PHILOSOPHICAL ANTHROPOLOGY

Single discipline educational activity

Course Sheet

Course code:

FS3146

Academic Year of enrolment:

2019

Year of supply:

2021/2022

Degree:

Course of 1st Cycle Degree in PHILOSOPHY AND EDUCATION SCIENCES

Disciplinary Sector:

MORAL PHILOSOPHY

Language:

Italian

Location:

CHIETI

Credits:

Programme Year:

Professor and Collaborators:

DI BIASE Giuliana

Cycle:

First semester

Hours of classroom activity:

Individual study hours:

162

Prerequisites:

Basic knowledge of the vocabulary of philosophy, which may be acquired on secondary school philosophy manuals, is assumed as a prerequisite.

Objectives

The course contributes to achieving the learning objectives of the degree programme, in the sense illustrated below:

-Knowledge and comprehension skills
The course aims at providing students with the knowledge of the content and vocabulary of philosophical anthropology, taking into account its relationship with various branches of applied anthropology;

-Critical Thinking
The course aims at encouraging critical thinking skills when searching for and analysing meanings, or when collecting and organizing complex cultural data pertaining to wide frameworks;

-Communication skills
The course aims at developing individual communication skills, both written and oral, through the presentation of the results of individual study and research;to this end, the use of computer tools will be encouraged.

Contents

The course programme focuses on the origin and development of the new science of man emerging in the seventeenth century, when his metaphysical image begins progressively to weaken. Modern anthropology shows the abandonment of this perspective, first of all in the work of Descartes, which highlights the will to locate man inside the picture originating from the development of natural sciences. Subsequently, Kantian anthropology brings to the fore the idea of man as a being endowed with reason, which he can and must develop. This is a limited reason, which must be achieved throughout history. The rise of philosophical antropology in 1928 with Scheler's and Plessner's work highlights the need for a renovated reflection on human being in a deeply changed context, where it has become problematic.

Extended Syllabus

The course programme is divided into three parts. In the first part (3 CFU), the rise of a new science of man in the works of seventeenth-century philosophers such as Hobbes, Descartes, Malebranche and Locke will be considered. Some pages of Descartes' "The passions of the soul " will be analysed, so as to illustrate his idea of this science.
In the second part (3 CFU), the course will focus on the development of this science in the eighteenth century in the work of Buffon, Herder, and mainly in Kant. Some passages of his "Anthropology from a pragmatical point of view" will be examined and commented.
The third part of the course (3CFU) will focus on the historical and philosophical context in which philosophical anthropology emerged at the beginning of the twentieth century. The work of Scheler, "The position of man in the cosmos" will be examined, in order to highlight the fundamental themes of this new discipline.

Recommended Bibliography

R. Descartes, "The passions of the soul and other late philosophical writings", OUP 2005 (or any other edition);
I. Kant, Anthropology from a pragmatic point of view"Cambridge UP 2006 (or any other edition);
M. Scheler, " The Human Place in the Cosmos", Northwestern UP, 2009.

Further reading:

A. Gehlen, "Man. His nature and Place in the World", Columbia University Press 1988 (or any other edition);

J. de Mul, "Plessner's Philosophical Anthropology. Perspectives and Projects", Amsterdam University Press 2014.

N. Sesardic, "Race: a social destruction of a biological concept", Biology and Philosophy (2010), pp. 143–162.

Todorov, The Fear of Barbarians: Beyond the Clash of Civilizations, Chicago Press 2010.

Methods of Provision

Conventional

Teaching Methods

Frontal lessons, lectures and talks by experts of the area, teamwork.

Evaluation methods

Verification of learning:

The final assessment consists of an oral exam on the entire syllabus. The aim is to assess the students’ skills and in particular their understanding of the issues discussed during the course, their knowledge of the bibliography in the reading list, the correct command of the specific language as well as of critical and methodological abilities. The grading scale ranges from 1 to 30 with honours (cum laude): 1-17 fail, 18-21 sufficient, 22-24 fair, 25-27 good, 28-29 very good, 30-30 with honours (cum laude) excellent. An optional individual or group project focusing on the content of the course will be taken into consideration when attributing the final mark.

Contacts/More Information

The syllabus and reading list are the same for non-attending students, with the addition of one of the texts recommended for further reading (or part of it, if the book contains more than 100 pp).
Office hours: Wednesday, 12-14; Tutorial hours (for English speaking students),13-14.
Email: giulianadibiase@unich.it
An email appointment is required.

Università degli Studi
"G. d'Annunzio"

Chieti - Pescara

Aree

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