Learning outcomes

Formative tasks: Beyond offering a recalling of authors and schools within the ancient philosophy, the course aims at teaching to use the proper philosophical terminology. Also it aims at teaching the critical and shared use of an original philosophical text, for acquiring basic philosophical matters and concepts.

Prerequisites: A knowledge of the history of the ancient philosophy (from VI Century B.C. to 529 A.D.) is previously required (if lacking, it must be acquired or improved). On the contrary a knowledge of the ancient Greek and Latin languages is not required (all the ancient original terms will be translated), although it allows to work easier within this scientific field. An attention to lexical research and an interest in a critical reading of philosophical texts are very useful.

Program

Course's title and content: “The soul and the city: self-care and care of others”
Starting from some passages of Plato’s Dialogues (Alcibiades I, Republic, Timaeus) we will explore the relation between the individual soul (psychè) and the ancient Greek city (pòlis): what common structure allows a parallel consideration of them and particularly of the virtues (knowledge, courage, moderation) ascribed to both of them? Which is the meaning and the role of justice in the soul as well as in the city?
We will recollect also some contemporary reading of this matter (N. Loraux, The divided City: on Memory and Forgetting in ancient Athens). Finally to will try to state whether such an ethical attention (soul) and such a political attention (city) and, most of all, the educational care (paidèia) that both of them need are still today interesting for us.


Books to be studied
a) General Part:
-for students having never studied it: E. BERTI-F. VOLPI, Storia della filosofia: dall'antichità ad oggi, Edizione compatta, 2 voll. indivisibili, Roma-Bari 2007 (vol. I : from the origins to Neoplatonism);
-for students knowing already something about this subject: B. CENTRONE, Prima lezione di filosofia antica, Roma-Bari Laterza 2015;
b) Lecture notes (at students' disposal in the photocopies shops “La rapida” and “Ateneo”);
c) Introduction text: M. VEGETTI, Guida alla lettura della ‘Repubblica’ di Platone, Roma-Bari Laterza 1999 and ff.;
d) Critical text: L.M. NAPOLITANO VALDITARA, Virtù, piacere e felicità nell’etica dei Greci, Verona aemme edizioni 2014 (at students’s disposal in the photocopy shop “Ateneo”).
Within this course a specific seminar will be offered on Nicole Loraux (by dr. Giulia Angonese).

Lessons will be available by e-learning (www.elearning.univr.it)


Integrations and substitutions: students who cannot attend lessons, those repeating this course, or those who must substitute the General part: will get in touch with the teacher, in order to receive indications on adding texts: these will be agreed for every student, with regard to his previous knowledge, curriculum and interests.

Teaching Methods: The course will be carried on by frontal lessons, with an introductory presentation of subjects, with direct reading of the texts on the monographical subject and following discussions. Therefore attendance at classes will be very useful and desirable, though obviously not compulsory.

Examination Methods

Assesments: Some oral questions will be put to the student; he will be invited to read and comment some passages of the original texts already read together during classes.