87372 - Philosophy of Religion (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

The course aims to provide the methodological tools that are essential to understand religious experience, both as a historical phenomenon and as an existential reality, according to different perspectives (phenomenological, hermeneutical, etc.), and to deepen some issues and concepts that are particularly relevant to the philosophy of religion, such as alterity and transcendence, sacred and divine.

Course contents

Course title: The Other in Levinas’s Thought

Syllabus

The course will examine Emmanuel Levinas’s philosophy, with particular reference to Totality and Infinity, in which the issue of alterity is developed through a comparison with Husserl’s phenomenology and Heidegger’s thought. The topics covered will be the following: metaphysics and transcendence; need and desire; the Same and the other; Descartes and the idea of Infinity; the face of the other.

The first lessons will be dedicated to an introduction to the philosophy of religion. In the following lessons the philosophical context in which the Levinasian thought is placed will be outlined and the above mentioned topics will be addressed.

Course timetable: the course is scheduled in the third period: Monday 11-13 (Lecture room Traina, via Zamboni 34), Tuesday 11-13 (Lecture room C, via Zamboni 34), Wednesday 11-13 (Lecture room C, via Zamboni 34)

Course start date: February 1st, 2027

Readings/Bibliography

Readings:

E. Levinas, Totality and Infinity: An Essay on Exteriority, Nijhoff, The Hague-Boston-London 1979 (selected pages).

A. Fabris, Filosofia delle religioni. Come orientarsi nell’epoca dell’indifferenza e dei fondamentalismi, Carocci, Roma 2012.

G. Ferretti, La filosofia di Levinas. Alterità e trascendenza, Rosenberg & Sellier, Torino 2010 (optional).

Further reading:

D. Cohen-Levinas (éd.), Lire Totalité et infini d’Emmanuel Levinas. Études et interprétations, Hermann, Paris 2011.

J. Greisch, Le Buisson ardent et les Lumières de la raison. L’invention de la philosophie de la religion. II. Les approches phénoménologiques et analytiques, Cerf, Paris 2002.

Text recommended for non-attending students:

G. Ferretti, La filosofia di Levinas. Alterità e trascendenza, Rosenberg & Sellier, Torino 2010.

The slides used in the lessons will be available in the online material.

Teaching methods

Lectures; reading and commenting of texts; discussion on the main issues covered in the course.

Assessment methods

The exam consists of an oral interview, which will assess the knowledge of the texts and the ability to critically discuss the proposed issues. The use of generative AI in learning assessment is prohibited.

Grade assessment criteria:

30 cum laude: Excellent, both in knowledge and in the critical and expressive articulation.

30: Very good. Complete, well-articulated and correctly expressed knowledge, with some critical insights.

27-29: Good. Comprehensive and satisfactory knowledge, substantially correct expression.

24-26: Fairly good. Knowledge is present in the main points, but it is not comprehensive and not always correctly articulated.

21-23: Sufficient. Sometimes superficial knowledge, but the common thread is understood. Incomplete and often inappropriate expression and articulation.

18-21: Almost sufficient. Superficial knowledge, the common thread is not understood with continuity. Expression and articulation have significant gaps.

Not sufficient: Absent or very incomplete knowledge, lack of orientation in the discipline, defective and inappropriate expression.

During the 2026/2027 academic year, exam sessions are scheduled in the following months: May, June, July, September, November 2027; January, February 2028 (for all students).

Students with disabilities and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students with disabilities or Specific Learning Disorders have the right to special adjustments according to their condition, following an assessment by the Service for Students with Disabilities and SLD. Please do not contact the instructor but get in touch with the Service directly to schedule an appointment. It will be the responsibility of the Service to determine the appropriate adjustments. For more information, visit the page: https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students

It is recommended that students contact the University office in advance. Any proposed adjustments must be submitted at least 15 days in advance for the instructor’s approval, who will evaluate their appropriateness in relation to the learning objectives of the course.

Teaching tools

PowerPoint slides

Office hours

See the website of Sebastiano Galanti Grollo