75834 - History of Humanist Philosophy

Learning outcomes

Through texts and authors deemed to be emblematic, the course aims at the acquisition of basic knowledge regarding philosophy from the second half of the fourteenth century to the end of the sixteenth century. Students will be led to recognize the main topics of Italian humanism and grasp relationships and intersections between speculative thought, philology and theory of the arts. One course objective is to enable students to master the lexis (Latin and Italian) of humanistic philosophy and be versed in the main historians’ interpretations as to Renaissance movements.

Course contents

The shadow of the infinite between philosophy, literature and art

Qual è ’l geomètra che tutto s’affige/per misurar lo cerchio, e non ritrova/pensando, quel principio ond’ elli indige/ tal era io a quella vista nova:/veder voleva come si convenne/ l’imago al cerchio e come vi s’indora (Dante, Paradiso XXXIII).
π,irrational numbers, Dante's dissolved shadows in the infinite abyss, Nicolaus Cusanus "contracted God," Leonardo da Vinci's infinite “shadowy ray”, Leibniz's monad, illustrate the complex discussion on the actual infinite in modern philosophy

The course (60 hrs) deals with the motifs of the shadow, the symbol, the irrational and the mirror in Dante, Cusanus, Leonardo da Vinci and Leibniz, as devices suited to intellectually accounting for an infinite and dynamic hyper-reality. The contrast between sensitive vision and intellectual vision - between a knowledge as mimesis or similarity of the sensitive element and a knowledge as composition of relations between structures in relation to each other - signals a decisive turning point in an itinerary of thought, which, on the Dante-Cusanus-Leibniz axis, sees one of the first, conscious attempts in Western thought to overcome the logic of the finite, of dualities and oppositions.

Readings/Bibliography

Students are required to know one of the following texts:

- Nicola Cusano, La filiazione di Dio (De filiazione dei), in Niccolò Cusano, Opere filosofiche, teologiche e matematiche, Torino, Bompiani, 2017, pp. 576-615
- Nicola Cusano, Trattato sulla visione di Dio (Tractatus de visione dei), in Niccolò Cusano, Opere filosofiche, teologiche e matematiche, Torino, Bompiani, 2017, pp.1024-1153They must further have read one of the following articles (two for students who did not attend classes)
- Anthological excerpts from the works of Dante, Leonardo and Leibniz will be distributed during the classes.

                                     Furthermore:

students are required to read two of the following books (three for students not attending the course)

- Profili dell’ombra, «Dianoia. Rivista di Filosofia», n. 19 (2014), pp. 5-18
- K. Flasch, Niccolò Cusano. Lezioni introduttive a un’analisi genetica del suo pensiero, Torino, Aragno, 2010
- G. Cuozzo, Raffigurare l’invisibile. Cusano e l’arte del tempo, Milano, Mimesis, 2012

- A. Angelini, Matematica e immaginazione nel Rinascimento, Milano, Editrice Bibliografica, 2017
- A caccia dell'Infinito. L'umano e la ricerca del divino nell'opera di Nicola Cusano, Roma, Aracne editore, 2010
- Monadi e monadologie. Il mondo degli individui tra Bruno, Leibniz e Husserl, Rubettino, Rubettino Editore, 2017

Teaching methods

30 lectures

During the classes the most significant central ideas and issues discussed will be presented, considering the interrelations between philosophy, literature and the figurative arts.


It is suggested to acquire the texts before the beginning of the course and to bring them to class.


It is also advisable to regularly consult the lecturer's web page on which any information and changes useful to those attending the course will be uploaded.

Assessment methods

Oral examination: Students are recommended to bring the texts when examining.The interview focuses mainly on analysis and critical interpretation of the sources.
Students who have attended lectures may agree on exams (whether written or oral) devoted to specific topics.

Assessment criteria and thresholds of evaluation:

30 cum laude - Excellent as to knowledge, philosophical lexicon and critical expression.

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

27-29 – Good: thorough and satisfactory knowledge; essentially correct expression.

24-26 - Fairly good: knowledge broadly acquired, and not always correctely expressed.

21-23 – Sufficient: superficial and partial knowledge; exposure and articulation are incomplete and often not sufficiently appropriate

18-21 - Almost sufficient: superficial and decontextualized knowledge. The exposure of the contents shows important gaps.

Exam failed - Students are requested to show up at a subsequent exam session if basic skills and knowledge are not sufficiently acquired and not placed in the historical-philosophical context.

Teaching tools

At the conclusion of each 'chapter' of the course (every 3-6 lessons) the topics and issues addressed will be summarized and outlined through short presentations accessible online.

Students with learning disorders and/or temporary or permanent disabilities: please, contact the office responsible (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students ) as soon as possible so that they can propose acceptable adjustments. The request for adaptation must be submitted in advance (15 days before the exam date) to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of the adjustments, taking into account the teaching objectives.

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Office hours

See the website of Annarita Angelini