MORAL PHILOSOPHY II

The aim of this group of lectures is to introduce the students to a non-naïve conception about the human soul and its specificity from the animal life.This aim will be pursued through the reading of two classical authors: Aristotle and Aquinas. The relevance of their thinking will then be verified considering the contribution of some contemporary neurophysiologists (beginning with J.C. Eccles).

In particular, the students, at the end of the course, have to be able to evaluate the pertinence of the non-classical approaches to the notion of human soul, after a comparison with some of the greatest classical authors. Moreover, they have to be able to individuate and compare the different conceptions of the relationship between human psyche and mere animal psyche.

There are not any particular pre-requirements.

Title: What is the Human Soul? Theoretical contributions from Aristotle and Aquinas.
1. Reading and commenting of selected passages from the following Aristotle's works: De anima, De generatione animalium.
2. Reading and commenting of selected passages from the following Aquinas's works: Summa Contra Gentiles, Summa Theologiae, Sentencia Libri de Anima.
3. Some remarks about the irreducibility of the rational soul to a mere animal life (beginning with J.C. Eccles).

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR THE EXAM:
- Anthology of classical and contemporaries authors, edited by professor.
- Lecture notes by professor.
These texts will provided by the professor during the course
Possible differentiations of the programme will be pointed out during the lectures.

2. Classical Texts: Aristotele, De anima, a cura di G. Movia, Rusconi, Milano 1996; Aristotele, De generatione animalium, in Id., La vita, a cura di D. Lanza e M. Vegetti, Bompiani, Milano 2018; Tommaso d'Aquino, Summa contra Gentiles, a cura di T.S. Centi, Edizioni Studio Domenicano, Bologna 2000; Tommaso d'Aquino, Summa Theologiae, Edizioni studio Domenicano, Bologna 2014; Tommaso d'Aquino, Sentencia libri de anima, in Id., Lo specchio dell'anima, a cura di "Progetto Tommaso", Edizioni San Paolo, Cinisello Balsamo 2012.

The preparation will be tested though an oral test (about 30 minutes), on these topics: 1. Passages from Anthology (edited by professor). 2. Contents from Lecture notes (by professor).

The course will based on head-on lectures, enhancing students’ contribution. Parallel to the course, a seminar will be held (by an assistant of the professor), which will guide the students throughout the reading and the comment of the main passages of the anthology.

Italian

Accessibility, Disability and Inclusion
Ca' Foscari abides by Italian Law (Law 17/1999; Law 170/2010) regarding support services and accommodation available to students with disabilities. This includes students with mobility, visual, hearing and other disabilities (Law 17/1999), and specific learning impairments (Law 170/2010). If you have a disability or impairment that requires accommodations (i.e., alternate testing, readers, note takers or interpreters) please contact the Disability and Accessibility Offices in Student Services: disabilita@unive.it.

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