39423 - History of Modern Philosophy (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, the student has an advanced awareness of the relevance of a multidisciplinary approach to the study of religions and is able to apply the tools and methodologies of investigation learnt in the field of philosophy teaching to contexts characterised by cultural pluralism. In particular, they know how to interpret the significant nodes of European thought in the 15th-18th centuries and identify intersections with other areas of Western culture. Competences regarding the main interpretative and historiographical lines regarding modern philosophy and the notion of modernity will allow not only to recognise the projections of motifs and themes of modern thought within the contemporary philosophical debate, but also to proceed retrospectively from the philosophical topicality towards the matrices of long-standing themes and problems.

Course contents

Substance and Function.

Spinoza, the Doctrine of Causa Sui, and the Philosophical Debate of Modernity

 

The course aims to reconstruct the modern debate surrounding the theory of causality across philosophical, theological, and scientific domains. At its center is the Latin expression causa sui, which Spinoza – following Descartes – removes from its theological context, turning it into the cornerstone of a theory of substance grounded in the identity between the order of things and the order of ideas. By complicating the vocabulary of cause with that of reasons that explain and rationalize existence under the sign of efficiency and productive power, the course will reinterpret the philosophical notion of cause through the lens of “function” (Cassirer) and “genesis” (Deleuze), as an immanent and differential process underlying the production of being, which informs both the logic of systems and theories of complexity.

Readings/Bibliography

Required Reading (for attending and non-attending students)

 

MONOGRAFIC COURSE

• B. Spinoza, Etica, I Parte.

Edizione italiana:

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

• E. Cassirer, Il concetto di sostanza e il concetto di funzione, Brescia, Morcelliana, 2018.

• G. Deleuze, Spinoza e il problema dell’espressione, Macerata, Quodlibet, 1999 (pagine scelte).

 

Studies

Two texts of your choice:

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

E. Cassirer, Storia della filosofia moderna 2, Milano, il Saggiatore, 1968, pp. 95-152.

F. Avogadro, Ernst Cassirer, l’ultimo illuminista. 1874-1945, Roma Carocci, 2025.

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

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

D. Donna, Norma, segno, autorità. Filosofia, teologia, politica in Spinoza, Bologna, BUP, 2019

F. Domenicali, P. Vignola, Deleuze. Filosofia di una vita, Carocci, Roma, 2023.

Teaching methods

Frontal lectures and reading of texts in the classroom, together with discussion of the most important topics and direct participation of the students.

The course includes a seminar-style section in which students are invited to prepare a short presentation lasting 15 min, discussed in class, on the topics of the course, or a topic chosen in agreement with the teacher, which will contribute to the final evaluation. Active participation in the seminar will be a fundamental aspect for the success of the course. For non-attending students, as well as for those who did not give a presentation in class, an additional paper is required (3000 words excluding bibliography).

Assessment methods

The attendance of the entire course corresponds to 6 credits. The programme is unique for both attending and non-attending students.

The oral examination takes place in the teacher's studio and tends to verify:

1. the historical-philosophical knowledge acquired through attendance at the lessons, the study of the basic texts and the relative bibliography
2. the degree of understanding and critical reworking of the proposed content
3. expressive skills and the ability to orient oneself among the main lines of interpretation

Attendance is considered relevant both to the learning process and to the assessment.

Exam registration is available through the ALMAESAMI platform. The dates of each exam session are published on the Professor’s webpage.

 

Verification criteria
30 cum laude: excellent proof, for solidity of knowledge and critical processing skills

30: excellent proof, adequate knowledge and expressive richness

27-29: good proof, satisfactory knowledge, correct expression

24-26: discrete proof, non-exhaustive and partially correct knowledge

21-23: sufficient proof, general knowledge, confused expression

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

<18: insufficient proof, missing or incomplete knowledge, lack of guidance in the argument

 

Students with disabilities and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Persons with specific learning disabilities (SLD) or temporary or permanent disabilities are advised to contact the University Office in charge in a timely manner (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en ). The office will take care of proposing any necessary accommodations to the individuals concerned. These accommodations must, however, be submitted at least 15 days in advance for approval by the course instructor, who will assess their appropriateness in relation to the learning objectives of the course.

Teaching tools

A philosophical index compiled by the instructor will be made available, containing a lexicon of the concept of “cause” from ancient to modern philosophy.

Office hours

See the website of Diego Donna