The course of History of philosophy is part of the program in Philosophical sciences (MA level) and is included among the characterising training activities. Upon completion of the course, students will have read through one or more texts of modern and contemporary philosophy and they will have acquired in-depth knowledge on the relative issues and debates. Students will be able to apply the acquired knowledge, to discuss and to develop arguments both in a theoretical and in a historical perspective. Students are expected to acquire the following skills:
- Advanced critical thinking on modern and contemporary philosophy and on its relation to wider issues (both historical and philosophical);
- Advanced language and argumentation skills required for reading and analyzing texts, and critical debate in Italian and English;
- Capacity to read and analyse philosophical works and the relevant critical debate (in Italian and in English);
- Oral presentation of a little report and preparation of written texts (in Italian or in English).
- Advanced critical thinking on modern and contemporary philosophy and on its relation to wider issues (both historical and philosophical);
- Advanced language and argumentation skills required for reading and analyzing texts, and critical debate in Italian and English;
- Capacity to read and analyse philosophical works and the relevant critical debate (in Italian and in English);
- Oral presentation of a little report and preparation of written texts (in Italian or in English).
Curriculum
teacher profile teaching materials
Mutuazione: 20702712 STORIA DELLA FILOSOFIA - L.M. in Scienze filosofiche LM-78 R TOTO FRANCESCO
Programme
Claude-Adrien Helvétius is widely regarded as a primary proponent of the 'radical Enlightenment'. His magnum opus, De l'esprit, was a bestseller that was written and rewritten over many years and the subject of several pirated editions. From Hume to Sade, from Beccaria to Kant, no philosopher was without a copy. Despite Helvétius's attempts in "De l'esprit" to mask the most contentious elements of his philosophy behind a veil of moderation, the radical nature of his project was immediately apparent. The events surrounding its publication, censorship and retraction caused such a scandal that he resolved never to publish anything else and to settle his philosophical accounts in a monumental posthumous work, De l'homme. The repercussions of the echo were such that its refutation involved not only authors known only to specialists, but also leading thinkers such as Voltaire, Diderot and Rousseau. The course will proceed with a reading of De l'esprit (in an unpublished translation), examining how Helvétius does not merely reduce the mind to the body by reducing reflection and judgement to physical sensation, but, in line with the materialism of this reduction, he constructs a psychology centred entirely on self-love understood as the pursuit of pleasure and escape from pain, and a utilitarian ethic that equates virtue with the pursuit of the interest of the ‘greater number’, identifying republican or democratic institutions as the only ones capable of promoting this interest, criticising religious asceticism as a disguised expression of a despotic desire for power.Core Documentation
Claude-Adrien Helvétius, De L'Espirit: Or Essays on the Mind and Its Several Faculties (any complete edition).Attendance
Not requiredType of evaluation
The exam begins with the student presenting a topic of their choice. It will continue with questions designed to test their knowledge and understanding of the text based on this presentation. It may include reading and commenting on individual passages from 'Of Mind'. teacher profile teaching materials
Mutuazione: 20702712 STORIA DELLA FILOSOFIA - L.M. in Scienze filosofiche LM-78 R TOTO FRANCESCO
Programme
Claude-Adrien Helvétius is widely regarded as a primary proponent of the 'radical Enlightenment'. His magnum opus, De l'esprit, was a bestseller that was written and rewritten over many years and the subject of several pirated editions. From Hume to Sade, from Beccaria to Kant, no philosopher was without a copy. Despite Helvétius's attempts in "De l'esprit" to mask the most contentious elements of his philosophy behind a veil of moderation, the radical nature of his project was immediately apparent. The events surrounding its publication, censorship and retraction caused such a scandal that he resolved never to publish anything else and to settle his philosophical accounts in a monumental posthumous work, De l'homme. The repercussions of the echo were such that its refutation involved not only authors known only to specialists, but also leading thinkers such as Voltaire, Diderot and Rousseau. The course will proceed with a reading of De l'esprit (in an unpublished translation), examining how Helvétius does not merely reduce the mind to the body by reducing reflection and judgement to physical sensation, but, in line with the materialism of this reduction, he constructs a psychology centred entirely on self-love understood as the pursuit of pleasure and escape from pain, and a utilitarian ethic that equates virtue with the pursuit of the interest of the ‘greater number’, identifying republican or democratic institutions as the only ones capable of promoting this interest, criticising religious asceticism as a disguised expression of a despotic desire for power.Core Documentation
Claude-Adrien Helvétius, De L'Espirit: Or Essays on the Mind and Its Several Faculties (any complete edition).Attendance
Not requiredType of evaluation
The exam begins with the student presenting a topic of their choice. It will continue with questions designed to test their knowledge and understanding of the text based on this presentation. It may include reading and commenting on individual passages from 'Of Mind'.