Part of the course will regard a general historical reconstruction of western philosophical movements and theories, with a special focus on some of the most influential currents (such as “idealism”, “materialism”, “rationalism”, “nihilism” and “existentialism”). Each session will be supported by the reading of some of the most representative thinkers in each historical frame. The course will focus on practical applications of philosophical thinking, in the main fields of ethics, aesthetics, metaphysics, politics and science. One or more films are envisaged, depending on time schedule.
REFERENCE TEXTS:
Thomas Nagel, What does it all mean? A very short introduction to philosophy, 1987
G. Skirrbekk, History of Western Thought, Routledge 2001.
PERCEPTION
Plato
Aristotle
Locke
Kant
LOGICAL THINKING
Plato
Aristotle
Descartes
Vico
Locke
Kant
Nietzsche
CAUSALITY
Plato
Aristotle
Descartes
Locke
Kant
Nietzsche
FINALITY
Plato
Aristotle
Descartes
Kant
Nietzsche
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Aristotle
Galileo
Descartes
Kant
POLITICS
Plato
Aristotle
Machiavelli
Hobbes
Locke
Adam Smith
Kant
Marx
Arendt
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy http://plato.stanford.edu/
Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy https://is.muni.cz/el/1421/podzim2014/LJMgrB07/um/Cambridge_Dictionary_of_Philosophy.pdf
Cosmolearning. General Introductions to philosophy. http://www.cosmolearning.com/philosophy/
FILMS
Excerpts from
Modern Times by C.Chaplin
The Matrix by A. and L. Wachowsky
Enjoy Poverty, by Renzo Martens
The following areas will be examined through classical and modern philosophers’ views:
LOGICAL THINKING
Plato
Aristotle
Descartes
Locke
Leibniz
Kant
SPACE TIME CAUSALITY
Plato
Aristotle
Descartes
Locke
Kant
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Aristotle
Galileo
Descartes
Diderot – d’Alembert’s Dream
Kant
M. Donald
POLITICS
Plato
Aristotle
Machiavelli
Hobbes
Locke
Adam Smith
Kant
Marx
Arendt
Rifkin
PERCEPTION
Plato
Aristotle
Locke
Kant
LANGUAGE
Leibniz
Locke
Vico
M. Donald