The course aims at providing the necessary skills in order to grasp a contemporary philosophical text. To this purpose, the course provides students with the necessary tools in order to:

- elaborate an appropriate historical-social contextualization of a contemporary philosophical text;

- identify the prior philosophical streams setting up the framework of a given philosophical work and be confident with the text’s features that make them identifiable (by focusing in particular on the traits of lexical permanence, on the recursion of argumentative methods, on shared philosophical objectives).

- pick out the original features that characterize a single work of contemporary philosophy within its philosophical tradition;

- be able to grasp the stratified character of a philosophical text and to subsequently, possibly identify its weaknesses;

- identify the weak points of a philosophical text also concerning logical fallacies (e.g. incoherence between assumptions and consequences; begging the question; semantic vagueness);

- identify the possible weaknesses of a philosophical work that are due to the simultaneous presence of divergent and incoherent philosophical traditions within the text (that may also stand beyond the explicit author’s purposes).     

                                                                                                      "Nicolai Hartmann – Ontology: Laying the Foundations"

The course focuses on "Ontology: Laying the Foundations" (1935), the opening and programmatic text of Nicolai Hartmann's (1882-1950) path of ontological re-foundation.  
The course will focus on the neo-Kantian milieu in which Nicolai Hartmann developed and posed his first philosophical problems, starting with the historical-philosophical background of the figure of Nicolai Hartmann within the German philosophy of his time. Indeed, Hartmann's early works already reveal what were to become the central nodes of his philosophy: (i) the problem of knowledge and realism, (ii) the nature of values, (iii) the specificity of the ideal world. These are three issues that Hartmann seeks to organically connect and combine within a specific reinterpretation of philosophy and its tasks, precisely in the sense of a 'critical ontology'. The interpretation and discussion of the main sections of "Ontology: Laying the Foundations" will be the main focus of the course. 

Course outline

- Introduction to Nicolai Hartmann's philosophy and its fundamental themes (4 hours); 

- Ontology laying the Foundations I: On What Is as Such (8 hours); 

- Ontology laying the Foundations II: The Relation between Dasein and Sosein (8 hours); 

- Ontology laying the Foundations III: The Giveness of Real Being (8 hours); 

- Ontology laying the Foundations IV: The Problem and Status of Ideal Being (8 hours).   

No

Knowledge and understanding

- Acknowledgment of the importance of the political-social context for the elaboration of philosophical theories of the contemporary age;

- Ability to detect the peculiar features among alternative forms of philosophical argumentation within a shared philosophical, political and cultural tradition.    

 Applying knowledge and understanding

- The student will be able to master the essential theoretical and lexical tools in order to gain the ability to autonomously read and interpret a philosophical work of the contemporary age;

- The student will be able to appreciate the important role of a correct socio-historical contextualisation for an adequate understanding of the texts of the contemporary age.      

 Making judgements

- The student will develop an appropriate critical ability in order to identify the eventual discrepancies between single philosophical texts and their philosophical tradition;

- The student will develop an autonomous capacity in order to properly evaluate the contradictions and the weak reasoning of a philosophical argumentation.   

 Communication skills

- The student will be provided with the necessary skills in order to present to an audience, even not a specialized one, the core issues of a contemporary philosophical text, by focusing in particular on the historical context, on the lexical and argumentative peculiarities within a given philosophical tradition, on the contradictions, weakness and shortcomings from a logical-argumentative point of view.

 Learning skills

- At the end of the course the student will be provided with the necessary tools for an autonomous study of a philosophical text of the contemporary age;

- The student will understand the meaning and importance of the philosophical lexicon, and of extra-philosophical materials, that are essential in order to gain a deep insight of the political-cultural context of a text. This knowledge will allow the student to autonomously approach to the appropriate bibliographical researches.

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

No

Teaching

Lectures.

The lectures consist mainly of reading and exegesis of the texts, without neglecting specific links to the philosophical context.

Attendance

The regulations of the degree course in "Humanities, Cultural Heritage Studies and Philosophy" do not require students to attend lectures.

The status of attending student requires attendance of at least 2/3 of the lessons (24 hours). If attendance is lower or non-existent, the student must comply with the obligations indicated for non-attending students.

Course books

Texts:

• Nicolai Hartmann, La fondazione dell'ontologia, tr. it. di F. Barone, Fabbri, Milano [engl: Ontology: Laying the Foundations, tr. by K. R. Peterson, de Gruyter, Berlin 2019  
• Short primary sources in PDF format inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

  2. Literature (mandatory):

• R. Cantoni, Che cosa ha veramente detto Hartmann, Ubaldini, Roma 1972

  3. Literature (optional):

• G. D'Anna, Realismi. Nicolai Hartmann "al di là" di realismo e idealismo, Morcelliana, Brescia 2013

Assessment

The examination consists in an oral exam. Students are required to read and comment on single passages of the texts. Students are expected to be able to grasp the main theoretical features of the examined passages and to be able to contextualize them within the text, eventually with reference to the secondary literature.

Particular attention is given to the oral exposure’s capacity through the proper terminology.

Students are expected to be able to develop a critical approach to the theories they studied. In the evaluation, particular attention will be given to the student’s ability to autonomously reformulate the materials they dealt with and to their ability to make comparisons between the authors they studied.

Assessment criteria:

- Excellent marks will be awarded for: a clear and precise exposition of the exam texts; the ability to link the various positions of the authors studied; good critical and in-depth study skills.

- Good marks will be awarded for: a clear, albeit mnemonic, presentation of the examination texts; a reasonable ability to link the various theories; only a reasonable level of critical ability and appropriate language.

- Sufficient marks will be awarded for: minimal knowledge of the examination texts; a general ability to link the various theories studied; possession of only sufficiently appropriate language.

- Negative marks will be awarded for: poor knowledge of the examination texts; obvious gaps in training; use of inappropriate language.

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

Non-attending students may contact the professor during office hours to request explanations regarding the content of the texts.

Attendance

Students who do not attend classes, whether in full or with less than 2/3 attendance (24 hours), must strictly follow the study texts indicated.

Non-attending students are also required to contact the professor at least three months in advance of the scheduled date of the exam in order to verify the possible need for supplementary readings useful for the exam.

Any supplementary readings are different from and in addition to those already indicated in the study texts for non-attending students and have the only purpose of further supporting the student in dealing with the study texts. The supplementary readings do not, therefore, constitute a specific subject in the assessment. 

Course books

To offer the possibility to non-attending students to balance what is done during the lectures with independent study, the following materials referring to the same content as the syllabus are given
programme in promoting their full understanding.

Texts:

• Nicolai Hartmann, La fondazione dell'ontologia, tr. it. di F. Barone, Fabbri, Milano [engl.: Ontology: Laying the Foundations, tr. by K. R. Peterson, de Gruyter, Berlin 2019  
• Short primary sources in PDF format inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

  2. Literature (mandatory):

• R. Cantoni, Che cosa ha veramente detto Hartmann, Ubaldini, Roma 1972
• G. D'Anna, Realismi. Nicolai Hartmann "al di là" di realismo e idealismo, Morcelliana, Brescia 2013

Assessment

The examination consists in an oral exam. Students are required to read and comment on single passages of the two texts. Students are expected to be able to grasp the main theoretical features of the examined passages and to be able to contextualize them within the text, eventually with reference to the secondary literature.

Particular attention is given to the oral exposure’s capacity through the proper terminology.

Students are expected to be able to develop a critical approach to the theories they studied. In the evaluation, particular attention will be given to the student’s ability to autonomously reformulate the materials they dealt with and to their ability to make comparisons between the authors they studied.

Assessment criteria:

- Excellent marks will be awarded for: a clear and precise exposition of the exam texts; the ability to link the various positions of the authors studied; good critical and in-depth study skills.

- Good marks will be awarded for: a clear, albeit mnemonic, presentation of the examination texts; a reasonable ability to link the various theories; only a reasonable level of critical ability and appropriate language.

- Sufficient marks will be awarded for: minimal knowledge of the examination texts; a general ability to link the various theories studied; possession of only sufficiently appropriate language.

- Negative marks will be awarded for: poor knowledge of the examination texts; obvious gaps in training; use of inappropriate language.

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.

In the exam, students are required to have all the texts in the syllabus (both primary and secondary literature) with them in hard copy.