84993 - Philosophy and Phenomenology of Experience (1)

Learning outcomes

After completing the course the student is able to identify some of the key moments of philosophical thought and to adopt a synoptic view of them. He is able to place the philosophers in their historical context and to understand their thinking in contemporary philosophical discourse. He knows the problematic nature of the concepts of meaning, reference and truth.

Course contents

Course title:
Mathematics and experience in Ludwig Wittgenstein
Since the Tractatus, Wittgenstein has dealt with problems involving mathematical knowledge and its role within the experience, but it is only from the end of the twenties, after the encounter with Brouwer's intuitionism, that these problems take on a central role in his thought, whose conduct will converge in the Philosophical Investigations. The text we will be examining concerns a series of lectures of 1939 in which Wittgenstein confronts the greatest scholars of mathematical topics he had met at Cambridge. If mathematics is not an abstract knowledge, but the expression of a form of life, its sense will also not be able to separate from the experience.

Distribution of topics in lectures:

 Of the 15 lectures available:

1 will be dedicated to a historical-philosophical introduction;
2 will be dedicated to clarifying the main Wittgenstein's concepts;
12 will be dedicated to commenting and discussing Wittgenstein's text.

Start of lectures and place

• The lectures will begin on Monday, September 23, 2019, in classroom B, via Zamboni 34 (Monday, Tuesday), classroom IV, via Zamboni 38 (Wednesday), from 3 to 5 pm.

Readings/Bibliography

Obligatory readings:

•  Wittgeinstein's Lectures on the Foundations of Mathematics, ed. by Cora Diamond, Bollati Boringhieri, Turin, 2002. (The text will be available in the "teaching material").
• Explanatory notes provided by the teacher (progressively available in the "teaching material").

Optional readings, recommended above all for non-attending students (note: this is just an indication. To pass the exam with maximum marks, obligatory readings are sufficient and, above all, the teaching material prepared by the teacher):

 

• L. Perissinotto, Introduzione a Wittgenstein, il Mulino, Bologna 2018.
• D. Marconi, Guida a Wittgenstein, Laterza, Roma-Bari 2002.
• P. Frascolla, Wittgenstein's Philosophy of Mathematics, Routledge, London 1994.

Teaching methods

Frontal lectures; discussion on the main topics treated in the course. Reading and commentary of texts.

Assessment methods

Oral test with verification of specific historical and philosophical knowledge and of the level of assimilation and processing critical-conceptual content (See "Evaluation board". Each entry of the board has a maximum of 10 points, for a total of 30 + possible laude).

Assessment criteria and thresholds of evaluation:

30 cum laude: Excellent as to knowledge, terminology and critical expression.

30: Excellent, knowledge is complete, well articulated and correctly expressed, although with some slight faults.

27-29: Good, knowledge comprehensive and satisfactory, essentially correct expression .

24-26: Fairly good, knowledge present in significant points, but not complete and not always expressed with correctness.

21-23: Sufficient, knowledge is sometimes superficial, but the guiding general thread is included. Expression and articulation incomplete and often not appropriate

18-21:.Almost sufficient, but knowledge present only on the surface. The guiding principle is not included with continuity. The expression and articulation of the speech show important gaps.

<18: Not sufficient, knowledge absent or very incomplete, lack of guidance in discipline, expression seriously deficient. Exam failed.

 

Teaching tools

Overhead projector connected with PC

Links to further information

http://www.disciplinefilosofiche.it

Office hours

See the website of Luca Guidetti