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

Learning outcomes

The lectures allow the student to interpret the main nodes of European thought in the XV-XVIII centuries and to identify the intersections with other areas of Western culture. Knowledge of the main interpretative and historiographical lines of early modern philosophy and the concept of modernity will enable students to recognise the themes and projections of early modern thought in contemporary philosophical debate and to trace the origins of themes and long-standing problems.

Course contents

Kant: "A hidden art in the depths of the human soul'

The course will analyze and interpret the function of the imagination and its relationship to the sensibility and the intellect referring to the 1781 and 1787 editions of the Critique of Pure Reason, and the main interpretations of the early 20th century

The classes will focus in particular on:

· the sensible intuition

· the transcendental ideality and actually existing reality space and time

· “I think" and the transcendental apperception

· the role of imagination in determining a priori the sensibility

· the experience's rules; pure concepts and empirical concepts

· the schematism of the pure concepts of understanding as medius terminus

· the problematic character of the Transcendental

Readings/Bibliography

I. Kant, Critica della ragion pura, ed. by P. Chiodi, Torino, UTET, 1967; or Milano, TEA, 1996. (The Transcendental Dialectic does not constitute a subject of the examination interview)
and
R. Ciafardone, La critica della ragion pura di Kant : introduzione alla lettura, Roma, Carocci, 2007moreover:

one of the following monographs (students who have not attended classes should choose and read three essays):
- M. Ferrari, Categorie e a priori, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2010
- M. Palumbo, Immaginazione e matematica in Kant, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 1984
- G. D’Alessandro, In viaggio con Kant, Milano,Mimesis, 2017

Students should are also required to study the chapter on Kant of a textbook (you may want: Storia della filosofiaa cura di M. Dal Pra. It’s available in the Library reading room of the FIL Department)

Teaching methods

We analyze the main problems of the Transcendental Esthetic and Trancendental Analytic, in the first section of the Critique of Pure Reason (and the variations between the first and second edition) with a focus on imagination and transcendental schematism functions. During the classes we shall read and comment paragraphs of the Kantian text judged nodal for the issues addressed by the cours.
The analysis of the text will be carried on the edition: Kant, Critica della ragion pura, by P. Chiodi, Torino, UTET, 1967, or Milano, TEA, 1996.
Students are required to provide the text before the course begins.

Lecture summaries will be periodically uploaded to the University Intranet page (Virtual Learning Environment).

We recommend the students to see regularly the teacher's web page on which will be uploaded any information and change useful to those who attending the classes.

Assessment methods

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

The text of the Critique of Pure Reason (specified edition) is an essential tool in order to actively participate in the classes. It is recommended to get hold of the text before classes.
The summaries of the lectures will be periodically (every three to six lectures) uploaded to the University Intranet page (Virtual Learning Environment).

Office hours

See the website of Annarita Angelini