The course is intended to lead the student in the lecture of philosophical classics.
Particular attention will be reserved to the acquisition of the specific philosophical terminology and to the analysis of fondamental problems and concepts considered and discussed.

Through the reading of texts we will investigate the origin and the development of the idea of soul in the history of Western philosophy, from antiquity to the threshold of the modern age.
It will show the polyvalent and always evolving nature of this idea, which not only defines the proper 'psychological' (thought and emotions), but also the biological (the idea of life), existential (identity) and ethical (the forms and rules of action). We will also try to identify some fundamental guidelines for the development of this idea that have imposed themselves as paradigms in the history of Western philosophical thought, still remaining the foundation of the contemporary debate.

No specific preliminary knowledge is required. However, students are invited to provide themselves with basic tools to help them understand and learn the specific vocabulary of philosophy (philosophical dictionaries, small encyclopedias). Specific information will be provided during the course.

Knowledge and understanding
The student will be able to understand and explain the philosophical text examined, to master the philosophical terminology, and to discuss critically the topics which have been dealt in the course.

Making judgments
The student will demonstrate independent judgment in the evaluation of the philosophical theories studied and ability to rework personal knowledge.

Learning skills
The student will be able to acquire new knowledge and skills, in order to access to additional training levels.

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

Seminars.

Informations about seminars dates will be published on the Moodle https://blended.uniurb.it/moodle/

Within the permanent seminar "Spinoza and modern philosophical thought". from 19 to 21 May there will be a conference on the theme "Spinoza in the literature and arts of the twentieth century".

Teaching

Lectures. Seminars.

Attendance

The course requires a regular attendance (at least 2/3 of the lectures). Alternatively, please make use of the informations for not attending students.

Course books

Course books

A. Texts

Anthology of texts (Platone, Aristotele, stoici, sant’Agostino, Averroé, san Tommaso, Descartes, Spinoza, Locke). The anthology will be available at the beginning of the course.

B. Literature

A. A. Long, La mente, l’anima, il corpo. Modelli greci, Einaudi (PBE), Torino 2016.

C. Literature (Handbook)

P. Hadot, Che cos’è la filosofia antica?, trad. di E. Giovannelli, Einaudi, Torino 1998.

D. Recommanded Literature

E. Rohde, Psiche. Culto delle anime e fede nell’immortalità presso i Greci, Laterza, Roma-Bari 2006r.

B. Snell, La cultura greca e le origini del pensiero europeo, Einaudi, Torino 2002r, pp. 1-119.

R. Bruschi, a cura di, Gli irraggiungibili confini. Percorsi della psiche nell'età della Grecia classica, Edizioni ETS, Pisa, 2007.

M. Vegetti, Quindici lezioni su Platone, Einaudi, Torino 2003.

E. Berti, a cura di, Aristotele, Laterza, Roma-Bari 1997 (cap. 3. Psicologia, pp. 143-172; Biologia, pp.173-198; Etica, pp. 241-282).

F. Alesse, Mente divina e mente umana nel pensiero stoico, in E. Canone, a cura di, Per una storia del concetto di mente, Leo Olschki Editore, Firenze 2005 vol. 1, pp. 51-62.

R. Chiaradonna, La dottrina dell’anima non discesa in Plotino e la conoscenza degli intelligibili, in E. Canone, a cura di, Per una storia del concetto di mente, Leo Olschki Editore, Firenze 2005 vol. 1, pp. 27-50.

J.-B. Brenet, Averroé l’inquietante. L’Europa e il pensiero arabo, Carocci , Roma 2019.

A. Petagine, Aristotelismo e identità umana. Alcune considerazioni intorno alla posizione di Tommaso d'Aquino, in L. Grion, a cura di,Chi dice io? Riflessioni sull'identità personale, «Annuario di Studi filosofici» 2012» (Editrice La Scuola, Brescia), pp. 49-65.

C. Santinelli, Dall’ ‘anima’ alla ‘mens’. Il modello cartesiano di mente, in Id., Mente e corpo, Studi su Cartesio e Spinoza, Quattroventi, Urbino 2000, pp. 41-153.

P. Totaro, ‘Mens’ in Spinoza, in E. Canone, a cura di, Per una storia del concetto di mente, Leo Olschki Editore, Firenze 2005 vol. 1, pp. 309-328.

A. Allegra, Dopo l'anima. Locke e la discussione sull'identità personale alle origini del pensiero moderno, Edizioni Studium, Roma 2005 (capp. I, III, VII).

E. Balibar, Le traité lockien de l'identité, in J. Locke, Identité et différence. L'invention de la conscience, éd. par E. Balibar, Éditions du Seuil, Paris 1998, pp. 9-101.

Assessment

Oral exam on all the material at point A, B, C.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Teaching

Not attending students can contact the teacher in the office hours to ask for explanations about the program and the content of the texts for the exam.

Attendance

Please contact the teacher at least two months in advance of the scheduled date of the exam.

Course books

To the material reported at points A, B, C of Course books, the non attending student will add a monographic text or three essays, chosen amongs those indicated at point D.

Assessment

Oral exam on the texts of the program.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.