Learning objectives
The learning objectives of the course are as follows:
Knowledge and comprehension skills (Dublin Descriptor I)
- acquisition of specific knowledge about the authors and reference texts
- ability to read and understand the reference texts, analysing their main conceptual junctures
Ability to apply knowledge and understanding (Dublin Descriptor II)
- application of argumentative structures identified in the texts to concrete examples
- reconstruction of the genesis and development of the concepts analysed
Making judgments, communication and learning skills (Dublin Descriptors III, IV, V)
- critically analysing passages from the texts in the programme, grasping their conceptual and lexical specificities;
- review the historical and philosophical contexts of the texts and authors examined during the course;
- choose a topic and independently prepare an exposition to be discussed in class on the texts in the syllabus or on collateral texts agreed with the teacher, highlighting analysis and argumentation skills
Prerequisites
No prerequisites required.
Course unit content
Love, beauty and enthusiasm in Plato's philosophy: the Phaedrus and the Symposium
Among the most famous and debated of Plato's dialogues, the Phaedrus and the Symposium represent two crucial texts for the Western philosophical tradition; this relevance is testified, moreover, by a large number of famous readers and interpreters (from Marsilio Ficino to Leone Ebreo, from Giordano Bruno to Shaftesbury, to Schelling and Hegel).
The aim of the course is to carry on an in-depth examination of the two dialogues, highlighting their main theoretical elements: the concepts of love and beauty, the structural connection between eros and philosophy, the multiple forms of enthusiasm, the dialectic and the remembrance of the intelligible world.
It will thus be outlined how the issues addressed in the two texts are organically linked to the key aspects of Plato’s thought, such as the theory of ideas and, ultimately, his own conception of philosophical knowledge.
Full programme
Bibliography
- Plato, Phaedrus, a new translation by R. Waterfield, Oxford University Press, New York 2002
- Plato, The Symposium, translated by M.C. Howatson, Cambridge University Press, New York 2008.
Non-attending students do not have to study additional texts, but are asked to contact the teacher in order to choose a topic for the paper (10-12 pages, in Italian or in English).
Teaching methods
Teacher’s lectures, focused on the analysis of the two dialogues and of significant aspects of their reception, will be followed by student seminars, with ample time for discussion and debate.
The course will be held “blended”: there will be the possibility to frequent the meetings in person in the classroom, or to connect in real time via internet (in a platform that allows to participate to the discussion in class).
Assessment methods and criteria
Students are required to prepare a 25-30 minutes presentation, in English or in Italian, on a topic agreed with the teacher, concerning the texts in the programme, other Platonic dialogues or significant texts in the history of the reception of the Symposium and Phaedrus.
Non-attending students will be required, in lieu of the presentation, to prepare a short paper (10-12 pages) on a topic agreed upon with the lecturer.
The final examination will start from the the topics addressed in the presentation and will then focus on the two dialogues.
The classroom presentation will be graded up to 20/30 and the final examination up to 10/30.
Grading-criteria:
30 e lode: excellent, profound knowledge, excellent expressive capacities, complete comprehension of the relevant concepts and arguments
30: very good, complete and adequate knowledge, good discursive capacities with respect to the topic of the course.
27-29: good, an acceptable degree of knowledge, acceptable discursive capacities with respect to the topic of the course.
24-26: mediocre level of knowledge, though incomplete and not not always correct.
21-23: basic, though superficial knowledge. Inadequate discursive competences with respect to the topic of the course.
18-21: sufficient
Below 18: insufficient. Very imcomplete knowledge, presentation unclear, incomplete comprehension of the basic concepts and arguments.
Other information
Lectures will be held in English, but students may ask questions in Italian.
Presentations may be given in Italian or in English.
In case of insufficient knowledge of English, students may agree an alternative programme with the teacher.
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