Programme

The course explores the themes of the construction and defense of personal identity. Module A introduces the philosophy and psychology of personal identity. We will examine the trajectory that begins with the birth of self-awareness linked to the body and emotions, passes through the enrichment of the inner world, and arrives at the constitution of a self situated in time and rationalized as autobiography. Module B focuses on psychopathological literature (De Martino, Laing, Giddens). It will emerge that the self is not a stable possession: rather, it is something perpetually precarious, for the defense of which the individual continually mobilizes all their resources.

STRUCTURE OF THE PROGRAMME (6 ECTS, 36 hours)
The programme of Module B is organised into six thematic units of approximately six hours each, with the corresponding readings:
1. From the construction to the defense of identity. A recapitulation of the theoretical framework of Module A and the framing of the problem: in what sense personal identity is a perpetually precarious achievement.
2. De Martino I: the crisis of presence. The risk of losing the world and de-historification; ritual lament as an exemplary case. Readings: De Martino 2021.
3. De Martino II: the cultural techniques of reintegration. The relationship between ethnography and psychopathology and the status of culturally instituted defenses. Readings: De Martino 2021.
4. Laing: ontological insecurity and the divided self. The existential reading of the forms of disintegration of the self; the false self and the embodied/unembodied self. Readings: Laing 2010.
5. Giddens: the pure relationship, co-dependence and the reflexivity of the self. Identity and intimacy in late-modern societies. Readings: Giddens 2013, chs. IV-VI.
6. Critical assessment. Personal troubles and the contradictions of the pure relationship; intimacy as democracy; the self as a never definitive possession and the resources mobilized to defend it. Readings: Giddens 2013, chs. VII-X.

PREREQUISITES
There are no propaedeutic courses and no specialist prior knowledge of psychopathology, anthropology or sociology, nor any clinical training, is required. Attendance of Module A is not compulsory, but it is strongly recommended. Students are expected to be familiar with the general outline of the history of modern and contemporary philosophy and with the basic notions of epistemology and philosophy of science acquired during the Bachelor's degree.

Core Documentation

Adopted texts (Module B):
- E. De Martino, Morte e pianto rituale. Dal lamento funebre antico al pianto di Maria, Einaudi, Torino 2021. Reference text for units 2-3.
- R.D. Laing, L'io diviso. Studio di psichiatria esistenziale, Einaudi, Torino 2010 (The Divided Self). Reference text for unit 4.
- A. Giddens, La trasformazione dell'intimità. Sessualità, amore ed erotismo nelle società moderne, il Mulino, Bologna 2013 (The Transformation of Intimacy). Reference text for units 5-6.

The programme and the adopted texts are the same for attending and non-attending students. No substitute or additional texts are envisaged for non-attending students.

Teaching materials: lecture slides, the texts used in the guided discussions and reading guidance are made available on the University's online learning platform, accessible with institutional credentials.

Reference Bibliography

Further bibliographical suggestions for in-depth study are provided during the course and published, together with the teaching materials, on the University's online learning platform. The adopted texts listed above are sufficient for the preparation of the examination.

Attendance

Attendance is not compulsory, but it is strongly recommended: the module is centred on the guided reading of the texts and on classroom discussion. No attendance records are kept and no minimum attendance threshold is required for admission to the examination. The examination programme, the adopted texts and the assessment methods are the same for attending and non-attending students. Non-attending students are encouraged to contact the lecturer at the beginning of the course, during office hours or by email, in order to agree on a guided study path; they also have access to the teaching materials made available on the University's online learning platform. Module B may be attended independently of Module A; attending them in order is nevertheless recommended, since Module A provides the theoretical framework that Module B tests against the psychopathological literature.

Type of evaluation

Learning is assessed through a final oral examination on the contents of the programme and on the adopted texts. There are no intermediate tests and no selective tests: the outcome of the oral examination determines the final mark in full. The oral examination normally consists of three questions covering the whole programme and lasts approximately 20-30 minutes. The first question assesses knowledge of the general framing of the problem of the defense of personal identity; the following ones explore the reading of the individual authors examined during the course. The examination is designed to assess: (a) knowledge of the course contents and of the adopted texts; (b) effective understanding of the concepts and the ability to apply them; (c) the ability to relate the anthropological, psychopathological and sociological perspectives on the precariousness of the self; (d) the ability to analyse a philosophical problem critically and to argue in support of a thesis; (e) the use of vocabulary appropriate to the discipline. CRITERIA FOR GRADING The final mark, expressed out of thirty, is determined by taking into account the level and quality of knowledge of the topics, the ability to analyse a theme critically, the logic of the arguments put forward in support of a thesis, the ability to apply theories and concepts to contexts, and the use of vocabulary appropriate to the discipline. Specifically: - 18-21: essential knowledge of the contents; mainly descriptive presentation; still approximate disciplinary vocabulary; limited critical ability. - 22-24: adequate knowledge of the contents and of the texts; correct but not fully articulated reconstruction of the positions of the authors examined; broadly appropriate vocabulary. - 25-27: good knowledge of the contents; ability to relate the different authors and perspectives; coherent argumentation; appropriate vocabulary. - 28-30: broad and confident knowledge of the texts; autonomous critical analysis; rigorous argumentation; full command of the disciplinary vocabulary. - 30 cum laude: excellent command of the contents, combined with personal elaboration, the ability to connect the psychopathological literature and the theoretical framework of personal identity autonomously, and originality in framing the answers. Students with disabilities and with specific learning disorders (SLD/DSA) may request the support measures to be granted during the examination through the dedicated University portal, available at the following link: https://www.uniroma3.it/roma-tre-inclusiva-studenti-con-disabilita-e-con-dsa/