HISTORY OF ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY - I

The course is counted among the formative activities of History of Philosophy of the degree in Philosophy. As such the course aims to provide a critical knowledge of the main philosophical topic and questions in their historical development and in their connections with other disciplines and fileds of research (psichology, human sciences, educational science, art). Within this framework, the course aims to provide 1) a deep knowledge of the main authors, works and philosophical oriantations of ancient though; 2) the capacity of contextualising, analysing and critically interpreting sources of different kinds (witnesses, fragments, dialogues and treatises, letters and sentences); 3) the lexical and conceptual tools necessary to the study of the history of ancient and medieval and to the acquisition of good communative skills .
More in particular, the course will focus on the study of the ancient theory of the soul with a specific concern on Plato's philosophy.

At the end of the course students are expected :
1) to know and understand :
- the main questions concerning the history of the ancient philosophy and in particular the psychological ancient theories.
- the terminology appropriate to this field of study
2) to apply their knowledge to the analysis of ancient texts; to discuss in a pertinent and argumentative way philosophical and exegetical questions;
3) to present in written and oral form the acquired contents of the course.

The attendance of the course of Introduction to the History of Ancient and Medieval Philosophy is highly recommended.

The course will be diveded into three parts. The first will be devoted to a general Introduction to Ancient Theories of the Soul. The second will be dedicated to the exame of Plato's psychology and its philosophical and historical relevance. In the last part of the course some texts from Phaedo, Republic, Phaedrus and Timeus concerning Plato's psychology will be read and commented.

P.L. Donini, F. Ferrari, L'esercizio della ragione nel mondo classico, Einaudi. (In alternativa per chi frequenterà il corso di Introduzione alla Storia della Filosofia Antica e Medievale: M. Bonelli, Leggere il Fedone di Platone, Carocci).
F. Ferrari, Introduzione a Platone, Il Mulino.
M. Vegetti, Quindici lezioni su Platone, Einaudi.
A. A., Long, La mente, l'anima e il corpo (trad. di Mauro Bonazzi), Piccola Biblioteca Einaudi.
Fedone, trad. Trabattoni, Einaudi. (parti scelte)
- Repubblica trad. Vegetti, BUR (parti scelte)
- Fedro, trad. Bonazzi, Einaudi. (parti scelte)
- Timeo, trad. Fronterotta, BUR. (parti scelte)

The exam will consist in a written test composed of ten open questions , that aim to verify 1) the basic knowledge of the history of ancient philosophy, of the ancient psychological doctrines, of platonic philosophy, of the platonic texts analyzed during the course; 2) the capacity of autonomously interpreting a philosophical text; 3) the ability to present a certain topic . A presentation or an essay concerning one of the questions dealt with during the lectures can contribute to the result of the exam.

Lectures;
Reading, commentary and discussion of ancient philosophical texts.
Conferences.
During the course students will have the possibility give short presentations or to write short essays.

Italian

Students who intend to attend also the course of Introduction of History of Ancient and Medieval philosophy can substitute the reading of P.L. Donini, F. Ferrari, L'esercizio della ragione nel mondo classico, Einaudi, with M. Bonelli, Leggere il Fedone di Platone, Carocci.

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