HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY

The course offers a historical and comparative analysis of philosophical thought with particular reference to the modern era. The institutional part is dedicated to some founding authors. We will address some key points of reflection around man, nature, the possibility of knowing the world and oneself, happiness and other aspects of life and the relationship with others. The basic (institutional) course is flanked by a section of thematic in-depth studies (monographic course) dedicated to the relationship between the individual and society with particular reference to three aspects: 1. the psychic dimension of the individual and his discovery in order to improve self-awareness, confidence in oneself and one's learning and realization skills; 2. the tension between personal needs and the social context; 3. the tools that allow a critical evaluation of the scientific questions that have an impact on the life of the subjects in society (for example, racial discrimination and social conflicts). The first study is entitled “From the cosmos to the sea of ​​consciousness. Myths, philosophy, nature and the discovery of one's own Self ”; the second is entitled "Nature, personal development and happiness. Freud, Marcuse and the biology of contemporary behaviour "; the third is entitled "Epistemology and scientific method: antidotes against social discrimination"

These three in-depth themes are aimed at providing elements with which to build effective educational tools for the development of the subject and its qualities.

1. Oral lessons with slide projection; 2. interactive work with the students during the lessons; 3. summary and evaluation of learning (these are not "ongoing tests" but only colloquial comparisons that are held at the beginning of each lesson and which serve to have a general check of the progress of the learning and the ability to intervene on the topics already covered.

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NB: Students who attend the lessons are informed that the group work carried out in the classroom is valid only for those who take the exam by September; those taking the exams in the following months will have to prepare the text of Marcuse.

The course includes an institutional part (manual) and an in-depth part (monographic part).

The institutional part provides a basic knowledge of the history of Western philosophy, with particular reference to the authors and currents listed below: The classical philosophy: Plato, Aristotle; Christian philosophy: Agostino, Tommaso d'Aquino; The philosophy of the fifteenth century, humanism and the Renaissance: the Florentine Platonism, Cusano, Ficino and Pico della Mirandola; The sixteenth century: Telesio, Bruno, Campanella; Scientific thought in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries: Copernicus, Brahe, Kepler, Galilei, Newton; Modern philosophy: Bacon, Descartes, Cartesianism and Jansenism, Hobbes, Pascal, Spinoza, Locke, Leibniz, Vico, Berkeley, Hume, the Enlightenment, Kant, Nietzsche; the contrast between rationalism and empiricism.

The monographic part is dedicated to the relationship between individual and society and includes three thematic in-depth studies: the first is entitled “From the cosmos to the sea of ​​consciousness. Myths, philosophy, nature and the discovery of one's own Self ”and will be carried out following the lines proposed in the book present in the bibliography (text 2); the second is entitled "Instincts, personal development and happiness. Freud, Marcuse and the biology of contemporary behaviour" and will be analyzed through a critical reading of Eros and civilization (text 3); the third section is dedicated to the knowledge of some useful tools for a critical evaluation of scientific issues that have an impact on the life of the subjects in society (racial discrimination and social conflicts) and will be addressed through material provided in lecture notes under the title of "Epistemology and method scientific: antidotes against social discrimination".

1. M. Mori, History of Modern Philosophy, Laterza, 2019 (290 pages; also available in electronic format) + notes [available on the Studium platform]
2. E. Coco, Dal cosmo al mare. La naturalizzazione del mito e la funzione filosofica, Olschki, 2017 [130 pages]
3. H. Marcuse, Eros e civiltà, Einaudi, 2001 [230 pages; it is possible to use also the English edition]
4. Lecture notes and excerpts from the works of authors [they will be available on internet: please, see Studium web platform]