PHILOSOPHY

The course addresses three of the most fundamental concepts of philosophical thinking: truth, justice, and beauty.
The different meanings of such notions are introduced using passages from philosophical classics, such as Plato, Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Descartes, Kant, Schopenhauer, Marx, and Nietzsche.
The course introduces students to the complex relationship between the familiar use of such notions in quotidian and ordinary contexts, and their rigorous, technical, or even speculative use in philosophy, which echoes their possible meanings in religious, scientific, juridical, political, or artistic contexts.
All different notions are introduced using philosophical classics and discussed in relation to their traditional philosophical neighbours or sparring partners.
For instance:
1 - Truth | certainty | knowledge
2 - Justice | fairness | good
3 - Beuty | pleasure | art/nature

The course introduces some key philosophical notions, using the texts in which their most classic and widespread formulations are found.
The course provides students with some knowledge and ability to recognise and understand certain central and particularly influential philosophical notions, which are used in many different contexts, also outside philosophical debates, for instance in the humanities, in politics, in law, in art, historiography, in religions, in post-colonial studies, gender studies, economics, management, etc. Finally, the course provides an introduction and reference (authors, texts, terminology, style) for those who wish to study philosophy proper.

Intellectual curiosity, openness.

1. The notion of truth in classical philosophical texts. Its relation with other notions, such as being, reality, knowledge, appearance, certainty, evicence, objectivity. Historical transformations
2. Justice in philosophical thought. Its relationship with fairness, goodness, agreement, right, force. Historical transformations.
3. Philosophical concepts of beauty. Beauty, goodness, pleasure, art, teleology, nature.

The course will address passages or chapters from the following texts (all texts are available online):
Aquinas, Th.: Summa theologiae
Aristotle: Politics
Aristotle: Metaphysics
Aristotle: Politics
Augustin: Confessions
Descartes, R.: Metaphysical Meditations
Kant, I.: Critique of Judgement
Marx, K.: The Capital
Hegel, G.W.F.: The Phenomenology of Mind
Nietzsche, F.: The Twilight of the Idols
Nietzsche, F.: On the Genealogy of Morals
Parmenides, On Nature
Plato, Gorgias
Plato, The State
Plato, Timaeus
G.B. Vico, De antiquissima italorum sapientia

Essay on a chosen topic followed by a presentation

Lectures, discussion of texts, workshops

English

written and oral

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