HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY

The course proposes a historical and critical analysis of modern philosophical thought. It has three general training objectives: to provide knowledge about the authors and the subjects dealt with; to provide philosophical tools to improve self-knowledge and relationship with others; to stimulate critical and argumentative skills regarding some current problems (work, social conditioning, the needs of the person, dialogue between science and society on topics of general interest, etc.).

To this end, the course is divided into two sections: an "institutional part" and a "monographic part".

The institutional part is dedicated to the founding authors of modern philosophical thought, from Bruno to Kant, with a brief foray into the 19th century dedicated to Nietzsche. It will deal with some nodal points of reflection around man, Nature, the possibility of knowing the world and oneself, happiness and other aspects of life and relationship with others.

The monographic course (thematic in-depth analysis) is dedicated to the relationship between the individual and society, with particular reference to three aspects: 1. the psychic dimension of the individual and the "language" through which it expresses itself: a study aimed at improving self-awareness, self-confidence and self-confidence; 2. the tension between personal needs and the social context;

3. dialogue between philosophy and psychology to improve the relationship with oneself and with others.

The first in-depth study is entitled "From the cosmos to the sea of consciousness. Myths, philosophy, nature and the discovery of one's Self"; the second is entitled "Nature, personal development and happiness. Freud, Marcuse and the Principle of Reality"; the third is entitled "Instructions to make oneself unhappy: philosophical reflections to live better with oneself and with others".

1. Oral lectures with slide shows; 2. interactive work with students during lectures; 3. summary and evaluation of learning (the latter are not "in itinere tests" but only colloquial comparisons that are held at the beginning of each lecture and that serve the teacher to verify the progress of learning and the students to estimate their harmony with the program already carried out and their ability to intervene on these topics). 4. Group work with classroom presentation of one or more texts from the monographic course and collective discussion (optional, depending on the number of attendees and emergency conditions related to Covid.) 5. IN ITINERE TESTS. There will be two in itinere tests (one in the middle of the course and one towards the end of the course) dedicated to specific parts of the program.

The students who will participate in the activities of comparison and verification in progress during the lessons may be exempted from exposing some parts of the program, according to modalities that will be communicated in class. This solution is optional and will be confirmed at the beginning of the course according to the number of students attending the course. In any case, it is valid only for those who will take the exam within September.

If the teaching is given in mixed mode or at a distance, due to the Covid emergency, the necessary variations may be introduced with respect to what has been stated previously, in order to respect the program foreseen and reported in the syllabus. The learning verification can also be carried out electronically, should the conditions require it.

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: Giordano Bruno; 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 the individual and society and foresees 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 Self" and will be carried out along the lines proposed in the book Dal cosmo al mare (book 2); the second is entitled "Nature, personal development and happiness. Freud, Marcuse and the Principle of Reality" and will be analysed through a reading and group work in the classroom of Eros and Civilization (book 3); the third is entitled "Instructions to make oneself unhappy: philosophical reflections to live better with oneself and with others" and will be developed through reading and group work in the classroom of Paul Watzlawick's book indicated among the recommended texts (book 4).

1. M. Mori, Storia della filosofia moderna, Laterza, 2019 [290 pages; also available in ebook format]
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. P. Watzlawick, Istruzioni per rendersi infelici, Feltrinelli, 2013 [112 pages]

POWER POINT of the lessons and NOTES in PDF format, available on the Studium platform.