ID:
509545
Duration (hours):
36
CFU:
6
SSD:
STORIA DELLA FILOSOFIA
Year:
2025
Overview
Date/time interval
Primo Semestre (22/09/2025 - 19/12/2025)
Syllabus
Course Objectives
The course will introduce students to the most significant theoretical concepts of modern thought through the study of carefully selected primary texts and relevant critical literature. At the end of the course, students should be able to contextualise the authors studied and comment appropriately on the texts presented, also in light of the main interpretative approaches.
Course Prerequisites
Adequate knowledge of the most important authors and movements in philosophy from the 15th to the 18th centuries will be required, as evidenced by the attainment of at least 6 CFU credits in the History of Modern Philosophy. Those who do not meet this requirement may be asked to attend a preliminary interview.
Teaching Methods
Seminar-style lessons, mainly based on reading and close analysis of texts, also with the aid of PowerPoint presentations.
Assessment Methods
The exam will consist of the preparation (and possibly discussion) of a written report, which will explore, at the student's choice but under the supervision of the teacher, one of the issues analysed in class, relating to Descartes' thought or its relationship with its sources, with his contemporary interlocutors, and with his later interpreters. The assessment, expressed in thirtieths, will be based on the level of knowledge achieved, the structure and presentation of the paper, and the ability to use philosophical vocabulary appropriately.
Texts
R. Descartes, Opere (1637-1649), a cura di G. Belgioioso, Milano, Bompiani, 2009. R. Descartes, Tutte le lettere (1619-1650), a cura di G. Belgioioso, Milano, Bompiani, 2005. Francesco Cerrato, Un secolo tra politica e passioni: Hobbes, Descartes, Spinoza, Roma, DeriveApprodi, 2012. John Cottingham (ed. by), The Cambridge Companion to Descartes, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1992. Giovanni Crapulli, Introduzione a Descartes, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 1995. Pierre Guenancia, Descartes et l’ordre politique. Critique cartesienne des fondements de la politique, Paris, Presses universitaires de France, 1983. Antonio Negri, Descartes politico o della ragionevole ideologia, Milano, Feltrinelli, 1970. (Further and more precise bibliographical references will be provided during the course, according to the needs of the teacher and students)
Contents
Descartes as a political philosopher. A philosopher and scientist, René Descartes (1596-1650) proposed ideas in the fields of metaphysics, natural philosophy, epistemology, and methodology, that, since their emergence, have sparked debates and controversies, but have also fertilised the development of modern and contemporary philosophical thought. He perhaps did not enjoy the same success as a moral or political philosopher. This course will examine the themes of equality and inequality among men, the relationship between society and the state, and between politics and religion, as well as the origin and nature of institutions. Through an interdisciplinary approach, constant comparison with the original texts (in particular the Discourse on Method, The Passions of the Soul, and the Correspondence) and critical literature, we will reconsider the distinctive features of Cartesian 'rationalism' from a different point of view.
Course Language
Italian
More information
The course will begin on Thursday, 6 November 2025.
Classes will be held in Classroom A.
Classes will be held in Classroom A.
Degrees
Degrees (2)
PHILOSOPHY
Master’s Degree
2 years
PHILOSOPHY
Master’s Degree
2 years
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