OVERVIEW

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.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

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. 

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

Developing critical thinking towards the religious experience, moving from speculative assumptions, and showing its universal, ecumenic nature.

TEACHING METHODS

Lectures

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

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.

Contents for students who are taking the 6-CFU course

Part I:  The religious question in the age of nihilism

Part II: Karl Jaspers and the religious issue

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.

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.

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

ROBERTO CELADA BALLANTI (President)

FRANCESCO CAMERA

GERARDO CUNICO

DOMENICO VENTURELLI

LESSONS

LESSONS START

September 25, 2018

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Oral exam

ASSESSMENT METHODS

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.

Exam schedule

FURTHER INFORMATION

Attendance is reccomended