PHILOSOPHIES AND CULTURES FROM THE MIDDLE AGES TO THE RENAISSANCE
1) Educational objectives.
The course on Philosophies and Cultures from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance aims to provide students with a sound knowledge in the historical-philosophical and critical fields.
2) Expected learning outcomes.
2.1) Knowledge: knowledge of the development of the history of philosophy from the late Middle Ages to the Renaissance.
2.2) Skills: the ability to expound on the aforementioned knowledge.
2.3) Autonomy of judgment: the ability to critically examine the historical evolution of philosophical questions; the ability to critically examine the historical development of the philosophical historiography concerning Late Medieval and Renaissance thought.
The course on Philosophies and Cultures from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance presents the philosophical doctrines developed in the West during the period from the second half of the 14th to the end of the 16th century: university thought, civil humanism, Aristotelianism, Platonism, Hermetics, political and religious debates.
- An outline of the history of 13th century philosophy.
- Trends, interests and conflicts of 14th century philosophy.
- The birth of Humanism and its different aspects.
- The development of “observances” and of papal totalitarianism in the 15th century and their cultural aftermaths.
- The birth of Renaissance Aristotelianism. Vernia. Pomponazzi.
- The birth of Renaissance Platonism. Cusanus. Ficino.
- Esotericism and magic from the late Middle Ages to the early Modern Age.
- Giovanni Pico. Erasmus. Machiavelli.
- Reformation and Counter-reformation.
- Giovanfrancesco Pico. Agrippa (1st part).
- The university philosophy of the 16th century.
- Agrippa (2nd part). Paracelsus.
- The question of method in the 16th century.
- Fracastoro. Cardano. Telesio.
- The end of Renaissance Neoplatonism: Patrizi and Bruno.
- Esoterism from 16th to 17th century.
- Towards 17th-century university philosophy: Scotists and Thomists.
- From Copernicus to Galilei.
Both attending and non-attending students must observe the following syllabus.
Mandatory textbook.
- Cesare VASOLI (attribuito a), Le filosofie del Rinascimento, ed. by Paolo Costantino PISSAVINO, Milano: Bruno Mondadori, 2002.
Recommended textbook.
- Marco FORLIVESI, La filosofia universitaria tra XV e XVII secolo, Padova: CLEUP, 2013.
Classroom lectures and seminars.
- Assessment method: oral exam.
- The oral exam will be in the form of questions which the examiner will ask the candidate.
- The candidate will be marked according to the amount and accuracy of the knowledge that he/she is expected to have learned, on his/her ability to expound on it and on his/her ability to critically examine the historical evolution in question, including the interaction between different cultural perspectives.
- In order to pass the exam, the reference manual, i.e. the text indicated above as mandatory, must be studied entirely. During the lessons, the teacher will suggest other possible texts that can also help students to prepare for the exam.
- Marks will be given out of thirty.
- Students who wish can take the exam in English.
Official office hours are indicated in the document published on the website of the Department of Philosophical, Pedagogical and Economic-Quantitative Sciences. Nonetheless, students are strongly recommended to ask for an appointment by e-mail, briefly presenting the queries they intend to submit to the teacher. The teacher will also be available to see students at different hours to the official ones.