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

Learning outcomes

The student learns to read and critically analyze philosophical texts and to write a philosophical essay.

Course contents

Aristotle, Categories, 5: The Substance of the World between Permanence and Change

The Laboratory will take place in the Second Semester, Fourth Period.

Hours:

Monday, 3-5pm, Classroom C (Via Zamboni, 34);

Wednesday, 3-5pm, Classroom C;

Friday, 3-5pm, Classroom C.

 

Start: Monday, March 31 2025, 3pm, Classroom C.

 

Laboratory programme

The Laboratory will take place in a seminar format and will consist in the reading, translation and commentary on chapter 5 of Aristotle’s Categories, devoted to the category of substance (in Greek, ousia).

Classical metaphysics is known today as Three-Dimensionalism, as distinguished from the alternative metaphysical theories of Four-Dimensionalism and Sequentialism. Three-dimensionalism is the metaphysical theory – also common sense – according to which the world is essentially populated by material objects, three-dimensional entities, that is, extended in space, having spatial but not temporal parts. For them, the endurance or continuity of the whole is valid (they are called, for this reason, continuants): they persist in time because they endure, that is, they remain in an important sense similar to themselves. In other words, they continue to exist at every instant of their ontological career, they are entirely present in every instant of time. According to this theory, which admits change, objects change because they have different properties at different times. The same thing has different properties at different times. This explanation of change, however, raises the constitutive aporia of Three-Dimensionalism, namely its apparent inability to explain diachronic identity without changing metaphysics, for example by adopting a four-dimensionalist theory. Everything is synchronically identical to itself and different from all the others (x is identical to itself), that is, for synchronic identity or numerical identity, Leibniz’s Law holds, and in particular the Principle of Indiscernibility of Identicals (PII): if two things are the same thing, then they enjoy all the same properties. An evident principle for classical metaphysics, which however does not seem to hold for individuals over time, leading to two unpalatable consequences: (i) denying that material objects persist over time (two well-known ancient paradoxes are the Epicharmus paradox and the Ship of Theseus paradox); (ii) denying responsibility of actions performed in the past (the Personal Identity paradox).

Aristotle, for the first time, evokes the unusual concept of substance (ousia) precisely to solve the problem of diachronic identity. Substance is the subject of both essential attributes (being a man) and accidental attributes (being seated), said, for example, of Socrates. But what exactly is the subject of these attributes? The aim of the Laboratory is to answer this question.

The first session will be devoted to the introduction of Aristotle’s Categories as a whole, the partition of chapter 5 and the distribution of participants into working groups. In the following two sessions, will be held the writing seminar in view of the paper drafting (form and content) required to achieve eligibility. Starting from the second week, each group will present in turn the assigned text portion, after analyzing the passage with the supervision of some tutors.

 

* Attendance is mandatory (at least 12 sessions out of 15).

** Knowledge of the Greek language is not essential to participate in the workshop.

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

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General Information

The Philosophy Laboratory has three main purposes: education in writing and editorial standards used by the scientific community; introduction to the use of bibliographic tools; introduction to reading a classic philosophical text and writing a short essay.

The success of workshops ideally requires regular attendance of all students at all sessions. In order to be admitted to the final exam and achieve a pass, students will need to have attended at least 12 out of 15 classes (24 hours out of 30).

Students can choose from several proposals of Philosophy Laboratories. Programmes and teachers’ names are available on the website of the First Cycle Degree/Bachelor in Philosophy. Up to 40 students may attend each laboratory. Classes will be given in Italian or in English, as indicated by each teacher on their laboratory web pages.

Please enrol via Studenti On Line, by clicking on the tab 'Prenotazioni' and the Laboratory of your choice. Attendance — both face-to-face and online, if streaming is available — will be verified by signature on sign-in sheets or by log-in online. In the light of several unpleasant episodes of signature falsification in recent years, in the case of even just a single falsified signature, the student will be excluded from the final exam and will have to wait until the next year to attend the Laboratory again. The same standards will hold for students submitting papers which are totally or partially copied from published sources or digital texts.

Only in the event of certified inability to attend the Workshop are students allowed to arrange an alternative programme with the relevant teacher of the module in question. Such cases include:

- working students who cannot obtain specific permission to attend the Laboratory. These students shall inform the teacher at the beginning of the module and provide a declaration of their employers stating their inability to attend.

- students who are participating in exchange programmes (Erasmus, Overseas, etc.). These students shall promptly provide documentary evidence to the teacher showing their inability to attend on grounds of residence abroad.

For attending students assessment will consist in the submission and discussion of a short essay on the philosophical text discussed in the Laboratory attended. The essay will be evaluated both for form and for content.

During the Laboratory, teachers will provide instructions on how to write the final essay.

Readings/Bibliography

• Aristotele, Categorie, a cura di Marina Bernardini, in Aristotele, Organon, a cura di Maurizio Migliori, Milano: Bompiani, 2016 (rist. 2023).

* The complete bibliography will be provided at the beginning of the Laboratory.

Teaching methods

LECTURES (1 introductory / organizational session of 2 hours)

Adopted methods: 

• Diagrams.

PHILOSOPHICAL WRITING SEMINAR (2 sessions, each of 2 hours)

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

SLOW READING SEMINAR (12 sessions, each of 2 hours)

Adopted methods:

• Slow reading of the sources in the original language.
• Group work.
• Drafting of a handout.
• Oral presentations.
• Group discussion.

Assessment methods

EXAM PROGRAMME

The exam includes a written and an oral test.

(1) The written test consists of a paper concerning the ancient work read and discussed during the seminar. The paper must be at least 5 maximum 7,5 standard Word pages, plus the bibliography. During the seminar the details will be clarified.

(2) The oral exam consists of a short discussion of the paper (form and content).

 

EXAM EVALUATION

The exam will be considered overall sufficient only if the form and content of the paper will be both sufficient.

 

* 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

• Handouts.
• Partition diagrams and concept maps.
• Handbooks.
• Web sites.
• TLG, databases and bibliographical repertoires.

Office hours

See the website of Carlotta Capuccino