Programme

The course aims at presenting one of the main nodes of the so-called Philosophies of Habit, that is the reflection on the relationship between crisis and modification of individual and social habits at the heart of several philosophical reflections on habit from modernity onwards, with particular attention to the development that this theme assumes especially from the 19th century, at the crossroads between philosophy, psychology and social sciences. The first didactic unit (3 CFU) will be devoted to an overview of philosophical theories on habits and customs, from antiquity onwards, with particular attention to the twentieth-century theories of Durkheim, Dewey and Bourdieu. The second didactic unit (3 CFU) will focus on the relationship between crisis and interruption of habits, starting from the analysis of some texts of the late nineteenth century (Dumont, Peirce), and extending the attention to traumatic historical-social events such as the Covid-19 pandemic.

Core Documentation

U.D.1:
1. Marco Piazza, Creature dell’abitudine. Abito, costume, seconda natura da Aristotele alle scienze cognitive, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2018 (limitedly to chapters 1,2,5)
2. Beate Krais, Gunter Gebauer, Habitus, Rome, Armando, 2009.
U.D.2:
3. Léon Dumont, L'abitudine (1876), ed. D. Vincenti, Milan, Mimesis, 2020
4.Charles S. Peirce, Il fissarsi della credenza (1877), in Opere, ed. M.A. Bonfantini, Milan, Bompiani, 2003, pp. 357-371.
5. Charles S. Peirce, Come chiarire le nostre idee (1878), in Opere, ed. M.A. Bonfantini, Milan, Bompiani, 2003, pp. 377-393.
6. Corinna Guerra, Marco Piazza (eds.), Disruption of Habits during the Global Pandemic, Milan, Mimesis International, 2022 (a selection of almost five chapters).

Reference Bibliography

Tom Sparrow and Adam Hutchinson (eds.), A History of Habit. From Aristotle to Bourdieu, Lanham, Lexington Books, 2013 Clare Carlisle, On Habit, London, Routledge, 2014 Marco Piazza, L’antagonista necessario. La filosofia francese dell’abitudine da Montaigne a Deleuze, Milan, Mimesis, 2015 Marco Piazza (ed. by), Abitudine, seconda natura e disposizione, special issue of «Paradigmi», 1-2020 Fausto Caruana, Italo Testa (eds.), Habits, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2021.

Type of delivery of the course

The course includes: • Frontal teaching; • Discussions with students on individual parts of the program, aimed at an interactive teaching, according to a work plan that will be indicated before the beginning of the course on the digital board of the teacher; • At least one seminar related to the topics covered in the course; • Oral presentations by students. In the case of an extension of the health emergency by COVID-19 all the provisions governing the conduct of teaching activities and student evaluation will be implemented. In particular, the following modalities will apply: distance learning through the University platforms; oral examinations at a distance through the Microsoft Teams platform.

Attendance

Frequency is not mandatory but is strongly recommended.

Type of evaluation

Verification of learning takes place through an oral exam. The preparation of a 3,000-word written paper (in Italian or English) to be discussed in the exam is required. The paper can also be prepared by small groups of students (max 4) but with precise indication of the contribution of each. The paper must be sent to the teacher at least within 15 days from the date of the exam. In the case of an extension of the health emergency by COVID-19 all the provisions governing the conduct of teaching activities and student evaluation will be implemented. In particular, the following modalities will apply: distance learning through the University platforms; oral examinations at a distance through the Microsoft Teams platform.