PHILOSOPHY: PREREQUISITES

The course of PHILOSOPHY (ADDITIONAL LEARNING REQUIREMENTS, i.e. O.F.A.) is aimed to supply freshmen students with the understanding of basic philosophical notions and fundamental concepts in order to attend first-year classes of the triennial bachelor's program in philosophy with cognition.

At the end of the course (and with reference to Dublin descriptors), students will be expected to:
1) appreciate and understand in a broad sense the main problems and basic concepts that stand at the basis of the historical development of Western philosophical thinking;
2) being able to "handle" with profit the knowledge that has been acquired in the process of studying a philosophical text or explaining a philosophical theory;
3) being able to elaborate and develop a critical sense of judgment in relation to selected conceptual intersections that belong to philosophy since and beyond the time of their original formulation;
4) capacity of communicating the learned subject in an accurate and personal way, with the adoption of appropriate, specific terminology to the purpose;
5) ability of autonomously carrying on the undertaken philosophical path through the help of the teaching material and the bibliographical references shared by the professor.

There are no prerequisite requirements.

The contents of the course are arranged according to the some of the main domains of philosophy:
1) Metaphysics
Some of the most fundamental concepts, such as "being", "essence" and "substance", will be analyzed in relation with their occurrences at the main turing points of the history of Western philosophy.
2) Thought and Knowledge
The topic of thought and its related concepts (intellect, reason, mind, soul) will be briefly presented in connection with issues that are related in a broad sense with the topics of knowledge and science.
3) Ethics and philosophical anthropology
Attention will be given to some fundamental themes of moral philosophy (e.g. good and evil) and philosophical-anthropological reflection (e.g. will, desire, freedom);
4) Aesthetics
Both aesthetics as theory of sensible perception and aesthetics as theory of taste and art will be briefly considered in their historical development;
5) A selection of tools for the learning philosopher
A couple of hours at the end of the course will be dedicated to the presentation of reliable bibliographical sources, both online and on paper, that are useful for advancing with quality philosophical research.

Compulsory readings:

1) Lecture notes edited by the professor;
2) Nigel Warburton, Philosophy, the Basics, Routledge 2005 (third edition);
3) Alcune voci tratte da Stefano Maso, L.Ph.G. Lingua Philosophica graeca. Dizionario di greco filosofico, Mimesis, 2010.

Suggested (optional) readings for further study:

AA.VV., Enciclopedia filosofica, Bompiani, 2006 (selected entries).

Students are required to take an oral exam to achieve and testify proficiency in philosophical culture.

Lectures and commentaries on philosophical texts.

Italian

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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