30413 - Philosophy Laboratory (1) (G.D)

Course contents

GENERAL INFORMATION

The Philosophy Laboratory has three goals: teaching the rules of philosophical writing and composition; presenting the main bibliographical tools for philosophical research; introducing the participants to the reading of a philosophy classic and guiding them through the production of a short philosophical essay on it.

The success of workshops is based on regular attendance of all students to all meetings. In order to be admitted to the final exam and gain a pass students will need to have attended at least 12 out of 15 classes (24 hours out of 30).

Students can choose among five proposals of Philosophy Laboratory (programs and teachers names are available on the web guide of the Degree Course of Philosophy).
45 students are expected for each laboratory.

To enroll in the I or II semester Laboratories, students must send an e-mail to the chosen teacher (subject: Philosophy Laboratory) from 20 to 25 September 2019. Each teacher will accept up to 45 requests. Excess requests and those submitted after 25 September will be redistributed based on the availability of vacancies.

Because of several unpleasant episodes of signature falsification occurred in the last years, in case it is proved that even a single signature has not been made by the corresponding student, the student will be excluded from the final exam and will have to wait until the next year to attend the Workshop again. The same standards will hold for students submitting written exams which are totally or partially copied from previously existing paper or digital texts.

Only in case of certified impossibility to attend the Workshop students are allowed to arrange an alternative program with the corresponding teacher of the attended module. Such cases concern:

- working students who cannot obtain a specific permission to attend the Workshop. Such students must inform the teacher at the beginning of the classes and provide a written declaration of their employers concerning the impossibility of their attendance.

- Erasmus and Overseas students. Such students must promptly provide documentary evidence to the teacher showing the impossibility of their attendance due to their living abroad.

Attending and not attending students must get as soon as possible the manual of philosophical writing, which can be found on line on the web page of the Degree Course of Philosophy and in paper form at the Copy Shop Centotrecento, in via Centotrecento.

The exam will consist in the submission and discussion of a short essay on the philosophical text on which the attended Reading Workshop has been held. The essay will be assessed both concerning his form as his content .

 

Philosophy Laboratory (1) (G.D)

The course will focus on Gottlob Frege's first Logical Investigation (The Thought). Discussing this text will enable participants to reconstruct and critically assess some semantic, logical and epistemological ideas of the German philosopher and mathematician.

The course will begin on Wednesday, 2 October. Meetings will be on Wednesdays from 11 am to 1 pm. Venue: room D, via Centotrecento 18.

Readings/Bibliography

G. Frege, Il pensiero. Una ricerca logica, in Id., Ricerche logiche, trans. it. by R. Casati, Guerini e Associati, Milan 1988, pp. 43-74.

Teaching methods

Frege's text will be analysed and discussed under the teacher's guide. After a few introductory lectures held by the teacher, participants will work in small groups on different aspects of Frege's text and will then present them for general discussion.

Assessment methods

Student performance will be assessed through a final written paper (min 3,000 words, max 4,200 words, references excluded) to be handed in ten days before the examination, which will be discussed at the viva.

The exam is meant to assess the achievement of the expected learning outcomes, in particular the acquisition of critical abilities and writing skills. Essays will be assessed on a range of factors, including how well the argument is sustained and use of philosophical written language.

The exam will be passed if the written essay is grammatically and syntactically correct and displays mastery of philosophical argumentation.

The exam will not be passed if the written essay contains grammatical and/or syntactical mistakes and/or does not display mastery of philosophical argumentation

Teaching tools

Short bibliographical notes prepared by the teacher. Slides.

Office hours

See the website of Giorgio Volpe