28488 - History of Philosophy (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student refines his knowledge about the history of modern and contemporary philosophical thought, with particular attention to long-term philosophical-political themes and concepts. The student also refines his ability to orient himself between the main interpretative and historiographical lines.

Course contents

 

 

Academic Year 2023/2024

HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY

Prof. Mariafranca Spallanzani

 

DUALISM IN THE HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY

 

The course intends to examine some forms of dualism that have offered philosophy models for understanding and interpreting the complexity of man and of experience. The plurality of forms of dualism – ontological dualism, functional dualism, epistemological dualism, critical dualism, interactionism, epiphenomenalism, parallelism, etc. – therefore leads to an analysis of some founding texts of these models – Descartes' Meditations, Kant's Critique of Pure Reason, Bergson's Matter and Memory – and to a question on the various "dualistic" interpretations of the different philosophies also in light of the observations of Arthur Lovejoy's “critical realism”, of Bertrand Russell's “neutral monism” and of William James' “radical empiricism”.

The course is organized according to various modalities: readings and discussions of texts, presentations of research in progress, interventions by scholars of the topics covered by the course. The course is structured on two axes: lectures (about 20 hours).

 

LECTURES

DUALISM/DUALISM IN THE HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY. MIND/BODY, PHENOMENON/NOUMENON, MATTER/MEMORY, SUBJECT/OBJECT

In the lectures some particularly significant texts of the modern and contemporary philosophical debate on dualism and its various forms will be examined. The following texts or parts of them will be read:

1. R. Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy, II, V, VI

2. I. Kant, Critique of Pure Reason: Transcendental Aesthetics; Analytic of principles, II, III, 3.

3. H. Bergson, Matter and memory, ch. 1, 4.

4. W. James, Essays on radical empiricism: ch. 1, 2, 8, 9.

N.B. Kant's text was not presented in class. If you still intend to take it to the exam, it replaces one of the texts indicated above.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
The following bibliography extends the theme of dualism to the contemporary debate. It offers research ideas, but it is not mandatory for the preparation of the exam: it is a "map of the coutry of intelligence", to quote Malebranche.
A. O. Lovejoy, The Revolt Against Dualism, New York, Open Court Publishing, 1960 (chaps. I, VI, VII, VIII, IX)
K. Popper, K. and J. Eccles, The Self and its Brain, New York, Springer, 1977
B. Russell, The Analysis of Mind, London, George Allen & Unwin, 1921; Dover Publications, 2005; The Analysis of Matter, London, Routledge; New York, Hartcourt, Brace & Co., 1927; Padstow, Cornwall, J. Press (Padstow) Ltd, 1992
J. R. Searle, Intentionality. An Essay in the Philosophy of Mind, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1983; Minds, Brains and Science, Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 1984.

 

SEMINARS

As part of the course, two seminars will be organized that re-read the theme of dualism in a critical sense. The first intends to discuss the emergence of a theory of 'parallelism' in the context of Spinozist monism; the second intends to present the contemporary philosophical debate on the mind/body dualism.

1. IS SPINOZA'S MONISM A 'DUALISM'? ON THE 'PARALLELISM' OF THE SUBSTANCE'S ATTRIBUTES IN SPINOZA'S ETHICS

You will read First, or Second or Fifth Part of Spinoza's Ethics

2. MIND AND CONSCIOUSNESS.
IS CARTESIAN DUALISM REALLY DESCARTES' SYSTEM?

The following texts or parts of them will be read and communicated during the lessons.
1. G. Ryle, The concept of the mind
2. A.D. Dennet, Consciousness explained.

 N.B. The student is required to attend both seminars, but to bring the texts of only one seminar for examination.

The teacher will communicate in class during the lessons the English translations of the texts that will be read.

 

GENERAL INFORMATIONS

Lectures and seminars of the course will be in presence and will be recorded and made available to students. The program is unique, for attending and non-attending students.

The exam is only oral and is held in the Department of Philosophy and Communication, Via Zamboni, 38. Registration for the exam is done through the ALMAESAMI website.

 

LESSONS AND RECEPTION TIMETABLE

Lessons are held in the second semester, III period, in the following timetable:
monday h. 15-17 (room IV, Via Zamboni 38, 2nd floor); Tuesday h. 15-17 (room IV, Via Zamboni 38, 2nd floor); Thursday h. 15-17 (room C, Via Zamboni 34).

Classes will start on January 29, 2024.

The teacher receives on Tuesdays, at 17.00 (via Zamboni, 38, 2nd floor, studio 2.09).

 

Readings/Bibliography

For the texts of lectures see the programm belove.

Teaching methods

The lectures concern specific themes, and intend to analyze them in reference also to the peculiarities of historical contexts, the diversity of cultures and of philosophical problems, and, finally, the determination of intellectual options of individual philosophers. The predominantly seminar format of the lessons involves students in an independent and shared research, conducted with bibliographic tools and discussed in dialogic forms of scientific communication.

Assessment methods

he exam is oral.

The oral examination tends to verify:
1. historical and philosophical knowledge acquired through the class attendance, the study of the texts and bibliography, contextualising them in historical and philosophical traditions;
2. the level of critical assimilation of conceptual contents;
3. the property and the adequacy of linguistic expression;
4. the knowledge of the main lines of classical interpretations.

The examination provides an opportunity for further discussion and further dialogue with the professor. In this sense, students are also invited to examine particular subjects close to the topics of the lectures.

Assessment criteria and assessment thresholds:
30 cum laude: Excellent, excellent solidity of knowledge, excellent expressive properties, excellent understanding of the concepts.
30: Very good, complete and adequate knowledge, well-articulated and correctly expressed.
27-29: Good, satisfactory knowledge, essentially correct expression.
24-26: Fairly good knowledge, but not complete and not always correct.
21-23: Generally sufficient knowledge but superficial. Expression is often not appropriate and confused.
18-21: Sufficient. The expression and articulation of the speech show important gaps.
<18: Insufficient knowledge or very incomplete, lack of guidance in discipline, expression seriously deficient. Exam failed.

N.B. Students with disabilities and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)Students with disabilities or Specific Learning Disorders have the right to special accommodations according to their condition, following an assessment by the Service for Students with Disabilities and SLD. Please do not contact the teacher but get in touch with the Service directly to schedule an appointment. It will be the responsibility of the Service to determine the appropriate adaptations. For more information, visit the page:

https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students

Teaching tools

The lectures aim to examine classical texts, which are available in Italian and English translation, but with many references to the original language.

Seminars offer the reading of significant texts of philosophical debate around the subject of the lectures course, extending it with references to some other authors. The student is required to follow and to prepare for the exam only one seminar (I or II). The seminar format engages students in active participation, which mobilizes the acquired knowledge and transforms it into questioning the texts and discussing the topics.
The student may propose reading other texts or writing papers agreed with the teacher.

Office hours

See the website of Mariafranca Spallanzani