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

Learning outcomes

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

Course contents

General Information

The Philosophy Workshop has three main purposes: education to philosophical writing and editorial conventions; introduction to the use of bibliographic resources; introduction to how to read a philosophical classic and how to produce a short philosophical essay about it.The success of workshops ideally requires regular attendance of all students at all meetings. 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 Workshops. Programmes and teachers’ names are available on the website of the First Cycle Degree/Bachelor in Philosophy (corsi.unibo.it/1cycle/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 (studenti.unibo.it/sol/welcome.htm), by clicking on the tab “Prenotazioni” and the workshop of your choice. Enrolment begins on the 1st of September, 2023.

Attendance — both face-to-face and online, if streaming is activated — 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 event that it is proved that even a single signature has not been made by the corresponding student, that student will be excluded from the final exam and will have to wait until the next year to attend the Workshop again. The same standards will hold for students submitting written exams 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 Workshop. 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 Workshop 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, and all students are requested to download and study the manual of philosophical writing, which can be found at corsi.unibo.it/laurea/Filosofia/laboratorio-di-filosofia-norme-per-la-redazione-del-saggio-finale (in Italian).

 

Specific information about this Laboratory (Prof. Mazzucchelli)

The ecological approach of Gregory Bateson, between biology, anthropology, semiotics and cybernetics

The monographic part of the workshop offers an examination of the thought of Gregory Bateson, an “eccentric” author who is difficult to fit into a rigid disciplinary and specialized canon. Bateson's theoretical work revolves around his attempt to define an “ecology of mind,"” a science he described as not yet existing and which aims to bridge “the gap between the problems of mind and the problems of nature.” (Bateson, 1984). His attempt to define a holistic approach to the study of the relationships between the individual, society and ecosystems leads him to combine knowledge that has traditionally been considered separate in a completely new way: from analytical philosophy to anthropology, from biology to the linguistic-semiotic disciplines, from systems theory to cybernetics. In this way, Bateson is in search of a new epistemology that can provide explanations from the same theoretical perspective for such seemingly distant phenomena as, in his own words, “the bilateral symmetry of an animal, the structured arrangement of the leaves of a plant, the successive intensification of the arms race, the practices of courtship behavior, the nature of play, the grammar of a sentence, the mystery of biological evolution, and the crisis in which the relationship between man and the environment finds itself today” (Bateson 1977: 19).

In this course we will re-read some pages of Bateson (mainly from his most famous books: Steps to an Ecology of Mind, Mind and Nature, Naven, etc.), paying special attention to the semiotic implications of his theories, which are also based on the assumption of an ecology of semiotic systems structuring ecosystems.

Readings/Bibliography

Primary literature:

The main texts that will be discussed in class are contained in:

• Bateson, Gregory (1977) Verso un'ecologia della mente, Milano: Adelphi.
• Bateson, Gregory (1984) Mente e natura. Un'unità necessaria, Milano: Adelphi.

Other texts by Bateson will be introduced in class.

Secondary literature:

Essays and articles by authors who have commented on or been influenced by Bateson's thought will also be introduced in class.

Teaching methods

• Frontal lessons by the teacher and other experts.
• Class discussions with the students, guided by the teacher.
• Short talks and presentations by the students on the topic of the Laboratory.

The Laboratory is structured in two connected parts:

• one part will focus on the basic principles of academic writing (planning and structuring a paper, conducting a bibliographic research, applying editorial stylesheets, etc.)
• one part will be dedicated to the main topic of this laboratory:the "ecological hypothesis" by Gregory Bateson.

Each week (except the last one), a lesson will be devoted to the writing laboratory. The other lessons will be devoted to the critical reading and comment of selected Bateson's texts.

During last week, presentations by the students about the topic discussed during class will be welcomed. These presentations in front of the class are not mandatory and will be considered as pre-paper in view of the final paper that has to be submitted to the teacher at least ten days before the exam).

Assessment methods

In order to pass the exam, the student is requested to write a short essay (of about 10 pages) on one of the topics discussed in the Laboratory.

The essay/paper, to be handed to the teacher via email 10 days before the day of the exam at the latest, will be discussed with the teacher.

It will be possible to present a pre-paper in front of the class during the last week of the laboratory.

Students with disabilities and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)Students with disabilities or Specific Learning Disorders have the right to special accommodations according to their condition, following an assessment by the Service for Students with Disabilities and SLD. Please do not contact the teacher but get in touch with the Service directly to schedule an appointment. It will be the responsibility of the Service to determine the appropriate adaptations. For more information, visit the page:

https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students

Teaching tools

Slides and connected video-projector.

Other audio-visual materials.

All the materials will be made available on the platform 'Virtuale' (students are invited to check the page on Virtuale dedicated to this Lab for updates and other relevant information).

Office hours

See the website of Francesco Mazzucchelli