HISTORY OF MORAL PHILOSOPHY

The course is part of a Bachelor’s Degree in Philosophy course. Its objective is to provide the student with the knowledge and the critical tools to relate philosophical thoughts to historical facts. The goal is to verify the possibility of an interpretation of history and to allow the students to develop critical awareness in relation to the past and the present of the cultural contexts in which they have to take moral responsibility and take on an active role.

Regular attendance and diligent individual study will allow students to:
a. gain an in-depth knowledge of basic philosophical terminology and understand the texts in which it is used;
b. understand the discipline’s fundamental issues and paths both from a conceptual point of view and from a historical point of view, which means to study them intelligently, grasping their sense and articulation;
c. develop independent judgment for evaluating such issues;
d. be able to critically analyze the texts proposed by the teacher;
e. demonstrate good oral and written presentation skills, in order to be able to elaborate a philosophical argument using appropriate terms;
f. finally, because it is a moral discipline, students should be aware that this course is not aimed at mere acquisition of knowledge, but also at developing a philosophical practice, as was the case in antiquity. Therefore, the course focuses on the issue of the construction of the self in philosophy as a way of life and as a way of thinking.

The only prerequisite is to have a solid cultural foundation.

Moral and religious thought and conception of history in the work of Simone Weil

What lies at the heart of Simone Weil’s existential and spiritual path is the question of the view on a world and a history set under the undisputed dominion of force. The Greeks understood this notion perfectly, and illustrated it in their Iliad, their tragedies and in Plato’s reflections on the misfortune to which everything is subjected, the necessity to which everything bends: men, gods and things. But at the same time, they also glimpsed the presence of signs of an absolute Good in the world and throughout history. This Good is as evident as it is radically different from everything that is subject to necessity and force. The Greeks went so far as to attempt to build bridges that could connect the world and the Good. Weil believed that all traces of this were lost after Plato and then re-emerged in the Gospels. The decisive point of this philosophical, moral and theological construction is the intuition that the Good does not create by adding to itself, but rather by retreating to make room for a creature.
As far as the creature wishes to exist, exercising its own might, it finds itself within a context of injustice, far from God and subjected to the pangs of necessity and misfortune. By the same token, the extent to which a creature comprehends that the Good which inhabits it involves "de-creating" itself, in the renunciation of force, in decreasing oneself, in order to correspond to God, who has also de-created himself, opens up new possibilities for a history removed from necessity, a history that is free and good.
Simone Weil viewed the practice of the teachings of Plato and the Gospels within an ongoing global conflict as the only possibility for that new history to take root.
The aim of the course is to reflect on Weil's conception of morality, religion and history.

Students who have attended the course should choose one of the following Simone Weil’s works:

S. Weil, Riflessioni sulle cause della libertà e dell’oppressione sociale, Adelphi, Milano 1983;
S. Weil, Attesa di Dio, Adelphi, Milano 2008;
S. Weil, La rivelazione greca, Adelphi, Milano 2014;
S. Weil, La prima radice. Preludio ad una dichiarazione dei doveri verso l’essere umano, SE, Milano 1990.

Additional readings.
Students should also choose one of the following texts:

G. Gaeta, Leggere oggi S. Weil, Quodlibet, Macerata 2018;
I. Adinolfi - L. Scaraffia, La natura nel pensiero femminile del Novecento, Il melangolo, Genova. Forthcoming

The evaluation will be based on a oral exam. The assessment will concern the knowledge and the clear exposition of themes and problems of the course.

The teaching is organized in a series of lectures

Italian

Ca' Foscari applies 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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