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

Learning outcomes

The student learns to read and critically analyze philosophical texts and to write a philosophical essay.

Course contents

Being and Becoming: The Roots of Greek Ontology between Heraclitus and Parmenides

This course will take the form of a seminar and will consist in the reading, translation, and commentary of selected fragments and testimonies attributed to Heraclitus of Ephesus and Parmenides of Elea.

In a famous passage of the Theaetetus, Plato writes:

“It is from motion and change […] that all things we call ‘being’ derive—though we speak incorrectly—for nothing ever is, but always becomes. On this subject we may assume that all the wise men, except Parmenides, have been in agreement: Protagoras, Heraclitus, and Empedocles, and among the poets, the foremost in both genres, Epicharmus in comedy and Homer in tragedy” (152d–e).

On one side stands Heraclitus, a worthy hoplite of Homer’s ranks, fighting under the banner of radical change: nothing is, everything is always becoming. On the other side, Parmenides erects, in solitude, a bastion against the excesses of unceasing transformation: being is and cannot not be. This is how these two great early thinkers have gone down in history—partly thanks to Plato’s testimony—as the philosopher of becoming and the philosopher of being. But are their respective philosophies really so radically opposed and irreconcilable? The aim of this seminar is to address this question through a "close reading" of a selection of fragments and testimonia, based on the critical editions currently available and in light of the relevant scholarly literature. Finally, we will ask what kind of legacy Plato actually inherited: which aspects of his vision of the world and of the human being are indebted to Parmenides’ thought, and which to that of Heraclitus.

The first session will be devoted to introducing the topic and forming work groups, with the corresponding assignment of fragments. The following three sessions will be dedicated to a writing seminar focused on the preparation of the final paper (form and content), which is required to pass the course. In the fifth and sixth sessions, two guest lecturers—experts in the field—will introduce the life and thought of Heraclitus and Parmenides. From the third week onward, each group will present the assigned fragments and related scholarship, after having conducted their research and textual analysis under the guidance of the course tutors.

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The Laboratory (1) (G.E) will take place in the Second Semester, Fourth Period.

 

Start: Wednesday, April 8 2026, 3pm, Classroom C.

 

Hours:

Monday, 3-5pm, Classroom C (Via Zamboni, 34);

Wednesday, 3-5pm, Classroom C;

Friday, 3-5pm, Classroom C.

 

* Attendance is mandatory (at least 13 sessions out of 15).

** Knowledge of the Greek language is not essential to participate in the workshop.

*** Any supplementary activities (conferences, seminars, etc.) will be reported on the Filosofia Antica a Bologna Facebook page.

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General Information

The Philosophy Laboratory has three main purposes: education in writing and editorial standards used by the scientific community; introduction to the use of bibliographic tools; introduction to reading a classic philosophical text and writing a short essay.

The success of workshops ideally requires regular attendance of all students at all sessions. In order to be admitted to the final exam and achieve a pass, students will need to have attended at least 12 out of 15 classes (24 hours out of 30).

Students can choose from several proposals of Philosophy Laboratories. Programmes and teachers’ names are available on the website of the First Cycle Degree/Bachelor in Philosophy. Up to 40 students may attend each laboratory. Classes will be given in Italian or in English, as indicated by each teacher on their laboratory web pages.

Please enrol via Studenti On Line, by clicking on the tab 'Prenotazioni' and the Laboratory of your choice. Registrations for each laboratory will automatically close after the first three sessions. Students may register for only one workshop at a time. Each list will accept a maximum of 40 registrations.

Attendance — both face-to-face and online, if streaming is available — will be verified by signature on sign-in sheets or by log-in online. In the light of several unpleasant episodes of signature falsification in recent years, in the case of even just a single falsified signature, the student will be excluded from the final exam and will have to wait until the next year to attend the Laboratory again. The same standards will hold for students submitting papers which are totally or partially copied from published sources or digital texts.

Only in the event of certified inability to attend the Workshop are students allowed to arrange an alternative programme with the relevant teacher of the module in question. Such cases include:

- working students who cannot obtain specific permission to attend the Laboratory. These students shall inform the teacher at the beginning of the module and provide a declaration of their employers stating their inability to attend.

- students who are participating in exchange programmes (Erasmus, Overseas, etc.). These students shall promptly provide documentary evidence to the teacher showing their inability to attend on grounds of residence abroad.

For attending students assessment will consist in the submission and discussion of a short essay on the philosophical text discussed in the Laboratory attended. The essay will be evaluated both for form and for content.

During the Laboratory, teachers will provide instructions on how to write the final essay.

Readings/Bibliography

• Hermann Diels e Walther Kranz, I Presocratici [1903-1951], edited by Giovanni Reale, Milano: Bompiani, 2006.

* The complete bibliography will be provided at the beginning of the Laboratory.

Teaching methods

LECTURES (1 introductory / organizational session of 2 hours; 2 sessions conducted by experts in the field)

Adopted methods:

• Diagrams.
• Handouts / Slides.

PHILOSOPHICAL WRITING SEMINAR (3 sessions, each of 2 hours)

• Editing guidelines.
• Reading essay of an ancient work: form and contents.

SLOW READING SEMINAR (9 sessions, each of 2 hours)

Adopted methods:

• Slow reading of the sources in the original language.
• Group work.
• Drafting of a handout.
• Oral presentations.
• Group discussion.

Assessment methods

EXAM PROGRAMME

The final evaluation consists of two required components, one oral and one written, both of which are mandatory in order to obtain credit for the course.

(1) The oral exam consists of a group presentation during the course of the seminar.
(2) The written exam consists of an essay based on the analysis of the ancient sources discussed during the seminar. The essay should explore one of the topics covered in class and include a critical discussion supported by relevant scholarly literature. It must be between 5 and 7.5 standard Word pages (or equivalent word processing software), plus a bibliography, and must follow the guidelines outlined in the Norme per un saggio breve [Instructions for a Short Essay] uploaded to the Virtuale platform.

 

EXAM ASSESSMENT
The exam will be considered overall satisfactory only if both the oral presentation and the written paper (in both form and content) are individually deemed satisfactory.

 

* Students with SLD or temporary or permanent disabilities. It is necessary to contact the relevant University office with ample time in advance: the office will propose some adjustments, which must in any case be submitted 15 days in advance to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of these in relation to the teaching objectives.

Teaching tools

• Handouts.
• Partition diagrams and concept maps.
• Handbooks.
• Web sites.
• TLG, databases and bibliographical repertoires.

Office hours

See the website of Carlotta Capuccino