HISTORY OF MODERN PHILOSOPHY I
- Academic year
- 2019/2020 Syllabus of previous years
- Official course title
- STORIA DELLA FILOSOFIA MODERNA I
- Course code
- FT0423 (AF:318120 AR:168948)
- Modality
- On campus classes
- ECTS credits
- 6 out of 12 of HISTORY OF MODERN PHILOSOPHY
- Degree level
- Bachelor's Degree Programme
- Educational sector code
- M-FIL/06
- Period
- 2nd Term
- Course year
- 2
Contribution of the course to the overall degree programme goals
The course aims to provide a good understanding of key problems and ideas which shaped the history of modern philosophy. At the end of the course the students should have a good understanding of the difference between the traditions of Rationalism and Empiricism that divided Western thought during this period, as well as some understanding of how this difference has continued to shape the course of the development of philosophy. Considerable attention will also be given to understanding that intellectual, cultural movement known as the Enlightenment, a movement which came to a culmination in the philosophies of Hume and Kant at the end of the 18th century and which continues to shape, to some extent, the world today. In critically reviewing this history of thought the course also seeks to develop important critical thinking skills.
Expected learning outcomes
1) should demonstrate knowledge and understanding in early modern philosophy that builds upon and their general secondary education, and is typically at a level that includes some aspects that will be informed by knowledge of the forefront of the philosophical research;
2) could apply their knowledge and understanding in a manner that indicates a professional approach to their possible work or vocation, and have competences typically demonstrated through devising and sustaining arguments and solving philosophical problems;
3) should have the ability to gather and interpret relevant data of a historical text to inform judgements that include reflection on relevant social, scientific or ethical issues;
4) could communicate information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialist and non-specialist audiences;
5) should have developed those learning skills that are necessary for them to continue to undertake more advanced courses or further study with a high degree of autonomy.
The readings, lectures, and assignments will be designed to
• introduce students to some of the central figures in early modern philosophy (Descartes through Kant) and the questions and arguments that preoccupied them;
• introduce students to philosophical methodology in the history of philosophy;
• foster critical engagement with the ideas and arguments discussed;
• increase competencies in reading and writing philosophical texts.
Pre-requirements
Contents
1. General Introduction to the German Enlightenment
2. Kant's Early Writings
3. Prefaces
4. Introduction
5. Space
6. Time
7. Idea of a Transcendental Logic
8. Judgments and Categories
9. Deduction of the Pure Concepts of the Understanding
10. Thinking, knowing, and imaging
11. The Schematism of the Pure Concepts of the Understanding
12. The Pure Principles of the Understanding
13. Phaenomena - Noumena
14. Methodology
15. Further Developments of Transcendental Idealism
Referral texts
Immanuel Kant, Critica della ragion pura, trad. it. con testo a fronte di Costantino Esposito (Milano: Bompiani, 2004) or subsequent editions
Marco Sgarbi, Kant and Aristotle. Epistemology, Logic, and Method (New York: SUNY, 2016) paperback version
Giorgio Tonelli, Da Leibniz a Kant. Saggi sul pensiero del Settecento (Pisa: Prismi, 1987)
Augusto Guerra, Introduzione a Kant (Bari: Laterza, 2017)
Optional
Giorgio Tonelli, Kant's "Critique of Pure Reason" within the Tradition of Modern Logic (Hildesheim: Georg Olms Verlag, 1994
Assessment methods
Teaching methods
Teaching language
Further information
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.