B5344 - Theory of Arts in Ancient Philosophy (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student will have acquired an in-depth knowledge of an author, a work, or a philosophical topic specific to Greek or Roman antiquity in relation to its historical context. Particular importance will be given to the origins of philosophical reflection on art (techne,ars), in its various declinations (arts and crafts, liberal arts, fine arts, etc.), as a paradigm of knowledge, to ancient theories of representation and imagination (mimesis,phantasia), and to the philosophical use of images, metaphors, and analogies. He/she will also have acquired the philological, dialectical, and rhetorical skills necessary for analyzing an ancient text, for discussing a philosophical problem synchronically and diachronically, and for arguing exegetical and philosophical theses in written and oral form.

Course contents

At the Origins of the Concept of Image: Plato and the Allegory of the Cave

The starting point of Platonic ontology lies in images. According to Plato, the first entities that populate the world are not bodies and persons (the so-called major entities), but rather their shadows and reflections—what we call “minor entities”, whose existence depends on the major ones: without bodies, there would be no shadows or reflections. This applies not only to the physical or concrete world, but also to the abstract or ethical one, and extends from natural images to artificial ones, such as the products of the arts (painting, sculpture, poetry). No other ontology begins here—at least not until very recent times. This means that one cannot claim to understand Plato or to have truly read and reflected on his work without having addressed the problem of minor entities, to which Plato devoted extraordinary attention, more than any other ancient philosopher. These minor entities appear to be central to our very ability to know the world.

Why, then, is Plato the first to consider images as fundamental? The aim of the course is to answer this question. To do so, we will follow two main paths. On the one hand, we will reconstruct Plato’s critique of images, starting from his definition of image (eídolon, the root of the word “idol”) in the Sophist, and from the distinction between two different kinds of images: the likeness, which faithfully resembles the original (eikón, the root of “icon”); and the deceptive image or illusory appearance—that is, the image that conceals its own nature by presenting itself as the original of which it is merely a copy (phántasma, the root of ‘phantasm’). On the other hand, we will closely examine the philosophical use Plato himself makes of “speaking through images” – that is, of verbal imagery (metaphors, etc.) – as a model of analogical reasoning. The intersection of these two paths, and the core of the course, will be the famous image of the underground Cave at the beginning of Republic Book VII: an allegory. The central part of the course will be devoted to a slow, in-depth reading of this passage in light of major scholarly interpretations and its historical context.

The final part of the course will focus on the most significant cinematic adaptations of the Cave allegory, concluding with an exemplary case of the enduring legacy of Plato’s “theory” of images in the visual arts: the painting of René Magritte, with special attention to the cycles La trahison des images and La condition humaine.

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The course will take place in the Second Semester, Third Period.

 

Start: Wednesday, February 11 2026, 5pm, Classroom A.

 

Hours:

Wednesday, 5-7pm, Classroom A (Via Zamboni, 34);

Thursday, 5-7pm, Classroom A;

Friday, 5-7pm, Classroom A.

 

* Any supplementary activities (conferences, seminars, etc.) will be reported on the Filosofia Antica a Bologna Facebook page.

Readings/Bibliography

Texts

• Platone, La Repubblica, edited by Mario Vegetti, Milano: BUR, 2006 (Books V-VII, and X).
• Handout with the texts read and commented on during the course (only for attending students).

Critical Readings (one to be chosen by attending students, two by non-attending students)

Introductions to Plato:

• Franco Ferrari, Introduzione a Platone, Bologna: il Mulino, 2022.
• Mario Vegetti, Quindici lezioni su Platone, Torino: Einaudi, 2023.

Introductions to Plato's Republic:

• Franco Ferrari, La Repubblica di Platone, Bologna: il Mulino, 2022.
• Mario Vegetti, Introduzione, in Id. (ed.), Platone, La Repubblica, Milano: BUR, 2006, pp. 7-232.

On Images in Plato's work:

• Barbara Botter, La creazione di immagini in Platone, Milano: Edizioni Albo Versorio, 2016.
• Linda M. Napolitano Valditara, Platone e le 'ragioni' dell'immagine: Percorsi filosofici e deviazioni tra metafore e miti, Milano: Vita & Pensiero, 2007 (chapters 1-2).
  
• Makoto Sekimura, Platone er la question des images, Bruxelles: Ousia, 2009 (up to p. 90).
  

On Plato's Cave:

• Konrad Gaiser, Il paragone della caverna: Variazioni da Platone a oggi, Napoli: Bibliopolis, 1985.
• William Irwin, Pillole rosse: Matrix e la filosofia, Milano: Bompiani, 2006.

On Magritte's Plato:

• Didier Ottinger, Magritte: La trahison des images, Paris: Éditions du Centre Pompidou, 2016.

Films (one to be chosen)

• Andy and Lana [Larry] Wachowski, The Matrix, USA 2003.
• Peter Weir, The Truman Show, USA 1998.
• Bernardo Bertolucci, Il conformista, Italy 1970.
• Lenny Abrahamson, Room, Ireland–Canada–UK–USA 2015.
• Alice Rohrwacher, Allégorie Citadine, France 2024.

* During the course, a list of supplementary critical literature useful for writing the paper will be provided.

** To acquire or refresh one's knowledge of the history of ancient philosophy, we recommend preliminary reading of the Handbook History of Ancient Philosophy from the Pre-Socratics to Augustine (in particular the first 16 chapters: from the origins to Aristotelian logic) and the Chronological Diagram available on Virtuale.

Teaching methods

LECTURES COURSE (15 lectures)

Adopted methods:

• Slow reading of the sources in the original language and through a comparison of translations.
• Linguistic analysis and semantic fields.
• Argumentative analysis and short essays (pensum).

PHILOSOPHICAL WRITING SEMINAR (an additional 3-hour lecture)

• Editing guidelines.
• Reading essay of an ancient work: form and contents.

Assessment methods

EXAM SYLLABUS

The exam syllabus for both attending and non-attending students is detailed under the section “Texts/Bibliography” and includes:

(1) The study of the sources analyzed during the course.
(2) The study of one critical essay of the student’s choice (two for non-attending students).
(3) The analysis of one film of the student’s choice.

 

* Attending students who wish to do so may replace point (2) of the exam program, i.e. the study of a critical essay, with a paper (5–7.5 standard pages) on a topic related to the course, to be agreed upon with the teacher and written according to the guidelines provided in the writing seminar, which will take place during a supplementary 3-hour class. The seminar handbooks will be available online (see Virtuale). The paper must be submitted by email (in both .docx and .pdf formats) one week prior to each exam session, by the deadline specified for that session.

 

EXAM ASSESSMENT

The exam will be judged as sufficient overall only if the two parts it is composed of ([1] and [2]) are both individually sufficient. The final grade will be the average of the two individual marks and will be based on the following criteria: knowledge of historical and philosophical content, depth of analysis, and critical thinking.

 

Grading scale:

• 18–21: low/sufficient level

• 22–25: average level

• 26–28: good/very good level

• 29–30: high/excellent level

• 30 with honors (30L): outstanding level

 

* Students with SLD or temporary or permanent disabilities. It is necessary to contact the relevant University office with ample time in advance: the office will propose some adjustments, which must in any case be submitted 15 days in advance to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of these in relation to the teaching objectives.

Teaching tools

• Handout with excerpts from ancient works.
• Partition diagrams and concept maps.
• Handbooks.
• Web pages.
• Databases and bibliographical repertoires.

 

* All materials will be shared in class and made available to students on Virtuale.

Office hours

See the website of Carlotta Capuccino