00399 - Theoretical Philosophy

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course students will be familiar with some of the key moments in philosophical thought and have a synoptic view of them. They will be able both to place philosophers in historical context, and to decontextualize them to see how relevant their thinking is to contemporary philosophy. They will know the problem-concepts of meaning, reference and truth, and be able to critique a theoretical proposition set up by the teacher.

Course contents

Course Title: The Place of Values in a World of Facts

The course is divided into three parts. In the first part, students will be introduced to theoretical philosophy, exploring the expressions it takes in relation to methods, argumentative techniques, and the expository styles that can be adopted when reflecting on the fundamental questions of human existence, the unexamined assumptions underlying various forms of knowledge, and both nature and status of philosophy itself.


Once students are familiar with the different ways of understanding philosophical theorizing, the second part will examine two major problems that are the subject of study and debate within the various philosophical communities: 1) the tension between the scientific conception of the world and its so-called "manifest image"; 2) the arguments for and against the existence of "non-natural" properties, meaning properties that cannot be properly known through empirical observation or through quantitative methods and parameters (such as values like the beauty of a work of art, the injustice of a certain action, the goodness of a person, etc.) – and how these problems are interconnected.


The course will then focus, in the third part, on non-naturalistic moral realism – the position that acknowledges the existence of values, that is, non-natural properties that cannot be reduced to the properties studied by the various natural sciences – as argued by George E. Moore and Max Scheler, both realists but representing different orientations in the conception of philosophical theorizing: the phenomenologist Max Scheler (1874-1928) and George Edward Moore (1873-1958), one of the founding figures of analytical philosophy.

Readings/Bibliography

Texts/Bibliography

FIRST PART

Mandatory texts:

M. Heidegger, Che cos’è metafisica? (1929), in Id. Segnavia, ed. by F. Volpi, Adelphi, Milan 1987, pp. 59-79 (text on Virtuale).

R. Carnap, Il superamento della metafisica mediante l’analisi logica del linguaggio (1939), in Neoempirismo, ed. by A. Pasquinelli, Utet, Turin 1978, pp. 504-532 (text on Virtuale).

M. Friedmann, La filosofia al bivio. Carnap, Cassirer, Heidegger, ed. it. by M. Mugnai, Cortina, Milan 2004, pp. 3-35 (text on Virtuale).

F. Cioffi, F. Gallo, G. Luppi, A. Vigorelli, E. Zanette, Il testo filosofico, vol. 3/2, L’età contemporanea: il Novecento, Bruno Mondadori, Milan 2000, Unit 31 (Heidegger, in particular pp. 150-173) and Unit 38 (La concezione logica del mondo. La filosofia dell’empirismo logico, in particular pp. 380-393). (Text on Virtual)

One text to choose from:

P. Parrini, Fare filosofia, oggi, Carocci, Roma 2018 (pp. 111:free for Unibo users at the link www.darwinbooks.it.ezproxy.unibo.it/).

C. Sini, Filosofia teoretica, Jaka Book, Milan 2018 (pp. 128).

R. Casati, Prima lezione di filosofia, Laterza, Rome 2021 (170 pp.).

Recommended readings:

W. Eilenberger, Il tempo degli stregoni, 1919-1929. Le vite straordinarie di quattro filosofi e l’ultima rivoluzione del pensiero, Feltrinelli, Milan 2018, pp. 432.

SECOND PART

Mandatory texts:

E. Husserl, La crisi delle scienze europee e la fenomenologia trascendentale, Il saggiatore, Milan, preface by E. Paci, trans. it by E. Filippini, §§ 1-14, pp. 33-98 (text on Virtual).

H. Hahn, O. Neurath, R. Carnap, La concezione scientifica del mondo. Il Circolo di Vienna, ed. by A. Pasquinelli, Laterza, Rome-Bari 1979, pp. 61-99 (text on Virtual).

A.J. Ayer, Critica dell’etica e della teologia, in Id., Linguaggio, verità e logica, trans. it by G. De Toni, Feltrinelli, Milan 1961, pp. 128-157 (text on Virtual).

G. Mancuso, La fenomenologia, in Storia della filosofia occidentale, vol. 6, Il pensiero contemporaneo, a cura di G. CAMBIANO - L. FONNESU - M. MORI, il Mulino, Bologna, 2015, pp. 20-38 (solo la parte su Husserl; testo su Virtuale). 

Recommended readings:

B. Labatut, Quando abbiamo smesso di capire il mondo, trans. it by L. Topi, Adelphi, Milan 2021, pp. 180.

THIRD PART

Mandatory texts:

G.E. Moore, selection of passages from Principia ethica, ed. it by S. Cremaschi and M. Reichlin, text in English with Italian translation, Bompiani, Milan 2023, pp. 63-73, 111-155, 193-203 (text on Virtual).

G. Mancuso, La metaetica. Un’introduzione, capp. I e II, pp. 11-60; pp. 119-132.  

PLEASE NOTE: Lecture recordings will be made available on Panopto. The syllabus is identical for both attending and non-attending students.

Teaching methods

Lectures; reading and commenting of texts; discussion on the main issues covered in the course.

Assessment methods

The exam consists of an oral interview, which will assess the knowledge of the texts and the ability to critically discuss the proposed issues.

Exam sessions are scheduled for the following months of the academic year:

- May (1 exam session)

- June (2 exam sessions)

- July (1 exam sessions)

- September (1 exam session)

- October (1 exam session)

- December (1 exam session)

 

Grade assessment criteria:

30 cum laude: Excellent, both in knowledge and in the critical and expressive articulation.

30: Very good. Complete, well-articulated and correctly expressed knowledge, with some critical insights.

27-29: Good. Comprehensive and satisfactory knowledge, substantially correct expression.

24-26: Fairly good. Knowledge is present in the main points, but it is not comprehensive and not always correctly articulated.

21-23: Sufficient. Sometimes superficial knowledge, but the common thread is understood. Incomplete and often inappropriate expression and articulation.

18-21: Almost sufficient. Superficial knowledge, the common thread is not understood with continuity. Expression and articulation have significant gaps.

Not sufficient: Absent or very incomplete knowledge, lack of orientation in the discipline, defective and inappropriate expression.

Students with disabilities and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students with disabilities or Specific Learning Disorders are entitled to special adjustments according to their condition, subject to assessment by the University Service for Students with Disabilities and SLD. Please do not contact teachers or Department staff, but make an appointment with the Service. The Service will then determine what adjustments are specifically appropriate, and get in touch with the teacher. For more information, please visit the page: https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students

Teaching tools

Slides as well lecture recordings will be made available by the teacher.

Office hours

See the website of Giuliana Mancuso