00961 - History of Philosophy (M-Z)

Learning outcomes

Students learn to become familiar with currents of thought, issues, important authors of modern thought, and to orient themselves in each of their historical interpretations. They are trained in the critical reading of the texts that takes into account the reference traditions, and to evaluate argumentative and rhetorical strategies in the context of the cultural conditioning (institutional, religious, ideological and scientific).

Course contents

Thinking about the infinite: God and the universe at the beginning of European modern philosophy. Cusano, Bruno, Spinoza

In the Judeo-Christian perspective of God the Creator the philosophical concept of 'potentia' is intertwined with the question of the extension of God's will and the relationship between the divine cause - infinite and all-powered - and its effects in order of creation. Inspired by the neo-Platonic tradition of the One and of his emanative power, Cusano deeply rethinks the relationship God/universe and about the same essential character of divine power, going as far to define a fundamentally new ontological model. The manner in which he inaugurated it, although with ambiguity and cautious orthodoxy, it is picked up and brought to the consequences of unprecedented radicalism in the philosophies of Bruno and Spinoza. Bruno thinks of the universe as an image and perfect mirror, and therefore really infinite, of the divine principle; while Spinoza, dissolving at the root the traditional concept of free divine creation, goes as far as denying that the world constitutes a substance independent of the nature of God. From these positions highly innovative consequences in cosmology and anthropology are derived, as well as in terms of morality and politics, which the course will seek to illustrate and motivate.

Readings/Bibliography

1. During the lessons will be read the following texts (or any part):

N. Cusano, La dotta ignoranza, a cura di G. Federici Vescovini, Roma, Città Nuova, 1998;

N. Cusano, De possest, in Id., Scritti filosofici, a cura di G. Santinello, vol. I, Bologna, Zanichelli, 1965;

G. Bruno, De l'infinito universo e mondi e De la causa, principio et uno, in Id., Dialoghi filosofici italiani, a cura e con un saggio introduttivo di M. Ciliberto, Milano, Mondadori, 2000.

B. Spinoza, Etica (Prima parte: Di Dio); Carteggio Spinoza-Oldenburg, entrambi in Spinoza, Opere, a cura di F. Mignini e O. Proietti, Milano, Mondadori, 2007 (paperback 2015).

2. In addition to in-depth knowledge of the texts referred to in paragraph 1, all studens must read:

H. Blumenberg, La legittimità dell'età moderna, Genova, Marietti, 1992, pp. 491-644 (capp. Il Cusano: il mondo come autolimitazione di Dio; Il Nolano: il mondo come autoesaurimento di Dio);

M.A. Granada, Il rifiuto della distinzione fra 'potentia absoluta' e 'potentia ordinata' di Dio e l'affermazione dell'universo infinito di Giordano Bruno, «Rivista di storia della filosofia», 49, 1994, pp. 495-532;

F. Mignini, Spinoza e Bruno. per la storia di una questione storiografica, in Spinoza. Ricerche e prospettive. Per una storia dello spinozismo in Italia, a cura di D. Bostrenghi e C. Santinelli, Napoli, Bibliopolis, 2007, pp. 211-271;

P. Secchi, «Del mar più che del ciel amante». Bruno e Cusano, Roma, Edizioni di Storia e Letteratura, 2006.

3. For a general knowledge of the history of philosophy from 15th to 18th century is recommended a selective access to one of the following manuals:

L. Fonnesu, M. Vegetti et al., Le ragioni della filosofia, 2: Filosofia moderna, Firenze, Le Monnier, 2008 (e successive edizioni);

Storia della filosofia, a cura di P. Rossi e C. A. Viano, vol. 3: Dal Quattrocento al Seicento, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 1995;

Storia della filosofia occidentale, a cura di G. Cambiano, L. Fonnesu e M. Mori, vol. 2: Medioevo e Rinascimento; vol. 3: Dalla rivoluzione scientifica all'Illuminismo, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2014.

Further recommended readings

For the purposes of examination  may be useful - in different ways, that the teacher will illustrate - also the following references:

On Cusano:

E. Cassirer, Individuo e cosmo nella filosofia del Rinascimento, a cura di F. Plaga, C. Rosenkranz, G. Targia, Torino, Bollati Boringhieri, 2012;

G. Santinello, Introduzione a Nicola Cusano, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 1987;

K. Flasch, Niccolò Cusano. Lezioni introduttive a un'analisi genetica del suo pensiero, Torino, Aragno, 2011.

On Bruno:

B. Amato, Materia, in Enciclopedia bruniana e campanelliana, diretta da E. Canone e G. Ernst, vol. II, Giornate di studi 2005-2008, Pisa-Roma, F. Serra, 2010, coll.. 96-109;

A. Del Prete, Infinito, in Enciclopedia bruniana e campanelliana, diretta da E. Canone e G. Ernst, vol. I, Giornate di studi 2001-2004, Pisa-Roma, Istituti Editoriali e Poligrafici Internazionali, 2006, coll. 47-60;

Giordano Bruno, Parole, concetti, immagini, Direzione scientifica di M. Ciliberto, 3 voll., Firenze-Pisa, Istituto Nazionale di Studi sul Rinascimento-Edizioni della Normale, 2014.

On Spinoza:

F. Mignini, Introduzione a Spinoza, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2009;

P. Totaro, Instrumenta mentis. Contributo al lessico filosofico di Spinoza, Firenze, Olschki, 2010;

L. Vinciguerra, Spinoza, Roma, Carocci, 2015.

On the debate about the power of God in modern philosophy:

Potentia Dei. L'onnipotenza divina nel pensiero dei secoli XVI e XVII, a cura di G. Canziani , M.A. Granada, Y.C. Zarka, Milano, F. Angeli, 2000 (con saggi dedicati anche a Bruno e Spinoza);

Sopra la volta del mondo: onnipotenza e potenza assoluta di Dio tra Medioevo e età moderna, a cura di M.T. Fumagalli Beonio Brocchieri, Bergamo, Lubrina, 1986.

N.B.: Students who cannot attend classes or who don't know Italian are advised to contact the teacher (in office hours, and not by e-mail) to decide upon any additional or alternative readings.

Teaching methods

The course, consisting of 30 lectures, will be mostly devoted to reading, text analysis and commentary. The illustration of themes and concepts will be accompanied by the reconstruction of the cultural contexts and sources - both classical and modern - that have fuelled and enriched the complex reflection of the three philosophers covered by this course.

Class attendance and direct participation of the students (either through discussion or the presentation of in-depth reports on particular topics) are strongly encouraged.

The course will be held in the second semester and will start on October 3rd, 2016.

Timetable:

- Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Room A, Via Zamboni 34.

Assessment methods

Final oral examination.

The goal of the exam is to measure the achievement of the following learning objectives:

1. Ability to navigate with confidence regarding the overall problem of the discipline and to comment analytically on the philosophical texts discussed during the lessons;

2. Knowledge of secondary literature works listed in the bibliography, combined with the ability to learn how to reference them in autonomous and critical forms;

3. Basic knowledge of the history of modern philosophy, from Humanism to Enlightenment.

The student's ability to learn how to operate with confidence and autonomy within the sources and the secondary literature and the possession of a language and forms of expression appropriate to the discipline will be assessed in a particular manner.

- The acquiring, by the student, of an organic view of the topics discussed in class, along with their critical consideration, a demonstration of mastery and mature expression will be recognized with marks of excellence.

- Knowledge, mostly mnemonic, of the subject matter, non-articulated synthesis and analysis, and/or language does not always lead to the appropriate marks ranging from discreet to sufficient.

- Crucial gaps in training, inappropriate use of language, lack of orientation within the boundaries of the topics and the bibliographic materials proposed by the course will inevitably lead to a negative rating.

Teaching tools

Advanced seminars;

Slides and photocopies (limited to hard to find texts);

Any individualized works.

Office hours

See the website of Elisabetta Scapparone