General Objective: the course is aimed at providing the basic tools for  knowing and understanding themes and problems investigated by Late Renaissance philosophical thought, knowing how to evaluate the rich complexity and the current validity for contemporary Man. It also aims to guide the student towards an autonomous development of the ability to read, to understand, and to analyze two philosophical and political texts, such as Thomas Hobbes's Leviathan and John Milton's The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates.

 Specific objectives:

1. to know how to understand the basic vocabulary of the discipline;

2. to acquire full awareness of the historical development of philosophical thought from antiquity to the Renaissance;

3. to acquire knowledge and awareness of the contextual complexity of the different theories taken into account;

4. to understand what associates and what differentiates medieval and Rennaisance thought;

5. to know how to read and understand a Renaissance philosophical text;

6. to know how to historically contextualize the text in question;

7. know how to interpret and analyze the text in question, identifying the underlying theories and arguments used by the author to support them;

8. to know how to compare the text in question with other related texts, identifying similarities and differences in theories and topics;

9. to be able to recognize any incongruity and inconsistency in the argumentative flow and in the ideas expressed by the author;

10. to be able to reason in a transdisciplinary manner, identifying ways of applying the contents learned, even in  didactic-educational contexts, according to age groups.

11. to know how to formulate an autonomous opinion on the theories that emerged from the analysis of the text and whether they have a significance or not in today’s human world and in various educational contexts.

At the sunset of the English renaissance, in a context carachterized by a civil was involving political as well as religious aspects, two opposite political theories emerge: the theory of the philosopher Thomas Hobbes and the theory of the writer John Milton. The course aims to reconstruct those theories and to analyze their similarities and differences.

Course schedule:

1. A visual introduction to the themes of the course (two hours)

2. Humanism as a rediscovery of the classics and the libraries in the Renaissance (two hours);

3. The philosophical Renaissance as the revival, reworking, and reinterpretation in the modern sense of classical texts (two hours);

4. Renaissance philosophy and Philosophy for children (two hours);

5. A royal leader. Elizabeth I and Elizabeth II (as examples of philosopher-queens) (two hours);

6. "Conflict" in history as well as in society (two hours);

7. John Milton's The Tenure of Kigs and Magistrates (two hours);

8. Reading of, and critical comments on, Thomas Hobbes's Leviathan:

a. Thomas Hobbes the man: life and works (six hours);

b. the Introduction to Leviathan anf the Chapters of the first Part of Leviathan (ten hours);

c. the Chapters of the second Part of Leviathan (ten hours).

None.

1. Knowledge and the ability to comprehend: to have acquired the content foreseen by the program, understanding the fundamental lines and the particular aspects, even in a comparative perspective.

2. Application of knowledge and the ability to understand: know how to apply the concepts, ideas, theories and methodologies learned, even in contexts other than the original one; to be able to also extend across a transdisciplinary level.

3. Autonomy of judgments: reflecting and thinking about the various contents learned, developing a critical, autonomous, and flexible thought; being “open-minded”: open to the complexity of what is real, with an exploratory and investigative attitude; being able to question the theories of others and also one’s own.

4. Communicative skills: to demonstrate that we have acquired a mastery of the basic vocabulary of discipline and to know how to use it within a speech that is internally coherent and logically structured, according to a correct sequence of topics; the argumentative capacity must be in the use of analysis and synthesis, of inductive and deductive processes, as well as in the application of rhetorical techniques, up to the re-modulation of the subject according to the supposed interlocutor.

5. Learning skills: knowing how to use complementary resources available in addition to study texts – the materials entered by the lecturer in the Moodle platform, but also search engines on the web, bibliographic tools, etc. – to create a personal in-depth course.

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

None.

Teaching

Lectures - students will be engaged as often as possible.

Innovative teaching methods

Audio-visual material and discussions.

Attendance

It's not compulsory.

Course books

1. Thomas Hobbes, Leviatano, a cura di Arrigo Pacchi, Laterza, Roma-Bari 2021 (o edizioni precedenti), capitoli I-XXXI: pp.1-299;

2. Thomas Hobbes, Vita di Thomas Hobbes di Malmesbury. Le due autobiografie latine, a cura di Luca Tenneriello, Mimesis, Milano 2022;

3. Francesca Pirola, Tirannicidio e resistenza in John Milton e Thomas Hobbes, Edizioni ETS, Pisa 2019.

Assessment

Written exam.

Evaluation criteria:

the evaluation will be assessed on the basis of the student’s knowledge and skills; the following indicators will be especially taken into account:

1. relevance and effectiveness of the answers as far as the contents of the programme are concerned;

2. level of articulation of the answers: they must be clear, logic and systematic,

3. use of the specialized vocabulary of the discipline;

4. being able to connect themes (also in a transdisciplinary way) and critical thinking skills.

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

Material published on the e-platform Moodle: blended.uniurb.it

Attendance

It's not compulsory.

Course books

1. Thomas Hobbes, Leviatano, a cura di Arrigo Pacchi, Laterza, Roma-Bari 2021 (o edizioni precedenti), capitoli I-XXXI: pp.1-299;

2. Thomas Hobbes, Vita di Thomas Hobbes di Malmesbury. Le due autobiografie latine, a cura di Luca Tenneriello, Mimesis, Milano 2022;

3. Francesca Pirola, Tirannicidio e resistenza in John Milton e Thomas Hobbes, Edizioni ETS, Pisa 2019.

Assessment

Written exam.

Evaluation criteria:

the evaluation will be assessed on the basis of the student’s knowledge and skills; the following indicators will be especially taken into account:

1. relevance and effectiveness of the answers as far as the contents of the programme are concerned;

2. level of articulation of the answers: they must be clear, logic and systematic,

3. use of the specialized vocabulary of the discipline;

4. being able to connect themes (also in a transdisciplinary way) and critical thinking skills.

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.

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