THEORETICAL PHILOSOPHY AND PHILOSOPHY OF TECHNOLOGY
cod. 1010620

Academic year 2024/25
1° year of course - Second semester
Professor
Agostino CERA
Academic discipline
Filosofia teoretica (M-FIL/01)
Field
Istituzioni di filosofia
Type of training activity
Characterising
30 hours
of face-to-face activities
6 credits
hub:
course unit
in ITALIAN

Learning objectives

a) Knowledge of the matter:
- to acquire the essential conceptual tools in order to deal with the topic “technology” in a critical and independent way.
general knowledge of the discipline;
- to explore some issues related to the history of the discipline and the contemporary debate;
- to acquire a solid cultural background;
- to develop a useful method to approach philosophical texts.

b) Application Capacity
- to develop skills to manage the topics and the history of the discipline;
- to develop accuracy and precision in philosophical language;
- to develop skills of analysis and interpretation of philosophical texts;
- to develop the ability to distinguish the contexts and the various points of view in a text or a philosophical issue;
- to develop logical skills of analysis and solution of theoretical problems and apply them to practice;

c) Soft skills
- to develop analytical skills of exposure;
- to develop a personal and critical point of view on issues of history and theory of the discipline;
- to develop ability to use philosophical knowledge to review and assess problems related to the contemporary world;
- to develop ability to draft texts and reports on relevant topics.

Prerequisites

Basic knowledges of the history of philosophy may favor the approach to the discipline, although they are not compulsory or mandatory. Moreover, skills and competences of intermediate level of logical-theoretical and linguistic-expressive type are required.

Course unit content

title of the course:
"After Heidegger. Without Heidegger. The Philosophy of Technology at the Empirical Turn Test".

Description:
Continuing the path inaugurated last year, the
course of theoretical philosophy and philosophy of technology deal with a historical and theoretical introduction to the "question of The first part presents an overview of the philosophy of technology as a discipline, focusing on the "first generation of philosophers of technology". The second part deals with the crucial newest stage in this field, now more than four decades old: the so-called "empirical turn."

Full programme

title of the course:
"After Heidegger. Without Heidegger. The Philosophy of Technology at the Empirical Turn Test".

Description:
Continuing the path inaugurated last year, the
course of theoretical philosophy and philosophy of technology deal with a historical and theoretical introduction to the "question of The first part presents an overview of the philosophy of technology as a discipline, focusing on the "first generation of philosophers of technology". The second part deals with the crucial newest stage in this field, now more than four decades old: the so-called "empirical turn."
After a general introduction to the discipline (Pansera's book and Scharff's lemma), the focus on the empirical turn will be through the now classic volume edited in 2001 by Achterhuis, that is of its very recent Italian translation. Lastly, a brief in-depth discussion devoted (Verbeek and Rosenberger) to postphenomenology (the approach that, picking up the legacy of the empirical turn, represents the current mainstream in this field of study) and a brief critical reading of the empirical turn and postphenomenology itself (Cera).

Bibliography

1) M. T. Pansera, “Tecnica”, Guida, Napoli 2013.

2) H. Achterhuis, “Filosofia della tecnica in America. La svolta empirica”, tr. it. A. Cera, L. Possati, A. Romele, Inschibboleth, Roma 2023.

3) A. Cera,” Beyond the Empirical Turn: Elements for an Ontology of Engineering”, in: «Információs Társadalom», vol-. XX, no. 4, 2020, pp. 74–89 (https://dx.doi.org/10.22503/inftars.XX.2020.4.6).

4) R. Rosenberger / P.-P. Verbeek, “A Field Guide to Postphenomenology”, in: R. Rosenberger and P.-P. Verbeek (eds.), Postphenomenological Investigations: Essays on Human-Technology Relations, Lexington Books, Lahman 2015, pp. 9-41.

5) 2) R. Scharff, “Philosophy of Technology”, in J. Protevi (Ed.), The Edinburgh Dictionary of Continental Philosophy, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2005, pp. 570-574.

P.N. the materials indicated in items 3, 4, 5 will be made available by the lecturer on the ELLY/classroom platform of the course.

Teaching methods

The lessons of the course will be held in presence.

Assessment methods and criteria

Oral test in presence

Other information

Reception is provided online by contacting the lecturer at agostino.cera@unife.it

2030 agenda goals for sustainable development

points 4, 5, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15.