OVERVIEW

The course is mainly aimed at the students of the second or third year of the bachelor course in Philosophy and is meant to selectively present some of the chief theoretical issues of philosophy, with particular reference to the modern classical texts and to the debates of the last century.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Students will learn to recognize and understand the theoretical problems of philosophic reflection, and the similarities and differences between theoretical problems and other problems. This will be achieved through a selected presentation of themes and texts that will enable students to approach classical texts and to venture into the main contemporary debates.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of the course the student should be able to: use the basic vocabulary of the subject; master the main issues, the evolutionary lines, the permanent problems of the discipline; assimilate the fundamental concepts and arguments used in the presented texts in a critical and personal form.

PREREQUISITES

The course is destined for students who have acquired the philosophical knowledge and competences provided by the mandatory lectures of the first year of the bachelor course in Philosophy.

TEACHING METHODS

Lecture: introduction and presentation of the themes, reading and commentary of the main texts, clarification of the doubts and answers to the students' questions. The second part of the 9-CFU course will be also performed through seminar sessions, with the active contribution of the students. The teacher will be assisted by Dr. Attilio Bruzzone.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Contents for students who are taking the 6-CFU course

Part I (6 CFU)

Lecturer: Gerardo CUNICO

Content:

Philosophy and hope: (1) starting from Kant

The question “What may I hope?”, rarely taken seriously by philosophy, is for Kant one of the three questions characterising human reason and becomes for him the guideline for orienting the rational reflection towards a possible answer to the interrogatives of metaphysics concerning the meaning of the existence of man and world. The first part of the course aims at enabling students to deal with such issues by reading and commenting two key texts by Kant.

Contents for students who are taking the 9-CFU course

Part I (6 CFU)

Lecturer: Gerardo CUNICO

Content:

Philosophy and hope: (1) starting from Kant

The question “What may I hope?”, rarely taken seriously by philosophy, is for Kant one of the three questions characterising human reason and becomes for him the guideline for orienting the rational reflection towards a possible answer to the interrogatives of metaphysics concerning the meaning of the existence of man and world. The first part of the course aims at enabling students to deal with such issues by reading and commenting two key texts by Kant.

Part II (3 CFU)

Lecturer: Gerardo CUNICO

Content:

Philosophy and hope: (2) starting from Bloch

The thread of hope becomes still more explicit and radical in Ernst Bloch: he treats hope not only as a spontaneous emotion or as an affect costitutive of human being, but also as a tendential principle immanent in the whole process becoming. The students will be encouraged to become acquainted with this author by directly engaging in understanding some chapters of his chief work and preparing oral or written presentations for seminar discussions.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

The reading list for this course, together with the lecturer's suggestions and instructions are available on the Italian version of the web page.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

GERARDO CUNICO (President)

FRANCESCO CAMERA

ROBERTO CELADA BALLANTI

DOMENICO VENTURELLI

LESSONS

LESSONS START

19 February 2019

Class schedule

THEORETICAL PHILOSOPHY A

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Oral exam.

Contents for 6 CFU:
texts A, B and C (of part I).
Contents for 9 CFU:
Part I: text A, text B and text C.
Part II: text A and text B.

The exam can be partially substituted by a written and oral presentation during the part of the course dedicated to seminars.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The exam consists of a written test and an oral interview. The expected learning outcomes will be assessed according to the following criteria: the acquisition of the basic vocabulary used in the lesson; the understanding and presentation of the basic concepts and arguments used in the texts indicated in the program; the active participation in the seminar discussions.

Pre-registrationisrequired

Exam schedule

FURTHER INFORMATION

Attendance is strongly recommended. Those who are unable to attend, please contact the teacher.