PHILOSOPHICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 1

The aim of this course is to get the students in touch with one of the founders of the Western philosophical thought: Augustine of Hippo. Following the fil rouge of his most famous work – The Confessions ‒, I will try to explore some other remarkable passages of Augustine’s production. Furthermore, there will be a seminar ‒ held in parallel with the course ‒, which will guide the students throughout the reading of a Book of Confessions.

Students have to recognize the different argumentative patterns contained in the Augustinian rhetoric, and they have to recognize the specific role of the philosophical argumentation in the Patristic thought and its connections with existential experience and biblical wisdom.

There are not any particular pre-requirements. Certainly, an elementary knowledge of Latin language can make the attendance at the seminar, connected with course, easier.

Title: THE MAIN PHILOSOPHICAL ISSUES OF AUGUSTINE’S CONFESSIONS
1. Bio-bibliography information about the author
2. Logic and rhetoric form of the Augustine’s thought
3. The freedom of will
4. The good and the evil, and their forms
5. The infinite as mathematical, ontological and metaphysical figure

- Agostino, Le Confessioni, a cura di G. Reale, Bompiani, Milano 2012.
- H. Marrou, Sant'Agostino e la fine della cultura antica, trad. it. a cura di C. Marabelli e A. Tobolini, Jaca Book, Milano 2016.
- K. Flasch, Agostino d'Ippona. Introduzione all'opera filosofica, trad. it. di C. Tugnoli, Il Mulino, Bologna 2002.
- M.F. Sciacca, Sant'Agostino, L'Epos, Palermo 1991.
- G. Catapano, Agostino, Carocci, Roma 2010.
- W. Beierwaltes, Agostino e il neoplatonismo cristiano, Vita e Pensiero, Milano 1995.
- J.M. Rist, Augustine: Ancient Thought Baptized, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1994.
- R. Guardini, L'inizio, trad. it. di G. Poletti, Jaca Book 1983.
- L. Alici, L'altro nell'io. In dialogo con Agostino, Città Muova, Roma 1999.
- M. Malatesta, Filologia e logica, in "Augustinianum", 51, 2012.
- I. Sciuto, La felicità e il male, Franco Angeli, Milano 1995.

The preparation will be tested through an oral test (about 30 minutes).

The course will based on head-on lectures, enhancing students’ contribution. Parallel to the course, a seminar will be held (by an assistant of the professor) focusing on the reading and the comment of one Book of Confessions.

Italian

BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR THE EXAM:
- Lecture notes, edited by professor
- Augustine of Hippo, Confessions. Recommended edition: by G. Reale, with Latin text, Bompiani, Milano 2012
Possible differentiations of the programme will be pointed out during the lectures.

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