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

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).

 

Course title: From Aristotle to Brenteno. The De Anima and Modern Psychology

Through the reading and commentary of some passages from De Anima (especially from the second and third books), the seminar will focus on Aristotle's main theses on the explanation of living beings and their resumption, in a contemporary key, by Franz Brentano in his attempt to found a psychology in the scientific sense.

Distribution of topics:

Of the 15 lessons available:

- 3 lessons will be devoted to philosophical essay writing (illustration of the rules of philosophical writing and argumentative analysis: recognising and supporting arguments, identifying argumentative weaknesses, etc.) and bibliographical research.

- 6 lessons will be devoted to discussion and commentary on the text of the De Anima (selected passages indicated in lessons)

- 6 will be devoted to discussing and commenting on the text of Franz Brentano’s Psychology from an Empirical Standpoint. The students, divided into groups, will be invited to present to the class a series of thematic aspects that will draw on the topics addressed in the workshop, established in agreement with the lecturer)

Starting date and location: the starting date will be announced shortly and will fall in any case in the fourth period of the second semester.

Readings/Bibliography

Primary literature:

- Aristotle, L'Anima, ed. it. edited by G. Movia, Loffredo, Naples 1979.
- F. Brentano, La psicologia di Aristotele, con particolare riguardo alla sua dottrina del ‘nous poietikos’, edited by S. Besoli, Quodlibet, Macerata 2007 (the passages to be examined will be indicated in class)

- F. Brentano, La psicologia dal punto di vista empirico, Laterza 1997 (Book I: pp. 61-91; Book II: 143-166; 167-203)

Sheets and notes progressively deposited in the “teaching material” (“Virtuale”).

Secondary literature:

- C. Natali, Aristotle, Carocci, Rome 2014

As a general introduction (optional for attending and nonattending students) to ancient thought, in addition to the most common textbooks and Histories of Philosophy, we recommend consulting:

- L. Guidetti, G. Matteucci, Le grammatiche del pensiero, vols. IA and IB, Zanichelli, Bologna 2012, in particular vol. IB, the part on Aristotle on pp. 380-505, edited by L. Guidetti.

Teaching methods

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

Assessment methods

Students will be assessed on the basis of:

- classroom exercises and individual presentations (carried out alone or in coordinated groups)

- a final written essay (min. 12,000 characters, max. 15,000 characters, spaces excluded and bibliography excluded) to be submitted by e-mail at least 15 days before the date of the call for papers. The essay must relate to one of the themes present in the text analysed in the classroom and must be linguistically and stylistically correct.

People with disabilities and DSA

People with disabilities or specific learning disorders are entitled to special adaptations in relation to their condition, subject to assessment by the University Service for Students with Disabilities and DSA. Please do not contact the lecturer, but contact the Service for an appointment. The Service will determine what adjustments are appropriate. Further information can be found at site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabiliti-e-dsa/it/per-studenti.

Teaching tools

Slides of powerpoint texts and images to aid understanding of the topics; Panopto; Virtuale.

Office hours

See the website of Emanuele Mariani