Teaching code

4S00765

Teacher

Giorgio Erle

Coordinator

Giorgio Erle

Credits

12

Language

Italian

Scientific Disciplinary Sector (SSD)

M-FIL/03 - MORAL PHILOSOPHY

Period

Sem. 1A, Sem. 1B

Courses Single

Authorized

Lessons timetable Moodle Seminars 0

Learning objectives

The course aims to provide students with the knowledge of the great classics of moral philosophy and the main themes of the Western philosophical tradition emerging from them. It also aims to promote the development of the skills: to understand philosophical moral texts within their historical-critical framework and through a correct hermeneutic approach; to appropriately use a thoroughly philosophical terminology; and to produce individual reflection in order to formulate independent judgements on the genesis, nature and meaning of the addressed issues. Finally, these objectives are also understood in order to develop the ability to continue studies in a Master’s degree, and the ability to communicate philosophical contents to specialists and non-specialists alike.

Prerequisites and basic notions

There are no specific prerequisites for this course.

Program

Three hundred years after Kant's birth: the moral message in the “Critique of Practical Reason.”
Taking the occasion of the three hundred years since Kant's birth, the characteristics of his moral philosophy will be presented as they emerge from the “Critique of Practical Reason.” A few mentions of the critical readings that Kant's proposal immediately aroused in a practical context will also open up spaces for discussion on the possible relevance of Kant's message. To this end, among other things, these points will be developed:
- Introduction to reading the “Critique of Practical Reason”;
- Freedom and the problem of the moral foundation;
- Moral law and categorical imperative;
- According to Kant, why must the moral principle be “formal”?
- The good as an "object" of practical reason;
- The a priori feeling: respect;
- The search for the “highest good”;
- Virtue, happiness, and antinomy of practical reason;
- The "postulates" of practical reason according to Kant in the context of the moral destination of the human being;
- The proportion between speculative reason and practical reason in the light of the "Dialectic of pure practical reason";
- The importance of moral demonstration according to Kant: The "Doctrine of the method of pure practical reason";
- Infinity and wisdom in the “Conclusion” of the “Critique of Practical Reason”;
- Notes on the criticisms by Hegel and others about Kant's moral thought: does Kant's practical philosophy still have its relevance despite this?

Bibliography

Didactic methods

The teaching methods consist of lectures during which analysis, comment, and discussion of the reference texts will take place, thus addressing the program contents from the perspective of the learning outcomes. After each lesson, a short written conceptual summary of that lesson will be loaded on the University's e-learning platform.
Lectures will be held face-to-face in the classroom. The same lectures will also be recorded and subsequently made available from time to time for later viewing in the course's e-learning.
The reference texts listed in the “Bibliography” section are mandatory for both attending and non-attending students.

Learning assessment procedures

The exam consists, both for the attending and for the non-attending students, of an oral exam concerning the program and the mandatory reference texts indicated in the “Bibliography” section.

Evaluation criteria

To pass the exam, students will have to demonstrate that they have achieved the learning outcomes; therefore, the following will be verified:
1) The knowledge and the interpretative skills acquired concerning the mandatory reference texts and the teaching program, in the light of a valid critical and hermeneutic approach to the texts themselves and the addressed issues;
2) Skill to use a thoroughly philosophical terminology;
3) Skill to develop a reflection in the perspective of moral philosophy on the addressed issues.

Criteria for the composition of the final grade

The grade is single and will be expressed out of thirty at the end of the oral exam described above.

Exam language

Italiano.

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