PHILOSOPHICAL HERMENEUTICS II

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 presupposes an acquired knowledge and mastery of the crucial categories and issues of the Western philosophical tradition.

Title: Jacques Derrida, «one who does not speak like the others». Writing, duplicity, hospitality.

Those who are afraid of Derrida and deconstructionist thought are those who dream of having in their hands the clear and distinct fullness of the meanings of words, texts and experiences. Today, worried as we are by geo-political urgencies and, moreover, disoriented by quarrelsome and confused media communication, we are even more tempted to repeat that dream, as if it could really give us a philosophical, existential, ethical and political orientation. The Derridian thought of deconstruction is not a destruction or annihilation of this dream of founded and founding fullness, but it is a pharmakon for every mystification and simplistic semantics. The course focuses, in particular, on the issue of writing and the duplicity of meaning, also showing some ethical-political consequences of différance as a relationship with others, for example in hospitality towards foreigners.

1 Lecture notes, including the quotes provided therein (available on Moodle);
2 Jacques Derrida, On Grammatology (1967), only parts I and II;
3 Jacques Derrida, Plato's Pharmacy (1968);
4 “Anne Dufourmantelle invite Jacques Derrida à rèpondre De l’hospitalité”, Calmann-Lévy, 1997 (only some selected parts of which the Italian translation will be provided).

Other references (these readings are optional):
Z. Direk, L. Lawlor (eds.), A Companion to Derrida, Blackwell, Oxford 2014;
AA.VV., Who is afraid of déconstruction?, PUF, Paris 2023.

The exam test will be written. Students will be asked to illustrate four passages taken from the texts included in the Syllabus. The exam will last no more than two hours.

written

Regarding the grading, the exam will be marked on a scale ranging from 0 to 30. The minimum passing grade is 18. Honors ("lode") will be granted only for exceptional capacity of judgment and excellent knowledge of the topics under evaluation.

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

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.

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Human capital, health, education" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development