PHILOSOPHICAL HERMENEUTICS I

Philosophical Hermeneutics belongs to the sector of Theoretical Philosophy and is focussed on the issues related to human interpretation, not intended as a cognitive representation but rather as a thinking experience of human beings as they are in the world. Philosophical Hermeneutics is not a mere discipline and transcends any simply methodological and epistemological problem relating to interpretative activity.
There are at least three crucial points decisive of Philosophical Hermeneutics within the Philosophy course:
(1) Philosophical Hermeneutics vividly rethinks the great questions of the philosophical tradition;
(2) Philosophical Hermeneutics insists on the concrete link of philosophical studies with the real existence of humans;
(3) Philosophical Hermeneutics cultivates the sense of the multiplicity and mobility of meaning of the discourses, especially in important texts.

Students are expected to learn how to deal with the polysemic and stratified character of the great texts of the past, considered classics.
Students are expected to learn to experience the distance of what belongs to philosophical (and literary and religious) discourses without therefore rushing to refer everything back to their own private and personal experience.

The course is not recommended for first-year students and in any case presupposes an acquired knowledge and mastery of the crucial categories and issues of the Western philosophical tradition.

The course aims to introduce students to Derrida's critical reading of the problem of the sign in Edmund Husserl's Logical Investigations.

Jaques Derrida, "La voce e il fenomeno", Jaca Book 2021
Edmund Husserl, "Ricerche Logiche", Il saggiatore, 2015

Further reading
Danilo Manca e Flippo Nobili (a cura di) "Le Ricerche Logiche di Husserl, un commentario" Edizioni ETS 2025

Students' preparation will be tested through an oral examination that will focus on the themes considered during the course. The lecturer will assess: 1) the general knowledge of the texts and authors, 2) the ability to understand and comment in detail the assigned texts, 3) the ability to personally develop and connect to one another the various themes covered

oral

A. Scores in the range of 18-22 will be assigned for:
- Sufficient knowledge of the textbooks and related topics
- Limited ability to use data and form independent judgments
- Sufficient communication skills.

B. Scores in the range of 23-26 will be assigned for:
- Fair knowledge of the textbooks and related topics
- Fair ability to use data and form independent judgments
- Fair communication skills.

C. Scores in the range of 27-30 will be assigned for:
- Good or excellent knowledge of the textbooks and related topics
- Good or excellent ability to use data and form independent judgments
- Fully appropriate communication skills.

D. The “laude” will be awarded to students with excellent knowledge and comprehension of the textbooks and related topics.

Lectures will give space to the direct reading of texts, projected on screen, and to a wide interlocution with the students.