
I. Kant, Critique of Judgement.
MODULO B
F. Brentano, The Psychology from an empirical point of view.
E. Husserl, Cartesian Meditations. IV Meditation.
Teaching methods
The course syllabus has been designed to develop the conceptual analysis of the proposed topic with direct reference to the writings of the authors examined, including through readings and discussion.
In the classroom, textbooks that have the original text and translations side-by-side will be used; when such texts are not available, original language texts will be used so that students will become familiar with the most important terms and those specific to each author examined. At the end of the course, a list of these terms in their original language accompanied by a translation will be provided.
In addition, within each subject, students are asked to demonstrate their skills in understanding and argumentation by means of compiling essays on the subjects studied.
The course, divided into two units, Unit A and Unit B, is worth 12 credits. Unit B is more specialised, Unit A is more introductory in nature.
Modifications and supplementary material for students in other courses of study may be agreed upon.
At the end of Unit A, students may sit an exam for the material covered in order to subsequently concentrate on preparing Unit B.
Assessment methods and criteria
The oral examination tends to verify historical and philosophical knowledge acquired through the class attendance, the study of the texts and bibliography, contextualising them in historical and philosophical tradition (descriptors 1 and 2); the level of critical assimilation of conceptual contents; the property and the adequacy of linguistic expression; skill in autonomous argumentation (descriptors 3, 4, 5).
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.
