The course of History of Contemporary Philosophy is part of the program in Philosophical sciences (MA level) and is included among the complementary training activities. The course has the following learning objectives:
1. to increase knowledge of the most important concepts and authors of contemporary philosophy;
2. to reinforce and apply the linguistic and conceptual methodologies of historical-philosophical analysis of the most important classics of the contemporary era in the research activities preliminary to the drafting of the master's thesis;
3. to enhance learning skills and autonomy of judgement. In particular, students must develop and expand:
- Linguistic skills that enable them to read and understand the original editions of the contemporary philosophers undergoing the course;
- ability to analyse a philosophical problem from different points of view, also taking into account the most accredited critical bibliography;
- ability to discover contradictions or innovations in contemporary classical texts on the basis of the training received during the three-year degree course;
- ability to control and highlight the relevance and meaning of the characteristic elements of conceptual expositions;
- ability to draw conclusions based on a plurality of observations and inferences. These skills are promoted during the seminar work that is an integral part of the course through writing texts and collegial debate.
1. to increase knowledge of the most important concepts and authors of contemporary philosophy;
2. to reinforce and apply the linguistic and conceptual methodologies of historical-philosophical analysis of the most important classics of the contemporary era in the research activities preliminary to the drafting of the master's thesis;
3. to enhance learning skills and autonomy of judgement. In particular, students must develop and expand:
- Linguistic skills that enable them to read and understand the original editions of the contemporary philosophers undergoing the course;
- ability to analyse a philosophical problem from different points of view, also taking into account the most accredited critical bibliography;
- ability to discover contradictions or innovations in contemporary classical texts on the basis of the training received during the three-year degree course;
- ability to control and highlight the relevance and meaning of the characteristic elements of conceptual expositions;
- ability to draw conclusions based on a plurality of observations and inferences. These skills are promoted during the seminar work that is an integral part of the course through writing texts and collegial debate.
teacher profile teaching materials
2) E. De Martino, "Il mondo magico" (edizione Boringhieri o nuova ediz. Einaudi), Prefazione, Chap. 2, reviews and replies
3) T. Adorno, Stelle su misura, Biblioteka 2025
4) P. Rossi, Il tempo dei maghi, Raffaello Cortina 2006: Premessa, capitoli 1, 8
5) P. Pecere, Il dio che danza, nottetempo 2021
Programme
Magical thought, I and rationality in contemporary philosophyCore Documentation
1) E. Cassirer, "La forma del concetto nel pensiero mitico" (Mimesis 2021), first essay2) E. De Martino, "Il mondo magico" (edizione Boringhieri o nuova ediz. Einaudi), Prefazione, Chap. 2, reviews and replies
3) T. Adorno, Stelle su misura, Biblioteka 2025
4) P. Rossi, Il tempo dei maghi, Raffaello Cortina 2006: Premessa, capitoli 1, 8
5) P. Pecere, Il dio che danza, nottetempo 2021
Type of evaluation
The evaluation (besides exceptional cases) is based on a written test with open-ended questions. The questions will test the first-hand knowledge of the texts, the lexicon, the argumentative structure and the historico-philosophical context. Evaluation: more importance will be given to the logical and formal correctness and the historical mastery of the required knowledge.