Learning objectives

Philosophical anthropology owes its name to “ánthropos”, ancient Greek for “human being”. Traditionally, it was the branch of philosophy devoted to the study of the difference between what is cultural and what is natural, how the two diverged or converged, or how they shaped subjective and inter-subjective experience. Today, philosophical anthropology is rather an overview on the process that led to the formation of this conceptual landscape, and the exploration of the uncharted territory that its dissolution begins to reveal. The course aims to shed light on some of the main features of this process-cum-exploration that is still under way. At the end of the course, students will acquire an advanced knowledge of present-day philosophical discussions on the (inter)subjective (or not) nature of experience; they will develop a correct hermeneutical approach to the authors and topics examined and discussed during the classes; to independently make assessments on the topics of the course. These abilities will prove useful in order to continue their studies at MA level

Prerequisites and basic notions

There are no prerequisites

Program

The course will examine some possible answers to the question: what is intelligence, what do we say when we say that a being is intelligent? It will then interrogate some aspects of the current debate on artificial intelligence in light of the answers that the Western philosophical tradition has formulated at some of its key moments, answers to what is not one among many questions in philosophy, but one of its two fundamental questions. Instead, the other question sounds like this: so what to do with intelligence, how to deal with this strange faculty we call intelligence? The reference texts, in addition to Aristotle, De Anima, and Bergson, Introduction to Metaphysics, will be given in the course of the lectures.

Bibliography

Didactic methods

The lessons, in presence, will be mainly frontal, with ample space dedicated to discussions and interactions. The lessons will be videotaped and made available without deadline on Moodle. They will not be streamed.

Learning assessment procedures

Students attending the classes will receive frontal lessons which will address the textes in the form of a comment, an elaboration, an extension of their content. The individual study of the bibliography will be a fundamental part of the preparation of the final exam. Meeting hours for students are scheduled during the whole academic year. Any exception concerning the days and hours of courses and meetings will be communicated though the teacher’s personal webpage. Students who will not attend classes will study the same bibliography.

Evaluation criteria

The oral exam will verify in equal measure the acquired knowledge and the ability to originally elaborate this knowledge.

Criteria for the composition of the final grade

The exam will take into account both the knowledge acquired and the ability to originally elaborate it.

Exam language

italiano

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