32854 - Theoretical Philosophy. Philosophy of Knowledge and Forms of Experience 1

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student knows the main positions that have developed about the theme of human knowledge, especially during modern and contemporary age; knows the prospects of the phenomenological investigation and the relationship between philosophy and psychology; knows the problems of scientific method and different subject areas that characterize the human sciences; knows orientation within the human knowledge and knows how to recognize the areas in which concrete knowledge theories are applied; knows recognize and distinguish the main features of scientific inquiry and how to apply these characteristics to practical contexts of education; knows the various forms of experience and reflect on their meanings and their complexity; knows critically the various contexts of communication and training, using forms of thought learned with a view to restructuring and an improvement of these contexts; recognises and highlights the different forms of experience, in order to identify means of communication best suited for each of them; knows acquire a degree of autonomy in reading and interpretation of a conceptual text, has the tools to continue and deepen its studies as part of human knowledge and different forms of experience.

Course contents

For reasons of thematic coherence and continuity in teaching, we recommend to sit for both exams of Theoretical Philosophy, for a total of 10 credits. Who chooses to do both exams (as we recommended), can support the exam in a single solution, but with two distinct minutes 5 credits each, for a total of 10, or can support them in a separate and at different times.

Title of the course: Hans Jonas: the responsibility towards future generations

The course will examine the relationship between life, nature and ethics from the vantage point offered by one of the most significant books of the last century, namely The principle responsibility (1979) of the German philosopher Hans Jonas (1903-1993). A pupil of Husserl and Heidegger, student of gnosticism, Jonas proposes a foundation of ethics for the technological civilization on the basis of life, both human and animal (ontological foundation of ethics), a foundation which also constitutes a turning point and a reference for current disciplinary studies. The course plans to describe the methodological tools and the theoretical prospects for  the development of the relationship between the biological foundations of life and human actions based on the massive use of technics. Philosophy must face the problem of its future consequences on the world, on nature and humans. And Jonas offers, to this purpose, a model of philosophical biology that leads to the "principle responsibility", alternative both to mechanistic-materialistic conventionalism and to vitalistic and theological spiritualism, in view of a new monism in which body and soul, spirit and matter are only different events in the same vital reality.

Schedule of the course:

The concept of "life". The scientific revolution and the meaning of life in the relationship between philosophy and science. Body and soul in romanticism and in positivism. Moral philosophy and the philosophy of morality. The debate on vitalism and on the principle of "purpose" of life. Life as quality, as organic and irreducible totality and as "system". The most recent trends in the interpreta­tion of the vital phenomena. The philosophy of man and the various conceptions of the man (philosophical anthropology). The philosophy of life. Hans Jonas (1): from the concept of living organism to ethics for the technological civilization. Hans Jonas (2): the principle responsibility. Technics, medicine and ethics.

Readings/Bibliography

• L. Guidetti, La materia vivente. Un confronto con Hans Jonas, Quodlibet, Macerata, 2007. Tutto il volume, ad esclusione del Capitolo secondo (in tutto 130 pagine).
• H. Jonas, Il principio responsabilità. Un'etica per la civiltà tecnologica, Einaudi, Torino, 2002. Capitolo primo: La mutata natura dell'agire umano, pp. 3-32. Capitolo quarto: Il bene, il dover essere e l'essere: la teoria della responsabilità, pp. 101-173.
• In the item "teaching material" will be progressively available and downloadable material about subjects discussed during the course.

Teaching methods

Lectures, reading and commentary on texts and on primary sources, discussion on specific issues.

Assessment methods

Oral test with verification of specific historical and philosophical knowledge and of the level of assimilation and processing critical-conceptual content.

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, projector connected to the PC.

Links to further information

http://www.scform.unibo.it

Office hours

See the website of Luca Guidetti