Teaching code

4S012823

Teacher

Alessandro Stavru

Coordinator

Alessandro Stavru

Credits

6

Also offered in courses:

• Dialogicity and Ancient Philosophy of the course Master's degree in Philosophy
• Dialogicity of Ancient Philosophy (m) of the course Master’s degree in Tradition and Interpretation of Literary Texts

Language

Italian

Scientific Disciplinary Sector (SSD)

M-FIL/07 - HISTORY OF ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY

Period

Sem. 1A dal Sep 23, 2024 al Oct 31, 2024.

Courses Single

Authorized

Lessons timetable Moodle Seminars 0

Learning objectives

The course provides the critical, historical, theoretical and philological means that are useful for dealing with the philosophical genre of ancient dialogue. The course also aims to provide a focus on  core problems and concepts of ancient philosophy. The connections between the Socratic dialogue and the theme of care in the ancient world will be analysed from a historical-critical point of view. The student will gain the ability to argue in contradiction through comparisons and debates. A knowledge of the history of Greek and Latin philosophy (from the 6th century B.C. to 529 A.D.) is required; knowing ancient Greek and Latin is certainly helpful, but not compulsory. Rather, the student will be invited to personal investigation, and critical reading of the philosophical text. Argumentative discourse will be promoted through course attendance and specific activities.

Prerequisites and basic notions

Prior knowledge of the history of ancient philosophy is assumed, not of ancient Greek and Latin. A careful lexical investigation and inclination towards critical reading of the philosophical text is requested.

Program

Course Title and Content: "Caring for the Self and the Other in Socratic Dialogue
The course tackles the philosophical, ethical and anthropological foundations of dialogical thinking in its many facets (refutation, analogy, induction, dialectic). Texts from the first generation Socratics (Plato, Xenophon, Aeschines) will be examined, with the aim of focusing the theme of caring for the self and the other in dialogical praxis. The lines of continuity and discontinuity between the practice of ancient Socratic dialogue and its revival in contemporary philosophies of dialogue (philosophical hermeneutics, philosophical counselling, out-of-court conflict mediation) will also be examined.
The course will be completed by the shared reading, carried out in a workshop setting, of dialogical moments taken from Socratic literature: the workshop moment will imply the active participation in the discussion of the positions sustained in the text and, where possible, a practical application of the dialogical principle of "caring for oneself and for the other".
EXAMINATION TEXTS:
A) A. Stavru, A colloquio con Socrate. La cura di sé nel dialogo socratico, Marinotti, Milano 2023 (in full).
B) L. Napolitano, Platone e la cura di sé e dell’altro, Milano, Mimesis 2024 (only the first part: p. 1-199).
Recorded lessons will be available on the Moodle platform and are an integral part of the exam syllabus. NB: listening to the recordings does not replace reading the scheduled texts.
PROGRAM FOR NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS: The program for non-attending students is identical to that for attending students, with the exception of the book by L. Napolitano " Platone e la cura di sé e dell’altro", which must be brought in its entirety.

Bibliography

Didactic methods

The teaching is carried out in frontal mode. The recordings of the lessons are available on the Moodle page of the course.
Students in special situations of fragility, unable to attend classes due to disability conditions or particularly disabling learning disorders, are invited to contact the "Inclusion and Accessibility Service", which will assess on a case-by-case basis the actual impossibility of attendance and agree with the teachers concerned on how to support them.

Learning assessment procedures

The student will be examined orally. She will - optionally and voluntarily - to prepare an essay of 5-10 folders on the monographic section of the course, which will become the starting point for the oral exam (the essays must be delivered to the teacher, also by email, at least one week before the exam date).
The average duration of the exam session is 10-15 minutes. The exam methods are differentiated between attending and non-attending students.

Evaluation criteria

Ability to organize and articulate the acquired knowledge; critical reasoning on the topics of the course; quality, depth and coherence of the exposition, competence in the use of terminology and expressions rerlated to ancient philosophy.

Criteria for the composition of the final grade

The evaluation is expressed in a grade out of thirty.

Exam language

Italiano (lingua prevalente ma non esclusiva)