30413 - Philosophy Laboratory (1) (G.M)

Learning outcomes

The laboratory has a threefold aim: to provide students with the basic rules of academic writing; to introduce the main bibliographical tools; to teach how to critically read a philosophical text and write an academic essay on it.

Course contents

The following text will be read and commented on: Galen, The Capacities of the Soul Depend on the Mixtures of the Body (Quod animi mores corporis temperamenta sequantur).

Fragments of ‘classical’ philosophy (Plato and Aristotle), elements of anatomy and physiology, remarks pertaining to anthropology as well as to Hippocratic medicine are skilfully intertwined by Galen, who explores in this text the relationships between soul (psychē) and body (sōma), between ethics and the health vs. disease opposition. If philosophy is traditionally considered a medicine for the soul, medicine can become ancilla philosophiae when one understands the bodily mechanisms that regulate and have an influence on the movements of the soul.

The work under examination explores the relationship between physiology and human passions, which are here understood as pathēmata of the soul. Galen introduces medical theories (e.g. humours) in dialogue with a rich philosophical tradition, which has been discussing the divisions and functions of human soul over centuries. The Lab aims at: (1) introducing Galen’s thought, which played a pivotal role in the history of medicine and natural philosophy from Late Antiquity up to the rise of Modernity; (2) exploring the relationships and points of contact between science and philosophy.

When and Where (2nd semester; March-May 2018)

Friday, 1-3 PM, aula B via Centotrecento 18

Starting date: March, 2

Readings/Bibliography

M. Menghi, M. Vegetti (a cura di), Galeno, Le passioni e gli errori dell’anima (Venezia: Marsilio 1994) – for an English translation see below

Other Translations and Reference Books

(additional titles will be suggested during the classes)

V. Boudon-Millot, Galeno di Pergamo. Un medico greco a Roma (Roma: Carocci, 2016); translation of Galien de Pergame. Un médecin grec à Rome (Paris: Les Belles Lettres, 2012)

I. Garofalo, A. Lami (a cura di), Galeno. L’anima e il dolore (Milano: BUR, 2012).

P. Singer (ed.), Galen, Psychological Writings (Cambridge: CUP, 2014)

M. Vegetti (a cura di), Galeno, nuovi scritti autobiografici (Roma: Carocci, 2013)

Teaching methods

The Lab will promote an interactive exchange among participants. After a short presentation of Galen and his medical/philosophical system, Galen’s text will be fully read in translation. Students will be encouraged to actively contribute to the discussion. Specific parts of the work will be investigated more in depth: students will be asked to deliver short presentations on these sections (either individually or in groups).

Assessment methods

The Lab activities require a continuous involvement of the students during the classes. Therefore, the attendance to the Lab is compulsory and it will constitute a necessary prerequisite for being admitted to the final exam.

The students will be asked to present and discuss a short essay dealing with the philosophical text that has been studied during the classes.

Office hours

See the website of Matteo Martelli