72564 - Institutions of Philosophy (1) (M-Z)

Learning outcomes

The course introduces the vocabulary, the methodology and the main thematic areas of discipline and trains to the reading and critical analysis of philosophical texts. At the end of the course the student has become familiar with the vocabulary and the main tools of research in the fields of history of philosophy; He also has the basic conceptual and methodological tools to understand a philosophical text, grasp its meaning in a historical perspective, orientate in problematic issues and in the most important historiographical interpretations of the discipline.

Course contents

Causes and reasons. History of the Idea of Cause from Descartes to Hume

 

The course aims to reconstruct the essential lines of modern philosophical discussion around the notion of cause in the fields of science, metaphysics and anthropology. In the transition from the Middle Ages to the modern age, the relationship between cause and effect conveys a new idea of rational intelligibility: Descartes posits the equivalence between cause and reason (causa sive ratio); Spinoza theorises the immanence of the cause in its effects, excluding all finalism (causa sui and causa immanens); Hume brings the causal relationship back to the sphere of psychological principles, outlining a new “system of man”.

 

Distribution of topics in the lectures:

Of the 15 lessons available (all will be RECORDED):

shorturl.at/mHR14

 

- 3 will be devoted to a historical-philosophical excursus on the notion of cause with reference to the Aristotelian-scholastic tradition in the cosmological and metaphysical spheres

- 4 will be devoted to the reading, commentary and discussion of Descartes’ Discourse on Method (Part II, VI) and Metaphysical Meditations (II-III meditazione, I Obiezioni e Risposte)

- 4 will be devoted to the reading, commentary and discussion of the First Part of Spinoza’s Ethics

- 4 will be devoted to the reading and discussion of Hume’s Treatise on Human Nature (Book I - Part III)

Readings/Bibliography

OBLIGATORY READINGS FOR ALL STUDENTS

 

1. R. Descartes, Discorso del metodo (Parti II, VI); Meditazioni metafisiche (II-III meditazione, I Obiezioni e Risposte)

Edizione italiana:

Descartes, Opere complete, a cura di G. Belgioioso, con la collaborazione di I. Agostini, F. Marrone e M. Savini, Milano, Bompiani, 2009.

2. B. Spinoza, Etica, I Parte

Edizione italiana:

Spinoza, Etica, introduzione, traduzione e note di D. Donna, Santarcangelo di Romagna, Rusconi, 2021.

3. D. Hume, Trattato sulla natura umana (Libro I - Parte III)

Edizione italiana:

D. Hume, Trattato sulla natura umana, a cura di E. Lecaldano, Bari, Laterza, 2008.

 

Two texts of choice:

P. Dessì, Causa/effetto, Bologna, il Mulino, 2012

F. Laudisa, Causalità. Storia di un modello di conoscenza, Roma, Carocci, 1999

M. Mori, Libertà, necessità, determinismo, Bologna, il Mulino, 2001

A. Funkenstein, Teologia e immaginazione scientifica dal Medioevo al Seicento, trad. it. Torino, Einaudi, 1996

T. Gregory, Genèse de la raison classique, Paris, PUF, 2000

D. Donna, Le catene di ragioni e l’ordine della natura. Teorie della conoscenza in Descartes e Spinoza, Milano, Mimesis, 2015

P.-F. Moreau, Spinoza. La ragione pensante. Una guida alla lettura, Roma, Editori Riuniti, 1998

F. Mignini, L’«Etica». Introduzione alla lettura, Roma, Caroc­ci, 1995

A. Santucci, Sistema e ricerca in David Hume, Bari, Laterza, 1969

G. Deleuze, Empirismo e soggettività, trad. it. Napoli, Cronopio, 2012.

 

ADDITIONAL READINGS: warning

The supplementary texts indicated here are only obligatory for non-attending students who do not attend lectures in presence.

E. Scribano, Guida alla lettura delle Meditazioni metafisiche di Descartes, Bari, Laterza, 2006

E. Scribano, Guida alla lettura dell'Etica di Spinoza, Bari, Laterza, 2008

A. Santucci, Introduzione a Hume, Bari, Laterza, 1971

 

Teaching methods

The course combines frontal teaching by the lecturer and direct participation by the students. It is divided into meetings conducted according to the didactic mode of common reading and open dialogue.

Assessment methods

Attendance of the entire course corresponds to 6 credits.

The oral examination, which takes place in the lecturer’s office, tends to test

1. the historical-philosophical knowledge acquired through attending lectures, studying the texts and bibliography included in the syllabus, contextualising the analysis within the framework of long-term traditions;

2. the level of assimilation and critical-conceptual elaboration of the proposed contents

3. the property and congruity of the linguistic expression of the various topics examined

4. the ability to orientate between the main interpretative and historiographical lines.

The examination offers a further opportunity for discussion and dialogue with the lecturer, a dialogue that the student is invited to open also during the lectures and seminars, intervening in the first person by requesting clarifications or proposing in-depth studies. In this sense, students are also invited to propose for examination particular subjects close to the topics of the course itself.

 

Verification criteria

30 cum laude. Excellent, for solidity of knowledge and critical processing skills

30: excellent. Adequate knowledge and expressive richness

27-29: good. Satisfactory knowledge, correct expression

24-26: discrete. Non-exhaustive and partially correct knowledge

21-23: sufficient. General knowledge, confused expression

18-21: barely sufficient. Poor articulation and relevant theoretical gaps

<18: insufficient. Missing or incomplete knowledge, lack of guidance in the argument.

 

The registration for the exam is online on the ALMAESAMI website

Teaching tools

The course makes use of the traditional bibliographical tools of philosophical research (indexes, dictionaries, bibliographical directories), as well as tools developed in the course of the lectures. A compendium or “Lexicon of Causes” aimed at reconstructing the history of the concept from ancient to contemporary philosophy will be made available.

Office hours

See the website of Diego Donna