90064 - History of Philosophy from Renaissance to Enlightenment (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

The course aims to provide depth knowledge on modern philosophical culture of the period that goes from fifteenth to the eighteenth century, with particular interest for Renaissance philosophical texts, seventeenth century philosophy and and Enlightenment philosophy. In this perspective, which focuses on modernity and its origins, specific themes will be examined and classical texts questioned, contextualizing their analysis in the framework of long-term traditions, but also underlining moments of crisis and rupture with the past. The aim of the course is to allow students to autonomously face the reading of philosophical texts in a historical perspective; to perceive the relevance of historiographical and methodological questions related to periodization and polarity between continuity and disruption; to know the main lines of modern and contemporary historiography, acquiring, at the same time, the awareness of the problematic nature and complexity of philosophical research.

Course contents

Course Title: The power of God, the freedom of man and ‘innocent nature’ in the early modern age

Necessity and choice, determinism and the possibility of free, creative action in man are philosophical and theological themes that permeate the history of thought in a diachronic and consistently problematic way. The course proposes a return to certain fundamental turning points in the debate of the early modern age, focusing in particular on reflections about the condition of Adam. A condition which represents an essential point of comparison in defining the intrinsic characteristics of human nature before and after the loss of original perfection on the one hand, and the physical, intellectual and moral consequences of man's act of transgression and decadence on the other.

 

Module 1: 'Labyrinths of free will' and 'opened heavens': Erasmus, Luther and modernity

Issues around the topic of man's free will occupied some of the most well-known Renaissance thinkers, creating upheaval for the mediaeval solutions that were intended to reconcile human freedom with the universal order and eternal decrees of creation. Pomponazzi and Machiavelli approached this definitive problem on the way in which the human condition is viewed from a philosophical standpoint, with specific theoretical tools and with a naturalistic perspective. However, the dispute over the topic of free will between Erasmus of Rotterdam and Martin Luther was a crucial phase for modernity. Their writings present not just two dissimilar conceptions of the freedom of finite entities, but two opposing hermeneutical, theological and anthropological paradigms intended to define the characteristics of religious experience in modern Europe and its processes of transformation and secularisation. Based on these considerations, the course offers a reconstruction of the context, strategies and themes that were brought to the dispute, with a particular focus on some key theoretical issues: man's relationship with the omnipotence and justice of God; the basis for salvation, its bestowal and the conditions for it; the prospect of ultimate redemption for all humanity; the profound meaning of the Lutheran concept of 'freedom of a Christian'.

Readings/Bibliography

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

Erasmo, Scritti religiosi e morali, a cura di A. Prosperi e C. Asso, Torino, Einaudi, 2004;

Erasmo, Scritti teologici e politici, a cura di E. Cerasi e S. Salvadori, Milano, Bompiani, 2011;

Erasmo, La misericordia di Dio, a cura di P. Terracciano, Pisa, Edizioni della Normale, 2016;

Erasmo-Lutero, Libero arbitrio-Servo arbitrio, a cura di F. De Michelis Pintacuda, Torino, Claudiana, 2009;

M. Lutero, Il servo arbitrio, a cura di F. De Michelis Pintacuda, Torino, Claudiana, 2017;

M. Lutero, Libertà del cristiano. Lettera a Leone X, a cura di G. Miegge, Torino, Claudiana, 2017.

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

R. H. Bainton, Erasmo della cristianità, Firenze, Sansoni, 1989;

R. H. Bainton, Martin Lutero, Introduzione di A. Prosperi, Prefazione di D. Cantimori, Torino, Einaudi, 2013;

O. Bayer, La teologia di Martin Lutero, Torino, Claudiana, 2020;

F. De Michelis Pintacuda, Tra Erasmo e Lutero, Roma, Edizioni di Storia e Letteratura, 2001;

Libero arbitrio. Storia di una controversia filosofica, a cura di M. De Caro, M. Mori, E. Spinelli, Roma, Carocci, 2015;

Lutero e l’ontologia. La presenza di Dio nel mondo, a cura di F. Buzzi, D. Kampen e P. Ricca, Torino, Claudiana, 2022;

M. Miegge, Lutero giovane, Milano, Feltrinelli, 1977;

O. H. Pesch, Martin Lutero. Introduzione storica e teologica, Brescia, Queriniana, 2007;

S. Seidel Menchi, Erasmo in Italia, 1520-1580, Torino, Bollati Boringhieri, 1987;

R. Torzini, I labirinti del libero arbitrio. La discussione tra Erasmo e Lutero, Firenze, Olschki, 2000.

N.B.: The course program is the same, as for attending and not attending students. Anyway, students who cannot attend classes or who don't know Italian may contact the teacher (in office hours, and not by e-mail) to decide upon any additional or alternative readings.

Teaching methods

The course consists of 15 lessons.

Since it is a course/seminar, attending students will be encouraged to conduct brief individual works of critical analysis on topics or authors relating to the course contents.

These works will have value to the examination.

The course will be held in the second semester and will start on January 30, 2023.

Timetable

- Monday, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Room B, Via Centotrecento;

- Thursday, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Room E, Via Zamboni 34;

- Friday, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Room E, Via Zamboni 34.

Office hours: Prof. Scapparone will receive students on Thursday, h. 16-18 p.m.

Assessment methods

Final oral examination.

Students who have attended the course will be able, if they wish, to integrate the examination with short essays or presentations on topics agreed with the teacher.

In accordance with the class, a written text on a specific part of the program could be organized. Detailed procedures about this text shall be laid down at the beginning of the course.

Assessment criteria

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

- Analysis and interpretation of Erasmus of Rotterdam and Martin Luther's texts;

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

- Knowledge of the history of Renaissance and early modern philosophy.

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.

Assessment thresholds

30 with distinction: Excellent results for the solidity of skills, wealth of critical articulation, expressive properties and maturity.

30: Excellent result: complete and well-articulated knowledge of themes addressed in lessons, with critical ideas, and illustrated with adequate expressive features.

29-27: Good result: complete knowledge and adequately contestualized, fundamentally correct presentation.

26-24: Moderate result: knowledge is present in the essential areas, though not thorough and not always articulated correctly.

23-21: Sufficient result: superficial or purely mnemonic understanding of the subject, confused articulation of the presentation, with often inappropriate expression.

20-18: Barely sufficient result: knowledge of the subject, articulation during discussions and methods of expression demonstrate considerable gaps in understanding.

< 18: Insufficient result, exam failed. The student is invited to attend a subsequent exam session where the essential skills have not been acquired, lacking the ability to orient themselves within the subjects of the course and of the same discipline and where the methods of expression demonstrate considerable gaps in understanding.

Teaching tools

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

Advanced seminars;

Any individualized works.

Office hours

See the website of Elisabetta Scapparone