Programme

The origins of the science of being: Plato's Republic and Aristotle's Metaphysics

The term “ontology” is coined (in Latin) in the early 17th century. The project of a science of being as an autonomous philosophical discipline, however, has ancient roots. This course will explore the paths of demarcation and construction of the science of being between Plato and Aristotle. In Metaphysics, Aristotle founds a philosophical science to which he assigns the task of dealing with “being qua being,” investigating its causes and first principles. He calls this science “first philosophy” and elevates it to the highest form of knowledge. In outlining its theoretical profile and status, however, Aristotle engages closely with another authoritative model of supreme science, also having being for its own object: Platonic dialectic. We will explore the Aristotelian project of first philosophy against its Platonic background, focusing on the central books of the Republic (V-VII) and some books of the Metaphysics (I, II, III.1-2, IV and VI). Thus, the course will address two fundamental classics in the history of philosophy and provide tools to navigate central aspects of the philosophies of Plato and Aristotle and the history of philosophy more generally.

PART A (6 CFU):
Plato on science, opinion and dialectics
The first part of the course will span weeks 1-6 and will cover the following points: the Platonic distinction between science and opinion, the Platonic conception of dialectic, the Idea of the Good as first principle

PART B (6 CFU):
Aristotle and the construction of first philosophy
The second part of the course will span weeks 7-12 and will cover the following points: the Aristotelian conception of first philosophy as the science of the first causes of being qua being, the Aristotelian critique of the Platonic science of being.

Core Documentation

FOR ERASMUS STUDENTS

TEXTS OF PART A
Primary text:
1. Plato, Republic, transl. by G.M.A. Grube, rev. by C.D.C. Reeve, Hackett, Indianapolis 1992 (also included in Plato, Complete Works, ed. by J. M. Cooper, ass. ed. D. S. Hutchinson, Hackett, Indianapolis 1997), Books V, VI e VII
Introduction to Plato's Republic:
2. Julia Annas, An Introduction to Plato's Republic, Oxford University Press, Oxford 1981
Introduction to Plato:
3. Christopher Rowe, Plato, 2nd ed., Bloomsbury, London 2004
Ancient philosophy textbook:
4. David Sedley (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Greek and Roman Philosophy, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press 2003.

Optional recommended readings:
• William David Ross, Plato's Theory of Ideas, Oxford, Clarendon Press 1951.
• Harold F. Cherniss, ‘The Philosophical Economy of the Theory of Ideas’, American Journal of Philology 57 (1936): pp. 445–56 (repr. in H.F. Cherniss, Selected Papers, ed. by L. Tarán. Leiden, Brill 1977, pp. 121–32).
• van Inwagen, Peter, Meghan Sullivan, and Sara Bernstein, “Metaphysics”, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2023 Edition), Edward N. Zalta & Uri Nodelman (eds.), URL = .

Non-attending students (see ‘Frequenza’) are also required to study the following work:
• William David Ross, Plato's Theory of Ideas, Clarendon Press, Oxford 1951.

TESTI DEL MODULO B
Primary text:
1. Aristotle, Metaphysics, translated, with Introduction and Notes, by C. D. C. Reeve, Hackett, Indianapolis 2016 (also included in Aristotle, Complete Works, edited by C.D.C. Reeve and Pavlos Kontos, 2 vols., Hackett, Indianapolis 2025), Books I, II, III.1-2, IV.1-3 e VI
Introduction to Aristotle's Metaphysics:
2. S. Marc Cohen and C. D. C. Reeve, 'Aristotle’s Metaphysics', The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2025 Edition), Edward N. Zalta & Uri Nodelman (eds.), URL = .
Introduction to Aristotle:
3. John L. Ackrill, Aristotle. The Philosopher, Oxford University Press, Aristotle 1983
Ancient philosophy textbook:
4. David Sedley (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Greek and Roman Philosophy, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press 2003.

Optional recommended readings:
• Alan Code, 'Aristotle’s Metaphysics as a Science of Principles', Revue Internationale de Philosophie 201 (1997), pp. 357–78
• Jonathan Barnes, 'Metaphysics', in Id. (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Aristotle, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press 1995, pp. 66-108
• van Inwagen, Peter, Meghan Sullivan, and Sara Bernstein, “Metaphysics”, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2023 Edition), Edward N. Zalta & Uri Nodelman (eds.), URL = .

Non-attending students (see ‘Frequenza’) are also required to study the following work:
• Mary-Louise Gill, 'First Philosophy in Aristotle', in Ead.-P. Pellegrin (eds.), A Companion to Ancient Philosophy, Oxford, Wiley-Blackwell, 2006, pp. 347-73.
• Michael V. Wedin, 'The Science and Axioms of Being', in G. Anagnostopoulos (ed.), A Companion to Aristotle, Oxford, Wiley-Blackwell, 2009, pp. 125-143

Attendance

Attendance is not mandatory but strongly recommended. Students will be considered as attending only if with a minimum attendance rate of 75% of the lectures. Active participation in class discussions will be taken into account in the evaluation (see 'Valutazione').

Type of evaluation

The evaluation will be based on three factors: i) PARTICIPATION (20%) Assessing the student's active contribution to in-class discussions. ii) ORAL EXAMINATION (40%) In either Italian, English, or French, and assessing the student’s knowledge and understanding of the texts and issues analyzed thorughout the course. iii) FINAL PAPER (40%) Each student is required to write a term paper in either Italian or English (2,500 words). The paper will be discussed during the oral examination and should focus on a specific topic chosen from one of the following themes: a. Being and becoming b. Causes and principles c. Virtue, happiness, goodness and pleasure d. Soul and body e. Philosophy and sophistry, science and opinion Guidelines for the final paper: 1) Requirement: The final paper is mandatory and can be written in either Italian or English. 2) Length: The paper must not exceed 2,500 words. Conciseness features prominently among the evaluation criteria. Papers exceeding 2,500 words will not be evaluated positively. 3) Preparation: By the end of the course, each student will have to agree on a specific topic with the course instructor and submit to him a brief outline of the paper along with a short bibliography. 4) Submission: The paper must be submitted to the course instructor via institutional email in .pdf format no later than 7 days before the oral examination chosen date. The file must be named with the student’s last name in capital letters (e.g., ROSSI.pdf). NB: Submissions from non-institutional email addresses will not be considered. 5) Formatting and editorial guidelines: - The final paper must closely follow the Norme per la redazione di un saggio breve, available at the following link: - https://www.academia.edu/9319345/Norme_di_redazione_per_un_saggio_breve - For citations and bibliographic references, students must stick to the Author-Year system (sections 6.2.2 and 6.3.2 of the Norme per la redazione di un saggio breve). - The linguistic and editorial care of the paper features prominently among the evaluation criteria. 6) Evaluation Criteria - Knowledge and understanding of the content - Language ccuracy and clarity of exposition - Conciseness and synthesis skills - Linguistic and editorial care