75834 - History of Humanist Philosophy

Learning outcomes

The course aims to provide basic knowledge concerning the European Philosophy between the 14th and 16th century through texts and authors judged emblematic. In particular, students are able to recognize the major topics of Italian Renaissance and the relationships between speculative thought, philology and theory of the arts. Among the objectives of the course is to know and use the lexicon (in Latin and in Italian) of the humanistic philosophy as well as the main historiographical interpretations of the philosophical currents of the Renaissance

Course contents

Man like the Fourth World.
Giovanni Pico della Mirandola Heptaplus

The Heptaplus (the allegorical interpretation of the days of creation) is a central text in Pico's philosophical experience and it reveals a clear vision of man and universe and the relationships of both with God's creative power. Starting from the analysis of the Heptaplus, the course will seek to focus on the reasons and the specific criteria of Pico's philosophy. Central theme of the classes will be the "concordist" approach to the many sources and the various (platonic, aristotelic, hermetic, cabalistic, neoplatonic, etc.) traditions evoked by Pico in this text. Such themes are elements of discontinuity over medieval philosophies and an important polarity in the culture of the early modern age. Anyway they do not deplete the Renaissance concepts of man, of the world, and of God, to which the course will refer to through the comparison with Pico's work.

 

Readings/Bibliography

All students are expected to know the following works:
- Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, Heptaplus, in De hominis dignitate ; Heptaplus ; De ente et uno e scritti vari, a cura di Eugenio Garin (Firenze, Vallecchi, 1942; Torino, Aragno, 2004), pp.167-383.
- E. Garin, Giovanni Pico della Mirandola : vita e dottrina, Firenze : Le Monnier, 1937

Moreover, two of the following essays (students who do not attend classes are required to know all three essays)
- C. Trinkaus, L'Heptaplus di Pico della Mirandola, in Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, a cura di G. C. Garfagnini, Firenze, Olschki, 1997, pp. 105-126
- E. Garin, Introduzione a G. Pico della Mirandola, De hominis dignitate ; Heptaplus ; De ente et uno e scritti vari (1942), ed. Torino, Aragno, 2004, pp. 3-59.
M. A. Granada, Giovanni Pico e il mito della concordia, in Le filosofie del Rinascimento, a cura di C. Vasoli, Milano, Bruno Mondadori, 2002, pp. 229-246

All students are required to know the history of philosophy of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries to be acquired through the study of a  textbook

Teaching methods

The most significant passages of Pico's philosophical works will be analyzed and discussed during the classes. Students are required to provide the texts before the course begins.
The summaries of the lectures will be periodically uploaded on AlmaDigital Library.
Students who attend classes are required to enroll, before the course begins, to the distribution list, ID: annarita.angelini.Pico, password: Lettere.
We recommend the students to see regulary the teacher's web page on which will be uploaded any information and change useful to those who attending the classes.
Students who have attended classes can replace the above texts with specific topics. These topics have to be agreed with the teacher at the end of the course.

Assessment methods

Oral examination: Students are recommended to bring the texts when examining.The interview focuses mainly on analysis and critical interpretation of the sources.
Students who have attended lectures may agree on exams (whether written or oral) devoted to specific topics.

Assessment criteria and thresholds of evaluation:

30 cum laude - Excellent as to knowledge, philosophical lexicon and critical expression.

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

27-29 – Good: thorough and satisfactory knowledge; essentially correct expression.

24-26 - Fairly good: knowledge broadly acquired, and not always correctely expressed.

21-23 – Sufficient: superficial and partial knowledge; exposure and articulation are incomplete and often not sufficiently appropriate

18-21 - Almost sufficient: superficial and decontextualized knowledge. The exposure of the contents shows important gaps.

Exam failed - Students are requested to show up at a subsequent exam session if basic skills and knowledge are not sufficiently acquired and not placed in the historical-philosophical context.

Teaching tools

The Heptaplus is an essential tool in order to actively participate in the classes. It is recommended to get hold of the text before classes.
The summaries of the lectures will be periodically (every three to six lectures) uploaded on AlmaDigital Library. To be allowed to the online consultation of classes slides, students have to enroll to the distribution list ID: annarita.angelini.Pico, password: Lettere

Office hours

See the website of Annarita Angelini