HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY

lThe course aims to provide 1) a general introduction to some basic concepts of history of philosophy; 2) a deep knowledge of Aristotle's Philosophy and in particular of Aristotle's practical philosophy; 3) the capacity of contextualizing and interpreting a philosophical work trough a close reading of the text; of discussing philosophical questions and arguing for their possible solutions; 4) the acquisition of conceptual and lexical tools; 5) the ability to expound in an efficacious way what has been learnt during the course .

At the end of the course students 1) should demonstrate knowledge and understanding of notions such as happiness, virtue, justice, voluntary action, choice, practical syllogism, wisdom; 2) could grasp the relevance of Aristotle's practical knowledge for contemporary philosophical, political and economical thought; 3) should be able to critically and independently analyze a philosophical text.

There are no prerequisites for the attendance of the course

The course will be diveded into four parts. The first will be devoted to a general Introduction to Aristotle's Philosophy (an ontological map, division of knowledge, main works and their contents) and Practical Philosophy; the second part will be devoted to the exame of Aristotle's theory of happiness, virtue and justice in the light of a more general analysis of ancient theories of justice. The third part will be dedicated to a close reading of the fifth book of Aristotle's Nichomachean Ethics. The fourth part will focus on the relevance of Aristotle's theory of justice for contemporary economical thought.

Aristotele, Nicomachean Ethics, (edd. by S. Broadie and C. Rowe), OUP, Oxford 2002.
J. Barnes, Aristotle: a very short introduction, OUP.
C. Natali, The Wisdom of Aristotle, SUNY, Albany, 2001.
R. Polansky (ed.) The Cambridge Companion to Aristotle's Nichomachean Ethics, CUP, Cambridge, 2014, chapters 1-5 and 9.
C. Natali, The search for definitions of justice in Nicomachean Ethics 5, in Bridging the gap between Aristotle's Science and Ethics, CUP, Cambridge, 2015, pp. 148-168.
R. Kraut, Justice in the Nicomachean Ethics, in Id. Aristotle: Political Philosophy, OUP, Oxford, 2002, pp 98-177.

The written test will consist of ten open questions. The test aims to verify the knowledge of Aristotle's philosophy, in particular of Aristotle's practical knowledge, and of the fifth book of Nicomachean Ethics. Question can focus on notions, doctrines, passages of NE. The final result will take into account students' presentations or essay.

Lectures;
Analysis and open discussion of philosophical texts;
Students' presentations;
Students' essays.

English

written