Philosophy of religion developed within Modern-Age thought between the 17th and the 18th centuries, as a reaction to the religious wars in Europe. It acquired the status of academic teaching in the Age of Enlightenment and German Idealism. Nevertheless, its object (a reflection on religion that moves from speculative assumptions) was already studied by Greek philosophy, which developed a rational criticism (based on logos) and applied it to mythical discourse since the Age of Pre-Socratic philosophers.
Students will learn to define, through a phenomenological and transcendental method, the peculiar nature and structure of the religious experience, independent and different from other domains of the spirit (ethic, aesthetic, metaphysic domain). Students will learn to explain how the independent status of religion is the result of a long, analytical work, and the result of a speculative process which started at the beginning of Modern Age; the outcome of this process is philosophy of religion becoming a unique field of knowledge.
Developing critical thinking towards the religious experience, moving from speculative assumptions, and showing its universal, ecumenic nature.
Lectures
Contents for students who are taking the 6-CFU course
Part I: The religious question in the age of nihilism
The first part intends to illustrate the hermeneutical lines of a religious interpretation of contemporary nihilism in its being, on one side, the time of God’s death and the crisis of all values, for the other, in its opening up the transcendental space in which the religious can unfold in new forms and metamorphosis.
Part II: Karl Jaspers and the religious issue
The second part aims to examine the philosophy of Karl Jaspers starting from the texts that, in his thought, have read and interpreted the religious traditions and the faiths as figures of an always hidden Transcendence that never offers itself, in any religion, in an exclusive and absolute way.
The reading list for this course, together with the lecturer's suggestions and instructions are available on the Italian version of the web page.
Ricevimento: Thursday 3-4 PM (DAFIST, Philosophy Section via Balbi 4, 2nd floor)
ROBERTO CELADA BALLANTI (President)
FRANCESCO CAMERA
GERARDO CUNICO
DOMENICO VENTURELLI
September 25, 2018
Oral exam
The exam will take place in oral form, through a dialogue aimed at verify the contents discussed during the course. The expositive ability and the critical reasoning of the student will also be ascertained.
Attendance is reccomended
