INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY

The aim of the course is to introduce students to some of the most important topics of Western philosophy, in order to develop an understanding of the nature of philosophical questions, and of ways in which these can be answered.

At the end of the course, students should be able to:
a) demonstrate knowledge of important philosophical terms as metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, logic, rationalism, empiricism, idealism, dualism, reductionism, determinism;
b) demonstrate knowledge of the views of the philosophers studied;
c) articulate how these views are created in response to general philosophical problems and/or to the views of other philosophers;
d) read, summarize and interpret the views of philosophers as expressed in philosophical texts;
e) identify the philosophical questions presented by the movies considered;
f) think more critically and argument more clearly.

The course does not have entry requirements

We will reflect in particular on five themes: 1) The nature of knowledge; 2) Personal identity 3) The mind-body problem; 4) God and theodicy; 5) Freedom For each topic, students will consider the positions of such important thinkers like Plato, René Descartes, John Locke, David Hume, Isaiah Berlin. We will wholly read two classics of philosophy – Descartes's Meditations on first philosophy and Hume's Enquiry on Human Understanding–in order to become familiar with philosophical language and arguments. Moreover, we will discuss some movies, which are related to the aforementioned topics: 1) The Matrix (on knowledge); 2) Memento (on personal identity) 3) The surrogates (on the mind-body problem); 4) Minority Report (on freedom and determinism).

N. Warburton, Philosophy. The Basics, Routledge 2013.
J. Perry, M. Bratman, J. M. Fischer (eds.), Introduction to Philosophy. Classical and Contemporary Readings, Oxford University Press, 2016 (excerpts)
R. Descartes, Meditations on First philosophy (suggested edition ed. by J. Cottingham, Cambridge University Press).
D. Hume, An Enquiry concerning Human Understanding (suggested edition Oxford University Press)
A selection of other texts will be given during the classes and will be present on the moodle of the class.

The evaluation will be based on a written exam with open questions on the texts and the topics discussed. Part of the final evaluation will derive from a written discussion of a movie or an article among those suggested during the classes.

Lectures, readings, discussion of texts.

English

Accessibility, Disability, and Inclusion

Ca' Foscari abides by Italian Law (Law 17/1999; Law 170/2010) regarding support services and accommodation available to students with disabilities. This includes students with mobility, visual, hearing, and other disabilities (Law 17/1999), and specific learning impairments (Law 170/2010). If you have a disability or impairment that requires accommodations (i.e., alternate testing, readers, note-takers, or interpreters) please contact the Disability and Accessibility Offices in Student Services: disabilita@unive.it.

written

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Poverty and inequalities" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development