Teaching code

4S01229

Teacher

Linda Napolitano

Coordinator

Linda Napolitano

Credits

6

Language

Italian

Scientific Disciplinary Sector (SSD)

M-FIL/07 - HISTORY OF ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY

Period

Sem. IIA dal Feb 26, 2018 al Apr 21, 2018.

Lessons timetable Moodle Seminars 0

Learning outcomes

Formative tasks:
We aim at:
-(knowledge and understanding) offering advanced knowledge on basic subjects, authors and schools within the ancient philosophy;
(communication skills) teaching the proper philosophical terminology and the arguing ability (possibly also in written communication);
-(applying knowledge and understanding) teaching the critical use of original philosophical texts, for acquiring basic philosophical matters and concepts, recalled also by contemporary culture.

Program

Course's content:
Title: “Excellence and desire: virtues and passions in Plato and Aristotle”
The contemporary culture is very interested in going beyond the traditional opposition between reason and passion: within the anthropological, moral and social fields, the role is deepened of the affective states (emotions and feelings) and the personal and social importance is stressed of an education aiming at becoming conscious and careful of own and others’ desires.
A close reading of Plato’s Dialogues and of the Aristotelian Nicomachean Ethics (books I-III) shows that we cannot find in the ancient thought any sharp opposition between reasoning and feeling: on the contrary the most important theories about virtue (aretè=excellence) required also a daily consciousness-care of own affective states.
“Decision is either understanding combined with desire or desire combined with thought; and what originates movement in this way is a human being ” (Nicomachean Ethics, 1139b4-6).

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: P. HADOT, Che cos’è la filosofia antica?, tr. it. Torino Einaudi 1998 (ed. or. Paris 1995);
b) Lecture Notes (at students' disposal in the photocopies shop “ “Ateneo);
c) Original and Critical texts:
-ARISTOTELE, Etica Nicomachea, tr. it. di C. Mazzarelli, Milano Bompiani Testi a fronte 2000;
-‘Prospettive del gioire e del soffrire nell’etica di Platone, Milano Udine Mimesis 2013;
-Virtù, piacere e felicità nell’etica dei Greci, Verona aemme edizioni 2014 (Copisteria “Ateneo”)
All the lessons will be available by e-learning (www.elearning.univr.it);
d) Integrations and substitutions: students who cannot attend lessons, those repeating this course will get in touch with the Teacher, in order to receive indications on adding or other texts: these will be agreed for every student, with regard to his previous knowledge, curriculum and interests. Recorded lessons are compulsory for not attending students.

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.
PhD Student F. Benoni (francesco.benoni@univr.it) will be Teaching Assistant for this course. His duties will include lecturing and office hours. He will hold a seminar on Academic Writing and assist students during the preparation of their papers for the final exam.

Examination Methods

Prerequisites: A knowledge of the history of the ancient philosophy (from VIth 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.

Assesments: During the exam we aim to test the acquired knowledge of these notions.
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.
Also the possible papers written by the student and sent to the teacher a week before the exam, will be discussed together and evaluated.