HISTORY OF IDEAS AND PHILOSOPHY OF CULTURE II

The teaching aims to provide a critical orientation to the intellectual cartography of the contemporary world and to the historical continuities and discontinuities that characterize it, through knowledge, interdisciplinary study and comparative analysis of theories, philosophical currents, systems of thought, conceptual structures, works, texts, phenomena and institutions of culture understood as social conversation and all-encompassing field of manifestations of the human faculty of producing symbols and relating to reality through these. The teaching, in an attempt to lay bare what is never made explicit in the language-thought of philosophy, namely its implicit and transparent presuppositions, the pre-categorized that lies in the background of thinking, the atavisms and profound continuities that cannot be scratched by the recurring game of superficial continuities and discontinuities, also includes the study of the differential relationships that exist between different human cultures and, consequently, of the gaps in thought, of the constellations of ideas and of the conceptual resources that their comparison allows us to grasp. In the teaching of the history of ideas and the philosophy of culture, the history of philosophy plays a background role, because even the filter of ideas with which philosophy scans the objects of culture must be subjected to the gaze of a further investigation, which can no longer be only archaeological/genealogical, that is, the result of excavation into the discontinuities of the past and their effects on the questions of the present, but topological and active, that is, productive of a strategic dislocation with respect to its own point of view. The history of ideas starts from the assumption that even ideas and in particular philosophical ideas that claim their independence from the history of culture and from the moving horizon of collective events are social facts, so that the task of this discipline could be described as the attempt to denaturalize and deprivatize the activity of thought.

1. Know the history of ideas in its multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary methodological approach (intellectual history, cultural studies, archaeology of knowledge, history of systems of thought, historical semantics, history of concepts, metaphorology, genealogy, etc.) and conceive its research in the critical perspective of a philosophy of culture;
2. Recognize and master the essential characteristics of the discipline by developing its approach in relation to a specific theme and in the long-term perspective in which it is articulated;
3. Acquire the correct terminology in expressing the concepts and problems exposed by the authors and texts examined;
4. Know how to critically connect the texts and works analyzed with the more general themes of the social contexts and periods of the history of culture, the arts, and the sciences.

Basic philosophical and historical knowledge, ability to conceptual abstraction and propensity for critical thinking.

1. Institutional part concerning the conceptual, textual and methodological coordinates characterizing the approach of the history of ideas and the philosophy of culture. In particular, the thought and works of the following authors will be examined:
1.1. Arthur O. Lovejoy and the origin of the history of ideas
1.2. Ernst Cassirer and the philosophy of culture
1.3. Michel Foucault and the archaeology of knowledge
1.4. Reinhart Koselleck and the Begriffsgeschichte
1.5. Hans Blumenberg and metaphorology

2. Monographic course in application of the methodologies. The reader and the spectator: philosophy and history of two conceptual characters for the formation, transmission and reception of culture.

1. Institutional part. Texts will be read, discussed and commented by:
A. O. Lovejoy, La grande catena dell’essere, Feltrinelli, Milano 1966;
A. O. Lovejoy, L’albero della conoscenza. Saggi sulla storia delle idee, il Mulino, Bologna 1982;
E. Cassirer, Saggio sull’uomo. Introduzione a una filosofia della cultura, Mimesis, Milano-Udine 2011;
E. Cassirer, Il concetto di forma simbolica nella costruzione delle scienze dello spirito, in id., Mito e concetto, La Nuova Italia, Firenze 1992, pp. 97-135;
M. Foucault, L’archeologia del sapere, Rizzoli, Milano 2005;
M. Foucault, Le parole e le cose. Un’archeologia delle scienze umane, Rizzoli, Milano 1998;
R. Koselleck, Futuro passato. Per una semantica dei tempi storici, Marietti, Genova 1996;
R. Koselleck, Critica illuministica e crisi della società borghese, il Mulino, Bologna 1994;
R. Koselleck, Il vocabolario della modernità. Progresso, crisi, utopia e altre storie di concetti, il Mulino, Bologna 2009;
H. Blumenberg, Le realtà in cui viviamo, Feltrinelli, Milano 1987;
H. Blumenberg, Paradigmi per una metaforologia, Raffaello Cortina, Milano 2009;
H. Blumenberg, Naufragio con spettatore. Paradigma di una metafora dell’esistenza, il Mulino, Bologna 1985.

2. During the course, passages will be read and images will be commented on starting from the following reference text:
A. Tagliapietra, Il lettore e lo spettatore. Filosofia di due metafore dell’esistenza, Donzelli, Roma 2024.

The exam will consist of an interview to be taken at the end of the two modules of the course (the division is not foreseen for students who have planned the 12 credits course). The interview will consist of two questions. (1) The first will include the oral discussion of a paper of 15 thousand characters including spaces on part 1 of the program, delivered at the end of the teaching break between the first and second module of the course and divided into topics chosen by the student among the points covered in class and concerning the conceptual, textual and methodological coordinates characterizing the approach of the history of ideas and the philosophy of culture, with particular attention to the authors covered (Lovejoy, Cassirer, Foucault, Koselleck, Blumenberg). The paper may consist of an in-depth study of one of these authors and/or of a work by them in the form of a review or comparative analysis of a theme covered by some of the authors cited. (2) A second question, instead, will concern in particular the monographic topic of the course, namely "The reader and the spectator: philosophy and history of two conceptual characters for the formation, transmission and reception of culture" (for which reference is made to the text "The reader and the spectator. Philosophy of two metaphors of existence", Donzelli, Rome 2024). In the paper as in the interview, students will have to demonstrate knowledge of the texts commented on in class and of the general framework of the theme presented during the course (lecture notes, presentations, slides and passages made available in the appropriate documents section of the university Moodle). Relevant indicators in the evaluation of the interview: 1. Ability to deal with the required topics in a transversal and critical manner; 2. Correctness, clarity, synthesis and fluidity of exposition; 3. Mastery of the subject; 4. Use of appropriate philosophical terminology. The student's active participation during the lessons contributes to the final evaluation.
Students who instead only have History of Philosophy I (6 credits) in their study plan must still write the paper by the weekend of the end of the lessons of the scheduled period, in order to allow it to be read. For them too, the interview will consist of (1) an oral discussion of the paper of 15 thousand characters including spaces on part 1. indicated in the program, divided into topics chosen by the student among the points covered in class and concerning the conceptual, textual and methodological coordinates characterizing the approach of the history of ideas and the philosophy of culture, with particular attention to the authors covered (Lovejoy, Cassirer, Foucault, Koselleck, Blumenberg). The paper may consist of an in-depth study of one of these authors and/or of a work by them in the form of a review or comparative analysis of a theme covered by some of the authors cited. (2) A second question, instead, will concern in particular the monographic topic of the course, namely "The reader and the spectator: philosophy and history of two conceptual characters for the formation, transmission and reception of culture", for which reference is made to the text "The reader and the spectator. Philosophy of two metaphors of existence", Donzelli, Rome 2024, limited to pp. 3-138, which acts as a reference for the classroom readings of the chosen texts and the commented images.

The grade is determined by the combination of the following factors, in ascending order (1-sufficient; 2-fair; 3-good; 4-very good; 5-excellent):
1. knowledge of the required topics (from 1 to 10 points);
2. ability to delve into the topic in depth (from 1 to 5 points);
3. detailed and precise knowledge of the historical context (dates and events of context) (from 1 to 5 points);
4. confidence in exposition and lexical mastery (from 1 to 5 points);
5. ability to independently articulate the speech (from 1 to 5 points);
6. originality in the treatment of the topic (assignment of honors).

The teaching consists of lectures, in which the main texts of the authors studied will be read and commented upon, with the possible use of digital media and tools, viewing and commenting on videos, images, diagrams and conceptual schemes. Participation of students in the lessons (active attendance) is particularly appreciated.

Italian

Students, including non-attending students, are advised that it is not possible to agree with the lecturer on a different examination programme. Any changes or amendments will be promptly reported exclusively on this website. Ca’ Foscari applies Italian Law (Law 17/1999; Law 170/2010) for support and accommodation services available to students with disabilities or specific learning disabilities. Students with a motor, visual, hearing or other disability (Law 17/1999) or a specific learning disability (Law 170/2010) are invited to request support (assistance in the classroom, technological aids for taking exams or individualized exams, accessible material, note recovery, specialized tutoring to support study, interpreters or other) and contact the Disability and DSA office disabili@unive.it.

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