00961 - History of Philosophy

Learning outcomes

Students will become familiar with some of the main currents of philosophical thought, and clarify the principal points of contention by textual interpretation and mastery of the relevant literature. They will learn to weigh interpretative categories and methodological tools as they tackle a research topic. They will compare written and oral texts, interact critically with the teacher, raise issues and initiate discussion. What they have learnt they will describe in the appropriate terminology and register for the discipline.

Course contents

Course Title: Between the Rights of Conscience and the Lex Amoris: Genealogies of Tolerance in Modern Philosophy

The course examines the key stages in the historical formation of the modern concept of tolerance, tracing its evolution up to the Enlightenment. Previously employed predominantly in a negative sense, the term underwent a profound transformation between the 16th and 18th centuries. Initially formulated as a response – driven in part by pragmatic concerns - to the religious conflicts and divisions brought about by the Reformation, from the second half of the 17th century onward the notion of tolerance acquired an entirely new ethical and political meaning, extending far beyond the mere granting of space to religious minorities. It gradually evolved into the recognition of freedom of thought and freedom of religion as universal rights belonging to every individual. These rights, in turn, came to rest upon the affirmation of the inviolable autonomy and primacy of individual conscience, beyond the legitimate reach of external authorities, norms, or claims.

Within this historically and conceptually complex trajectory – whose formative roots in the Renaissance and the Reformation will also be explored – the gradual emergence of the idea of tolerance intersects with a number of major themes that will receive particular attention throughout the course: the nature of truth and the epistemic limits of human reason; the relationship between the unity of God and the plurality of historical religions; the theoretical and moral foundations of the very notion of heresy; the idea of natural religion and the legitimacy of atheism; the distinction between political and religious authority in the new political order of early modern Europe; and the scope of State intervention in relation to the autonomy of individual conscience.

The final section of the course complements this historical and theoretical reconstruction by examining an alternative genealogy of modern tolerance, one that departs from the canonical Enlightenment-liberal narrative centred on secularization, the libertas philosophandi and the emergence of individual rights. Modern tolerance may also be understood as the outcome of a constellation of theoretical models, practices, and conceptual vocabularies linked to the notions of lex amoris, philanthropia, and benevolentia – categories through which early modern European culture developed distinctive forms of openness toward otherness and powerful critiques of religious, moral, and political universalism. A pivotal moment in this reconfiguration of the relationship between freedom, tolerance, and love is found in the philosophy of Spinoza: his conception of love as an extraordinary cognitive – and, above all, emancipatory – force marks the concluding stage of the course.

Readings/Bibliography

1. During the lessons excerpts from the following texts will be examined. Their reading is mandatory for all students:

Erasmo da Rotterdam, La guerra piace a chi non la conosce, a cura di D. Canfora, Palermo, Sellerio 2015 (or other translations of the Erasmian adage Dulce bellum inexpertis);

S. Castellion, La persecuzione degli eretici, cura e traduzione di S. Visentin, Torino, La Rosa, 1997;

J. Bodin, Bodin, Colloquium Heptaplomeres. Le sette visioni del mondo, a cura di C. Peri, Milano, Asefi, 2003;

P. Bayle, Commentario filosofico sulla tolleranza, a cura di S. Brogi, Torino, Einaudi, 2018;

J. Locke, Lettera sulla tolleranza, a cura di C. A. Viano, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2005;

B. Spinoza, Trattato teologico-politico, in Id., Opere, a cura di F. Mignini e O. Proietti, Milano, Mondadori, 2007 [paperback 2015], pp. 660-735 (capp. XVI-XX). For another recommended edition see: B. Spinoza, Trattato teologico-politico, a cura di E. Giancotti Boscherini, Postfazione di P. Totaro, Torino, Einaudi, 2007.

Voltaire, Trattato sulla tolleranza, a cura di L. Bianchi, Milano, Feltrinelli, 2015.

2. In addition of the in-depth knowledge of the texts referred to in paragraph 1, students must read an essay of their choice for each of the following groups**:

Group A

L. Felici-G. Imbruglia, La tolleeranza in età moderna. Idee, conflitti, protagonisti (secoli XVI-XVIII), Roma, Carocci, 2024;

M. Firpo, Il problema della tolleranza religiosa nell’età moderna. Dalla Riforma protestante a Locke, Torino, Loescher, 1983;

M.L. Lanzillo, Tolleranza, Bologna, il Mulino, 2002.

Group B

M. Biagioni, Viaggiatori dell'utopia. La Riforma radicale del Cinquecento e le origini del mondo moderno, Roma, Carocci, 2020;

B. Catoni, Spinoza e la tolleranza, Milano, Mimesis, 2026;

M. D'Arienzo, La libertà di coscienza nel pensiero di Sébastien Castellion, Torino, Giappichelli, 2008;

Dis/simulazione e tolleranza religiosa nello spazio urbano dell'Europa moderna, a cura di E. Boillet e L. Felici, Torino, Claudiana, 2020;

M.L. Lanzillo, Voltaire. La politica della tolleranza, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2000;

S. Nadler, La via alla felicità. L’etica di Spinoza nella cultura del Seicento, Milano, Hoepli, 2018;

F. Pintacuda De Michelis, Socinianesimo e tolleranza nell'età del razionalismo, Firenze, La nuova Italia, 1975;

A. Prosperi, Il seme dell’intolleranza. Ebrei, eretici, selvaggi: Granada 1492, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2013;

Le ragioni degli altri. Dissidenza religiosa e filosofia nell'età moderna, a cura di M. Priarolo e E. Scribano, Venezia, Edizioni Ca' Foscari, 2017 [Pdf disponibile in rete];

P. Ricoeur, Tolleranza, intolleranza, intollerabile, a cura di I. Bertoletti, Brescia, Morcelliana, 2024;

A. Suggi, Sovranità e armonia. La tolleranza religiosa nel Colloquium Heptaplomeres di Jean Bodin, Roma, Edizioni di Storia e Letteratura, 2005.

L. Vinciguerra, Spinoza. L'etica del quotidiano, Roma, Carocci, 2026.

Violenza sacra, vol. I: Forme e manifestazioni nella prima età moderna, a cura di L. Felici, Roma, Viella, 2022.

** To help students make informed choices, the instructor will explain, at the start of the course, the features and difficulty levels of the various recommended readings, and will also suggest some effective ways to combine them for learning purposes.

3. For a general knowledge of the historical-philosophical context in which the authors covered by the course fit in, a selective consultation of one of the following manuals is required:

F. Cioffi et al., Il testo filosofico. Storia della filosofia: autori, opere, problemi, vol. 2: L'età moderna, Milano, B. Mondadori, 1995 (or later editions);

C. Esposito-P. Porro, I mondi della filosofia, vol. 2: Dall'Umanesimo all'Idealismo, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2022;

L. Fonnesu, M. Vegetti et al., Le ragioni della filosofia, 2: Filosofia moderna, Firenze, Le Monnier, 2008 (or later editions);

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.

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 instructor (in office hours, and not by email) 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. Students are therefore required to provide the texts at the start of the course.

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 reflection of the 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 first semester and will start on September 16, 2026.

Timetable:

- Wednesday, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m, Aula Magna Lercaro, Via Riva Reno 55;

- Thursday, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m, Aula Magna Lercaro, Via Riva Reno 55;

- Friday, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m, Aula Magna Lercaro, Via Riva Reno 55.

Office hours: Prof. Scapparone will receive students on Thursday, h. 4-6 p.m. (by appointment, to be agreed with the teacher via email).

Assessment methods

Final oral examination.

Assessment criteria

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 philosophy in 16th-18th centuries.

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 cum laude: Excellent as to knowledge, terminology and critical expression.

30: Excellent: knowledge is complete, well articulated and correctly expressed, although with some slight faults.

29-27: Good: knowledge comprehensive and satisfactory, essentially correct expression.

26-24: Fairly good: knowledge present in significant points, but not complete and not always expressed with correctness.

23-21: Sufficient: knowledge is sometimes superficial, but the guiding general thread is included. Expression and articulation incomplete and often not appropriate.

20-18: Almost sufficient: but knowledge presents only on the surface. The guiding principle is not included with continuity. The expression and articulation of the speech show important gaps.

< 18: Not sufficient: knowledge absent or very incomplete, lack of guidance in discipline, expression seriously deficient. Exam failed.

Exam schedule: during the 2026/27 academic year, exam sessions will be scheduled in the following months: November, January, March, May, June and September.

Use of Artificial Intelligence: the use of AI tools in assessment and examination activities is not permitted. Any such use will be treated as a breach of academic integrity.

Students with Specific Learning Disorders (SLD) or temporary or permanent disabilities

It is necessary to contact the relevant University office (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en) 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

Slides;

Photocopies (limited to hard to find texts);

Advanced seminars;

Any individualized works.

Office hours

See the website of Elisabetta Scapparone