2022/2023

2022/2023

DM270

M-FIL/06 (HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY)

DEPARTMENT OF BRAIN AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES

PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCES

PERCORSO COMUNE

1°

1st semester (26/09/2022 - 13/01/2023)

6

36 lesson hours

Italian

ORAL TEST

PALERMO SANDRA VIVIANA (titolare) - 12 ECTS

There are no prerequisites or specific knowledges beyond that required for the admission to the undergraduate degree in Philosophy. However, those who only sit for the exam of History of Contemporary Philosophy b., should be able to demonstrate a basic knowledge of the philosophical thought between the end of the XVIII Century and the beginning of the XX Century.

The course of History of Contemporary Philosophy (a) aims to provide a basic knowledge of the most important authors and the fundamental notions of the history of philosophy between the end of the XVIII Century and the first decades of the XX Century. History of Contemporary Philosophy (b) will focus on an specific text belonging to an author of the studied period.

At the end of the course, students are expected to:
-have acquired knowledge of the fundamental themes of the philosophical thought between the end of XVIII Century and the beginning of XX Century (History of Philosophy a.);
- become familiar with the fundamental notions which organize the thought and the doctrine of the authors of the studied period (History of Contemporary Philosophy a.);
-be able to read and explain the most important concepts of one of the masterpieces of the philosophy of XIX Century and to reconstruct its arguments (History of Contemporary Philosophy b.);
- demonstrate the ability to situate the thought of the studied philosopher within historical context and in relation to the contemporary and subsequent theoretical productions (History of Contemporary Philosophy b.).

The course is divided into two parts.
In the first part of the course (a), the most important authors, currents, and fundamental themes of the philosophical thought between the end of the XVIII Century and the beginning of the XX Century will be reviewed.

The second part of the course (b) will be devoted to the reading, commentary, and analysis of Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit. The course will focus on the Preface and the Introduction of the text, as well as on some other important figures of the phenomenological path. Based on the study of some key moments of the text, the fundamental concepts of the Hegelian philosophy will be outlined; concurrently the course aims to highlight the specificity of Hegel’s theoretical horizon and the differences between his thought and that of the most important exponents of the German classical philosophy and the philosophical tradition in general.

The first part of the course (History of Contemporary Philosophy a.) consists of lectures. They will be held with the aid of the blackboard, and if necessary with PowerPoint.
The second part of the course (History of Contemporary Philosophy b.) consists of reading, commentary, and analysis of the text, as well as group discussions. The aim of the course is to make the students directly confront with an important philosophical text, therefore their active participation will be encouraged.

First part (a):
G. Cambiano, L. Fonnesu, M. Mori (a cura di), La filosofia dell’Ottocento, Il Mulino, Bologna 2019.
This text must be supplemented by a textbook exposition of Kant’s thought, e.g., that contained in the volume G. Cambiano, L. Fonnesu, M. Mori (a cura di), La filosofia moderna. Il Seicento e il Settecento, Il Mulino, Bologna 2018.
Students can agree with the teacher the use of different handbooks.

Second part (b)
Hegel, G.W.F., Fenomenologia dello spirito, (trad. it. E. De Negri), La Nuova Italia, Firenze 1996 o Hegel, G.W.F., Fenomenologia dello spirito (trad. di G. Garelli), Einaudi, Torino 2008.

One text chosen among:
-Verra, V., Introduzione a Hegel, Laterza, Roma-Bari 2005;
- Cesa, C. (a cura di), Hegel. Fenomenologia, Logica, Filosofia della natura, Morale, Politica, Estetica, Religione, Storia, Laterza, Rom-Bari, 2004;
-Beiser, F., Hegel, Routledge, New York-London 2005.

One book chosen among:
-Chiereghin, F., La Fenomenologia dello spirito di Hegel. Introduzione alla lettura, Carocci, Roma 2016;
-Houlgate, S., Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit, Bloomsbury, London-New York 2013.

Learning will be verified through written and oral examinations.
The written examination concerns the institutional part of the course (History of Contemporary Philosophy a.) and consists of three open-ended questions, which are to be answered by the students within three hours. The use of handbooks or other digital and printed material is not allowed.

The oral examination covers the second part of the course (History of Contemporary Philosophy b.). Those who want to sit for the examination concerning part b. of the course must have taken and passed the written test. The oral examination is an individual exam aimed to ascertain the skills acquired by the student in relation to the content of the second part of the course; it includes questions on the author and the text studied in this part; reading and commentary of one or more passages of the text will be required.
In both tests, the assessment depends on the demonstrated knowledge, on the form of presentation, and on the property of the lexicon. The mark will be expressed based on a thirty point scale, and it will be derived from the average between the written and the oral tests.

- Students who do not attend the course are encouraged to contact the professor.