History of Early Modern Philosophy I
A.Y. 2024/2025
Learning objectives
The course aims to provide students with a solid basic knowledge of some of the most important concepts in the history of modern philosophy with special focus on the classics. Its educational goals are to enable participants to understand the historical and theoretical meaning of the main philosophical traditions in connection with other doctrines and cultural traditions.
Expected learning outcomes
Knowledge and understanding
At the end of the course, students will be able to:
- describe the pivotal periods of the history of modern philosophy
- recognize the fundamental lexicon of philosophy in its historical evolution through the key texts proposed
- identify the concepts and arguments used by the authors considered
- recognize the relative stability of the sources and how they have evolved in time
Ability to apply knowledge and understanding
At the end of the course, students are expected to be able to:
- read philosophical classic texts
- apply the knowledge acquired in framing authors and discussion and texts historically
- apply the historical lexicon to the analysis and discussion of texts and problems
- apply the understanding of concepts and argumentative forms to the analysis of texts and problems
- explain the notions acquired in clear and concise terms
- compare texts at a basic level
At the end of the course, students will be able to:
- describe the pivotal periods of the history of modern philosophy
- recognize the fundamental lexicon of philosophy in its historical evolution through the key texts proposed
- identify the concepts and arguments used by the authors considered
- recognize the relative stability of the sources and how they have evolved in time
Ability to apply knowledge and understanding
At the end of the course, students are expected to be able to:
- read philosophical classic texts
- apply the knowledge acquired in framing authors and discussion and texts historically
- apply the historical lexicon to the analysis and discussion of texts and problems
- apply the understanding of concepts and argumentative forms to the analysis of texts and problems
- explain the notions acquired in clear and concise terms
- compare texts at a basic level
Lesson period: Second semester
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Single course
This course cannot be attended as a single course. Please check our list of single courses to find the ones available for enrolment.
Course syllabus and organization
[A-K]
Responsible
Lesson period
Second semester
Course syllabus
Thinking God, proving God. The problem of God in early modern philosophy.
The question of God - of his existence and nature - has always dominated the horizon of philosophical research, in a vital and dialectical relationship with different religious traditions, but also within an autonomous and systematic attempt at the rational reconstruction of reality. In early modern Western philosophy, this twofold orientation is reflected, on the one hand, in the more or less declared adoption of a set of assumptions and ideas shaped within the previous theological-philosophical tradition, and on the other in the desire to construct a purely rational theology, according to the canons typical of the new forms of modern rationality.
Where does the rational path leading to God start: from the world or from the self? Do we possess an idea of God? What is the relationship between knowledge of God and the edifice of human science? Around the answers to these questions a grandiose, highly systematic metaphysical project is drawn up in modern classical philosophy, in which knowledge of God plays a central role; but as this project unfolds, its limits are also highlighted, from the point of view of both the most rigorous critical demands and the deepest instances of religious experience.
The course aims to retrace the answers that the major thinkers of early modernity provided to these questions and to emphasise their persistent relevance.
Knowledge of the general lines of the history of early modern philosophy will also be acquired through the study of a textbook, urging the student to independently apply the indications of method and knowledge acquired to the authors and problems presented in the syllabus.
The question of God - of his existence and nature - has always dominated the horizon of philosophical research, in a vital and dialectical relationship with different religious traditions, but also within an autonomous and systematic attempt at the rational reconstruction of reality. In early modern Western philosophy, this twofold orientation is reflected, on the one hand, in the more or less declared adoption of a set of assumptions and ideas shaped within the previous theological-philosophical tradition, and on the other in the desire to construct a purely rational theology, according to the canons typical of the new forms of modern rationality.
Where does the rational path leading to God start: from the world or from the self? Do we possess an idea of God? What is the relationship between knowledge of God and the edifice of human science? Around the answers to these questions a grandiose, highly systematic metaphysical project is drawn up in modern classical philosophy, in which knowledge of God plays a central role; but as this project unfolds, its limits are also highlighted, from the point of view of both the most rigorous critical demands and the deepest instances of religious experience.
The course aims to retrace the answers that the major thinkers of early modernity provided to these questions and to emphasise their persistent relevance.
Knowledge of the general lines of the history of early modern philosophy will also be acquired through the study of a textbook, urging the student to independently apply the indications of method and knowledge acquired to the authors and problems presented in the syllabus.
Prerequisites for admission
Being a first-year course, there are no specific prerequisites other than those required for admission to the degree course.
Teaching methods
The course includes lectures with the possibility of discussion.
Teaching Resources
Common course of 6 and 9 CFU:
- G. Cambiano, L. Fonnesu, M. Mori, (a cura di), La filosofia moderna. Il Seicento e il Settecento, Bologna, il Mulino, 2018.
- R. Descartes, Metaphysical Meditations, I, II and V.
- Baruch Spinoza, Ethics, I, propositions 1-11.
- Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Quod Ens Perfectissimum existit ;
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, De rerum originatione radicali;
- Pierre Bayle, Dictionnaire historique et critique, entry "Pauliciens",
9 CFU course:
- David Hume, Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion (passim).
- Immanuel Kant, Critique of Pure Reason. Trascendental dialectics, chap. III.
NB: Extracts of all texts in the syllabus will be made available to students on the course's MyAriel site.
The texts of the slides or handouts commented in class and made available by the lecturer on the course's MyAriel site are an integral part of the course course.
For non-attending students:
In addition to the above (for both the 6 cfu course and the 9 cfu course) one of the following readings:
- Emanuela Scribano, L'esistenza di Dio. Storia della prova ontologica da Descartes a Kant, Carocci, Roma, 2021. A scelta: cap. II-III o capp. IV-V-VI.
- G. Mori, L'ateismo dei moderni. Filosofia e negazione di Dio da Spinoza a D'Holbach, Carocci, Roma, 2016.
- Ermanno Bencivenga, La dimostrazione di Dio. Come la filosofia ha cercato di capire la fede. Milano, Mondadori, 2009.
- Lecture recording: lectures will be recorded and made available for the entire academic year on the course's MyAriel website.
- Teaching proposal for non-attending students: 2 lessons dedicated to non-attending students in videoconference (Teams). The lectures will be recorded and made available in the online environment. The dates will be published in the course's MyAriel space.
- Validity of the course: 1 academic year, as per the teaching regulations of the degree course.
- G. Cambiano, L. Fonnesu, M. Mori, (a cura di), La filosofia moderna. Il Seicento e il Settecento, Bologna, il Mulino, 2018.
- R. Descartes, Metaphysical Meditations, I, II and V.
- Baruch Spinoza, Ethics, I, propositions 1-11.
- Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Quod Ens Perfectissimum existit ;
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, De rerum originatione radicali;
- Pierre Bayle, Dictionnaire historique et critique, entry "Pauliciens",
9 CFU course:
- David Hume, Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion (passim).
- Immanuel Kant, Critique of Pure Reason. Trascendental dialectics, chap. III.
NB: Extracts of all texts in the syllabus will be made available to students on the course's MyAriel site.
The texts of the slides or handouts commented in class and made available by the lecturer on the course's MyAriel site are an integral part of the course course.
For non-attending students:
In addition to the above (for both the 6 cfu course and the 9 cfu course) one of the following readings:
- Emanuela Scribano, L'esistenza di Dio. Storia della prova ontologica da Descartes a Kant, Carocci, Roma, 2021. A scelta: cap. II-III o capp. IV-V-VI.
- G. Mori, L'ateismo dei moderni. Filosofia e negazione di Dio da Spinoza a D'Holbach, Carocci, Roma, 2016.
- Ermanno Bencivenga, La dimostrazione di Dio. Come la filosofia ha cercato di capire la fede. Milano, Mondadori, 2009.
- Lecture recording: lectures will be recorded and made available for the entire academic year on the course's MyAriel website.
- Teaching proposal for non-attending students: 2 lessons dedicated to non-attending students in videoconference (Teams). The lectures will be recorded and made available in the online environment. The dates will be published in the course's MyAriel space.
- Validity of the course: 1 academic year, as per the teaching regulations of the degree course.
Assessment methods and Criteria
The examination includes a preliminary and compulsory written test aimed at verifying the general knowledge of the history of philosophy acquired during the course and autonomous study. No texts, textbooks or summaries may be used during the examination.
The oral examination will focus on understanding the texts in the syllabus and the problems and concepts developed in the course. Students will be assessed for their ability to discursively organise knowledge and for their ability to critically reason about the study carried out; the lecturer will take into account the quality of the exposition, the correct use of specialised vocabulary, and the linearity of the exposition. The final grade will be expressed in thirtieths.
The oral examination will focus on understanding the texts in the syllabus and the problems and concepts developed in the course. Students will be assessed for their ability to discursively organise knowledge and for their ability to critically reason about the study carried out; the lecturer will take into account the quality of the exposition, the correct use of specialised vocabulary, and the linearity of the exposition. The final grade will be expressed in thirtieths.
[Blended learning]
Responsible
Lesson period
Second semester
Course syllabus
The question of God has been always present at the horizon of philosophical inquiry, in an intensive dialectical relationship with the great religious traditions, but also in the attempt of construing a purely rational theology. The course will explore the modern phase of this long history in the Western philosophy, by dealing with the construction of an ambitious philosophical theology within eraly modern metaphysics, its different paths, its criticism and crisis, from Descartes to Kant.
Prerequisites for admission
No specific requisite is needed.
Teaching methods
This will be a blended course. 3 lessons in-person are planned, at the beginning, middle and end of the course (8 hours); 10 video recorded lessons in asynchronous mode, one for each week (20 hours), 16 lessons in synchronous mode (streaming), two for each week (32 hours). During the course some exercises will be proposed, with the purpose of supporting the assimilation of the contents of course and of preparing to the final examination. The detailed plan of activities will be made available on the platform MyAriel at the begnning of course.
Teaching Resources
R. Descartes, from Meditations: Meditation I, III, V.
B. Spinoza, from Ethica: Part I, Prop. 1-17.B. Pascal, from Pensées: selected passages
G.W. Leibniz, from The Philosophical Writings: On the ontological proof; The radical origin of things.
D. Hume, from Dialogues concerning natural religion: selected passages.
I. Kant, from Critique of Pure Reason: The Ideal of pure reason.
I. Kant, da Critica della ragion pura: L'ideale della rgion pura.
B. Spinoza, from Ethica: Part I, Prop. 1-17.B. Pascal, from Pensées: selected passages
G.W. Leibniz, from The Philosophical Writings: On the ontological proof; The radical origin of things.
D. Hume, from Dialogues concerning natural religion: selected passages.
I. Kant, from Critique of Pure Reason: The Ideal of pure reason.
I. Kant, da Critica della ragion pura: L'ideale della rgion pura.
Assessment methods and Criteria
Assessment methods and Criteria
The examination includes a preliminary and compulsory written test aimed at verifying the general knowledge of the history of philosophy acquired during the course and autonomous study on the handbook. No texts, textbooks or summaries may be used during the examination.
The oral examination will focus on understanding the texts in the syllabus and the problems and concepts developed in the course. Students will be assessed for their ability to discursively organise knowledge; the quality of the exposition and the correct use of specialised vocabulary will be taken into account.
Assessment result: the final grade will be expressed in thirtieths.
The examination includes a preliminary and compulsory written test aimed at verifying the general knowledge of the history of philosophy acquired during the course and autonomous study on the handbook. No texts, textbooks or summaries may be used during the examination.
The oral examination will focus on understanding the texts in the syllabus and the problems and concepts developed in the course. Students will be assessed for their ability to discursively organise knowledge; the quality of the exposition and the correct use of specialised vocabulary will be taken into account.
Assessment result: the final grade will be expressed in thirtieths.
M-FIL/06 - HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY - University credits: 9
Lessons: 60 hours
Professor:
Di Bella Stefano
[L-Z]
Responsible
Lesson period
Second semester
Course syllabus
The question of God—his existence and nature—has always held a crucial place in philosophical research, being influenced by various religious tradition and participating in a systematic attempt to rationally describe reality. In the Western tradition, modern philosophical considerations about God were influenced by earlier theological and philosophical theories, while also striving to devise a purely rational theology. Yet, where does the rational path to God start: from the world or the self? Do we have an idea of God? What is the relationship between knowledge of God and human science?
Modern philosophy builds its systematic metaphysical project around the answers to these questions. However, as it unfolded, this project also revealed its limits, both in terms of critical analysis and in terms of religious experience.
The course aims to analyze the answers that some of the main early modern thinkers provided to the question of God. Students will also gain some knowledge of the history of modern philosophy thanks to a handbook that they will study autonomously thanks to the methodologies acquired through the course.
Modern philosophy builds its systematic metaphysical project around the answers to these questions. However, as it unfolded, this project also revealed its limits, both in terms of critical analysis and in terms of religious experience.
The course aims to analyze the answers that some of the main early modern thinkers provided to the question of God. Students will also gain some knowledge of the history of modern philosophy thanks to a handbook that they will study autonomously thanks to the methodologies acquired through the course.
Prerequisites for admission
No prior knowledge is needed beyond what is generally required for enrolling in the philosophy BA.
Teaching methods
Lectures, debate and discussion.
Teaching Resources
Assigned readings, 6/9 ECTU:
- G. Cambiano, L. Fonnesu, M. Mori, (ed.), La filosofia moderna. Il Seicento e il Settecento, Bologna, il Mulino, 2018.
- René Descartes, Meditazioni metafisiche, a cura di S. Landucci, I, III e V Meditazione, any edition.
- Baruch Spinoza, Etica, I Parte (Dio), any edition.
- Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Scritti filosofici, a cura di M. Mugnai ed E. Pasini, UTET, Torino, vol. I: pp. 179-180, 480-487 ("L'ente perfettissimo esiste" e "L'origine radicale delle cose").
- Pierre Bayle, Dizionario storico critico, voce "Pauliciani", Laterza, Bari-Roma, 1976.
Additional readings 9 ECTU:
- David Hume, Dialoghi sulla religione naturale, a cura di G. Paganini, Rizzoli, Milano 2014 (o altra edizione italiana), passi scelti.
- Immanuel Kant, Critica della ragion pura: Dialettica trascendentale, cap. III, L'ideale della ragion pura, any edition.
NB: All the assigned readings will be available to students on the website of the course (MyAriel).
The texts, presentations, and handouts provided to the students through the course will also be part of the assigned readings and will be uploaded to the website of the course.
Non attending students 6/9 ECTU:
To the above readings, non attending students sitting the exam for both 6 and 9 ECTY will add one of the following readings:
- Emanuela Scribano, L'esistenza di Dio. Storia della prova ontologica da Descartes a Kant, Carocci, Roma, 2021.
- G. Mori, L'ateismo dei moderni. Filosofia e negazione di Dio da Spinoza a D'Holbach, Carocci, Roma, 2016.
- Ermanno Bencivenga, La dimostrazione di Dio. Come la filosofia ha cercato di capire la fede. Milano, Mondadori, 2009.
Specific activities for non-attending students: 2 online lessons for non attending students. Further information will be made available on the website of the course.
Students will have the possibility to take this exam for one year after the end of the course, as per academic regulations of the philosophy BA.
- G. Cambiano, L. Fonnesu, M. Mori, (ed.), La filosofia moderna. Il Seicento e il Settecento, Bologna, il Mulino, 2018.
- René Descartes, Meditazioni metafisiche, a cura di S. Landucci, I, III e V Meditazione, any edition.
- Baruch Spinoza, Etica, I Parte (Dio), any edition.
- Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Scritti filosofici, a cura di M. Mugnai ed E. Pasini, UTET, Torino, vol. I: pp. 179-180, 480-487 ("L'ente perfettissimo esiste" e "L'origine radicale delle cose").
- Pierre Bayle, Dizionario storico critico, voce "Pauliciani", Laterza, Bari-Roma, 1976.
Additional readings 9 ECTU:
- David Hume, Dialoghi sulla religione naturale, a cura di G. Paganini, Rizzoli, Milano 2014 (o altra edizione italiana), passi scelti.
- Immanuel Kant, Critica della ragion pura: Dialettica trascendentale, cap. III, L'ideale della ragion pura, any edition.
NB: All the assigned readings will be available to students on the website of the course (MyAriel).
The texts, presentations, and handouts provided to the students through the course will also be part of the assigned readings and will be uploaded to the website of the course.
Non attending students 6/9 ECTU:
To the above readings, non attending students sitting the exam for both 6 and 9 ECTY will add one of the following readings:
- Emanuela Scribano, L'esistenza di Dio. Storia della prova ontologica da Descartes a Kant, Carocci, Roma, 2021.
- G. Mori, L'ateismo dei moderni. Filosofia e negazione di Dio da Spinoza a D'Holbach, Carocci, Roma, 2016.
- Ermanno Bencivenga, La dimostrazione di Dio. Come la filosofia ha cercato di capire la fede. Milano, Mondadori, 2009.
Specific activities for non-attending students: 2 online lessons for non attending students. Further information will be made available on the website of the course.
Students will have the possibility to take this exam for one year after the end of the course, as per academic regulations of the philosophy BA.
Assessment methods and Criteria
The final exam includes a preliminary written test that will evaluate the students' knowledge in the history of philosophy, as acquired both through the course and autonomously. The use of texts, handbooks, and notes will not be allowed during the written test. After the written test, students will sit an oral exam aimed at evaluating their critical and argumentative abilities upon discussing the texts, notions, and concepts addressed through the course. The evaluation will take into consideration the students' argumentative rigour and their use of technical lexicon. The final grade will be on a scale from 18 to 30 (below 18 = fail).
Professor(s)
Reception:
Tuesday 09.30a.m. - 12.30 a.m.
In the office and on Microsoft Teams, Team "Ricevimento SDB" . Access Code: ourk7ks
Reception:
Wednesday from 15 to 18 p.m. Contact the professor to schedule an appointment.
Dipartimento di Filosofia, Cortile Ghiacciaia, Ist floor.
Reception:
Thursdays, h. 14,00-17,00 (on skype/teams). Students can schedule an online meeting by email
Skype / Teams