00399 - Theoretical Philosophy

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course students will be familiar with some of the key moments in philosophical thought and have a synoptic view of them. They will be able both to place philosophers in historical context, and to decontextualize them to see how relevant their thinking is to contemporary philosophy. They will know the problem-concepts of meaning, reference and truth, and be able to critique a theoretical proposition set up by the teacher.

Course contents

Title: Man’s Psyche between Nature and Spirit: Anthropology, Psychology and Philosophy

At the conclusion of The Order of Things, Foucault states that the anthropological paradigm in force in the epistemological field of the “human sciences” would be nothing more than the result of a recent invention whose origin we have forgotten and whose disappearance, like a face of sand on the brink of the sea, is imminent. Whether or not one agrees with Foucault’s famous thesis, one thing is certain: after Kant and since the beginning of the 19th century, the problem of man has been articulated as a function of the epistemological reconfiguration that radically transforms the relationships between sciences and, consequently, the method and questions of the philosophical enquiry. The aim of this course is to measure the impact of such a transformation, by paying particular attention to the invention of psychology as a modern science by means of which we will analyse a series of systematic effects that will prove to be crucial for the settling of the forces at play in the field of contemporary philosophy.

In the first moment, we will consider (i) the place of anthropology and, simultaneously, of psychology as empirical knowledge in the Kantian system; (ii) the significance of the anthropological problematic in the light of the antagonistic readings of Heidegger and Foucault. In a second moment, attention will be paid (iii) to the division of the sciences into "natural sciences" and "human sciences" or, to use the German equivalent, Geisteswissenschaften; (iv) to the emergence of modern psychology; (v) to the various strategies of establishing philosophical knowledge as scientific knowledge, from positivism to Dilthey's philosophy of life; and finally (vi) to the relationship between psychology and philosophy, which will lead to a further transformation in function of which psychology will assume a philosophically foundational role in the 19th century.

Readings/Bibliography

Bibliography:

F. Brentano, La psicologia dal punto di vista empirico, Laterza 1997 (Libro I: pp. 61-91; Libro II: 143-166; 167-203)

W. Dilthey, Scritti filosofici, UTET, 2013 [based on the electronic format, the page numbers of the parts indicated below may vary depending on the display mode]

• I. Studi per la fondazione delle scienze dello spirito: cap. I, "La connessione strutturale psichica"; cap. III, "La delimitazione delle scienze dello spirito"

• II. La costruzione del mondo storico nelle scienze dello spirito: cap. I: "Delimitazione delle scienze dello spirito"; cap. III: "Principi generali intorno alla connessione delle scienze dello spirito"

• "I tipi di visioni del mondo e la loro formazione nei sistemi metafisici"

M. Foucault, Le parole e le cose. Un’archeologia delle scienze umane, Rizzoli 2013 (cap. 9: pp. 371-421)

M. Heidegger, Kant e il problema della metafisica, Laterza, 1981/2010 (pp. 178-211)

C. Stumpf, La rinascita della filosofia. Saggi e conferenze, Quodlibet 2009 (passi scelti: pp. 3-32)

W. Wundt, “Lineamenti di psicologia” in Opere scelte, UTET 2009 (passi scelti: 93-118)

Additional background texts to supplement the topics covered in the course:

Kant: Logica, Laterza, 2004 (passi scelti, cfr. Virtuale); Antropologia dal punto di vista pragmatico, Einaudi, 2010 (passi scelti, cfr. Virtuale); Critica della ragion pura (parti scelte, cfr. Virtuale, la sezione consacrata a "Kant").

W. Wundt, "Philosophy in Germany", in Mind (1877), pp. 493-518.

Secondary literature:

R. Luccio, Dall’anima alla mente. Breve storia della psicologia, Laterza, 2014 (Capitoli: I-II-III).

R. Martinelli, Uomo, Natura, Mondo. Il problema antropologico in filosofia, Il Mulino 2004.

L. Mecacci, Storia della psicologia. Dal Novecento a oggi, Laterza, 2019 (Capitoli I-II).

E. Melandri, Le ricerche logiche di Husserl. Introduzione e commento alla prima ricerca (prima parte), il Mulino 1990.

The use of philosophical lexicons, introduction to Dilthey's thought and handbooks are at the discretion of the students:

F. Bianco, Introduzione a Dilthey, Laterza, 2001.

B. Cassin, Dictionary of Untranslatables. A Philosophical Lexicon, Princeton University Press 2014.

The Routledge Handbook of Franz Brentano and the Brentano School, 2017.

For a better understanding of the problems presented, the student is nevertheless invited, should he or she deem it appropriate according to the state of his or her knowledge in the field of philosophy, to turn to any textbook on philosophy. Among the various, I recommend (purely as an indication):

• Giuseppe Cambiano, Massimo Mori, Storia e antologia della filosofia, Laterza, Roma 1993 e seguenti

• Fabio Cioffi et al., Il testo filosofico, Mondadori, Milano 1992 e seguenti

• Mario Dal Pra, Sommario di storia della filosofia, La Nuova Italia, Firenze 1987

• N. Abbagnano, Storia della filosofia, voll. 3 & 4, UTET 2017 e seguenti.

The entire bibliographical material and handouts concerning each topic and author covered will be available on Virtuale. The entirety of the videos of all lectures will also be available.

 

Teaching methods

Ex-cathedra lectures, textual commentary, class discussions on specific issues, dialogical lectures.

The course is scheduled in the second semester, 3th and 4th period (Wednesday, Thursday and Friday).

Please note that, in line with established Italian academic custom, each class will begin 15 minutes after the indicated time.

I will be grateful to Erasmus and other Exchange students who intend to attend the course if they get in touch with me before the beginning.

All lectures will be recorded and made available on Microsoft Stream.

Assessment methods

Students will be evalueted on the basis of a viva voce. The oral exam aim to assessing the student's ability to present and critically analyse the various views discussed in the course.

Grade assessment criteria

Grade range below 18 – Fail. Poor knowledge of core material, a significant inability to engage with the discipline. Very poor presentation.

Grade range 18-21 – Pass. Limited and superficial knowledge of the subject, a significant inability to follow the thread of the discussion. Presentation with many inadequacies.

Grade range 21-23 – Adequate. The knowledge is superficial, but the thread of the discussion has been consistently grasped. Presentation with some inadequacies.

Grade range 24-26 – Acceptable. Elementary knowledge of the key principles and concepts. The presentation is occasionally weak.

Grade range 27-29 – Good. Comprehensive knowledge. Good presentation.

30 – Very Good. Detailed knowledge with hints of critical thinking. Very good presentation.

30 cum laude – Outstanding. Excellent knowledge and depth of understanding. Excellent presentation.

Teaching tools

Blackboard, PC, Slides projector, Virtuale

Office hours

See the website of Emanuele Mariani