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

Learning outcomes

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

Course contents

The Philosophy Workshop has three main objectives:

– training in writing and in the editorial conventions of the scholarly community;

– introduction to the use of bibliographic tools;

– introduction to the reading of philosophical texts and the drafting of a short essay about them.

Regular attendance is required: to submit the final paper and obtain a pass, students must attend at least 12 out of 15 sessions (i.e. 24 hours out of 30).

The Degree Programme in Philosophy offers several workshop options (programmes and instructors are listed on the Philosophy Degree Programme webpage). Each workshop accepts up to 40 enrolled participants. “Participant” refers to students attending in person or online (if the instructor activates that mode).

Enrolment is done via Studenti Online (studenti.unibo.it/sol/welcome.htm) by selecting “Prenotazioni” and choosing the desired workshop. Enrolment will be open for all workshops starting September 1st, 2025, and will automatically close for each workshop after the third meeting. Students may enrol in only one workshop at a time. Each list will accept a maximum of 40 students.

Attendance will be verified via signature (or via the platform for remote lessons). Due to past issues of falsified attendance signatures, any proven case will result in exclusion from the final assessment for the current academic year. The student will have to wait until the following year to attend the Philosophy Workshop again. The same sanction applies to any written work found to be wholly or partially plagiarized from printed or digital sources. Please refer to the plagiarism policy published on the programme’s website.

Only in duly motivated cases of inability to attend is an alternative programme available, to be agreed individually with the instructors. These cases include:

– students who work and are unable to obtain permission to attend the workshop; such students must inform the instructor at the beginning of the module and provide a statement from their employer attesting to their situation;

– students participating in Erasmus or Overseas programmes; they must inform the instructor in a timely manner and provide documentation of their stay abroad.

During the workshop, specific instructions for writing will be provided. However, all participants are required to download the Final Essay Writing Guidelines available on the Philosophy Degree Programme webpage:

corsi.unibo.it/laurea/Filosofia/laboratorio-di-filosofia-norme-per-la-redazione-del-saggio-finale [https://corsi.unibo.it/laurea/Filosofia/laboratorio-di-filosofia-norme-per-la-redazione-del-saggio-finale]

The workshop will focus on the relationship between semiotics and philosophy. The aim is to foster writing skills that balance rigorous reflection and scientific objectification. In this perspective, various semiotic schools provide a model for problematizing the often-unresolved tension between the philosophical stakes that necessarily traverse a disciplinary project seeking to account for different accesses to meaning, and the epistemological anchoring to linguistic tradition and comparative methodology in corpus studies.

Exercises and writing practices will focus on the genealogy and consistent treatment of key concepts such as: sign, meaning, symbolic form, form of life, institution, structure, system, complexity, pragmatism, metalanguage.

 

 

 

 

Readings/Bibliography

The core readings consist of the following short monographs (the introductions will be treated as critical aids for collective discussion):

1. Ernst Cassirer, Lo strutturalismo nella linguistica moderna (ed. F. Rastier), Roma, Luca Sossella Editore, 2018.

2. Roman Jakobson, Lo sviluppo della semiotica, Roma, Luca Sossella Editore, 2017.

To better understand the theoretical background of the workshop, the following article is strongly recommended:

Pierluigi Basso Fossali, “La semiotica tra scienza e filosofia. Una duplicità epistemologica strategica”, Estudos Semióticos, 2023, 19(3), pp. 99–121. https://www.revistas.usp.br/esse/article/view/214894/201447

For the preparation of the final essay and for group presentations (especially regarding the glossary to be developed collectively), students are encouraged to consult the following additional bibliography (all available online):

– Claudio Paolucci, “Sistema e struttura. Per una semiotica enciclopedica della complessità”, E/C, 2016

– Alessandro Zinna, “Il primato dell’immanenza nella semiotica strutturale”, E/C

– Umberto Eco, “Segno e inferenza”, Torino, Einaudi, Piccola biblioteca

– Paolo Fabbri, “Come Deleuze ci fa segno. Da Hjelmslev a Peirce”, in Il secolo Deleuziano, Mimesis, Milano, 1998

– Pierluigi Basso Fossali, “From paradigm to environment: The foreign rhythm and punctual catalysis of culture”, Sign System Studies, 2016

For further reading:

– Ferdinand de Saussure, Scritti inediti di linguistica generale, ed. T. De Mauro, Laterza, 2005

– Charles Sanders Peirce, Pragmatismo e oltre, ed. G. Maddalena, Bompiani, 2010

– Jean Lassègue, Dal trascendentale al simbolico. L’epistemologia semiotica di Ernst Cassirer, Mimesis, 2019

Teaching methods

The introductory nature of the course will be implemented through lectures, group workshops, and in-class commentary.

Students with disabilities and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students with disabilities or Specific Learning Disorders are entitled to special adjustments according to their condition, subject to assessment by the University Service for Students with Disabilities and SLD. Please do not contact teachers or department staff directly, but rather book an appointment with the Service.

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

Assessment methods

To obtain a pass (idoneità), students must complete two tasks:

1. A group presentation and discussion based on selected texts and on the glossary created during the course.

2. A written essay of 10,000 to 14,000 characters (excluding bibliography), to be submitted individually by email approximately three weeks after the end of the course. The exact deadline will be communicated during the course.

The paper should address topics developed in the workshop, either expanding on elements from the group presentation or independently chosen themes. Texts must be written in correct Italian and adhere to the editorial standards presented during the course.

Evaluation criteria for the written essay include:

(i) understanding of the texts and correct use of sources;

(ii) relevance of the chosen topic;

(iii) quality of writing and adherence to editorial standards;

(iv) clarity and possible originality of reflections;

(v) scientific coherence and argumentative rigour.

At least six exam sessions will be scheduled in the academic year 2025/2026, in the following months:

January, March, May, June, September, December.

Teaching tools

Multimedia tools will be used during the course. All materials will be available on the Virtuale e-learning platform. Students must enrol on the platform in order to access the materials, which are an integral part of the course.

Office hours

See the website of Pierluigi Basso