27280 - Seminars (1)

Learning outcomes

The philosophy Seminars propose general objectives, which are those specific teaching seminar: (1) to train the students to philosophical discussion urging participation in conferences and presentations of Italian and foreign scholars; (2) deepen the topics of the courses through participation in philosophical lectures by specialists also of other universities; (3) broaden their thematic and methodological horizons to complete offered teaching.

Course contents

Sublime geographies. Mapping sentimental education through ecosophy

Main aim: resuming the composition of ecological profiles for Modern rationality.

Secondary goals: bringing together aspects of teaching and aspects of research; providing further reading advice regarding the contemporary ecological movement; creating an interface between students and researchers.

Mainstream discussions about environmental problems move back and forth between naturalism and cultural relativism, an oscillation that may seem naive, if not unproductive. Very often, no space is given to the affective and sentimental burdain that comes together with these issues. Disaster arguments that recently have gained more visibility also make it more likely to ignore sentimental education and its transversal influence on the way in which people, with an increasing sense of urgency, answer to environmental angst. Sentimental education is an authentic pragmatics of signification, it provides insight to the institution of relations with an existential semiotic landscape, with its groundations in trans-individual correlation. To do so, however, abstract representations of doomsday or redeomption are more of a problem than a resource, as well as blind reliance on the ideally purified work of the experts, those Modern oracles that should deliver a recipe for bringing equilibrium to the current state of affairs.

Reprising the work of previous years, this year's lectures will carry on with ecosophical mappings of the many different moods for narrating the environmental crisis. With a new narration, possible pragmatics might be brought to the attention of participants so that, noting the return of Nature, they may find bearings to a sensate path towards anti-naturalism.

This year as usual, after introducing some preliminary notions, the main focus will be on applied experimentation of methods in philosophical ecology: next to more didactic interventions held by professors and expert researchers both from this and other universities, there will be also be lectures held by younger researchers dealing with the topics at hand. Consequently, third-year students will get acquainted with philosophical arguments carried out by researchers, hopefully preparing the continuation towards and M. Sc. and foreshadowing a possible future in the field, learning from first-hand experience how research plays out, from its initial stagee to the obtainment of more expert contents.

Readings/Bibliography

G. De Fazio, P.F. Lévano, I. Sorrentino, Prontuari di Ecosofia. Bibliografie metastabili, Ventura, 2020;

G. De Fazio, P.F. Lévano (cur), Ecosofia. Percorsi contemporanei nel pensiero ecologico, Mucchi, 2017;

M. Iofrida, Per un paradigma del corpo: una rifondazione filosofica dell’ecologia, Quodlibet, 2019

P. Amoroso, Pensiero terrestre e spazio di gioco. L’orizzonte ecologico dell’esperienza a partire da Merleau Ponty, Mimesis, 2019;

M. Ciardi, Eplorazioni e viaggi scientifici nel Settecento, Bur, 2008;

F. Marsciani, Tracciati di Etnosemiotica, FrancoAngeli, 2016;

A. Naess, Ecosofia. Ecologia, società e stili di vita, Red, 1994;
F. Guattari, Le tre ecologie, Sonda, 2019;

G. Deleuze, La filosofia critica di Kant. Dottrina delle facoltà, Orthotes, 2019;

P. Amoroso, G. De Fazio, Tema su variazioni. Un laboratorio merleau-pontyano, Mucchi, 2020.

Teaching methods

Following the format of past editions (2016/17 and 2017/18), the lectures will aim at providing the students with a set of basic notions, encouraging them to participate in the discussion about a possible methodology that philosophical ecology may adopt. Alongside professors and researchers, tasked with introducing the main topics to the students, lectures will also be delivered by young researchers and also students that have dealt with these topics recently.

This way, undergraduate students gain acquaintance with new trends in the history of contemporary philosophy thanks to the diversity of insights given at each lecture, which ideally are helpful in case they are interested in continuing in this field of studies; furthermore, they will be able to get in touch with younger researchers and obtain first-hand knowledge about research in philosophy, finding himself in between young philosophers and their earliest results.

Two-hour lectures will consist thus: one hour of exposition and one hour of debate with an active participation by the students, who will be able to raise questions and propose brief presentations to be held at an open-mic meeting. Information about the series is available in English, Spanish, French, German and Portuguese, by e-mail or by directly getting in touch with the organizers.

Assessment methods

An eligibility is obtained by attending the seminars.

Teaching tools

See teaching methods.

Office hours

See the website of Manlio Iofrida