History of Metaphysics

Aim of the course - which belongs to the area of History of Philosophy - is to develop a systematic, in-depth knowledge of significant moments in the history of metaphysics from the antiquity to the contemporary debates, through a critical engagement with both primary texts and the relevant secondary literature.

Knowledge and understanding
At the end of the course, the student
- understands the vocabulary and knows the methods, the aims and the main subjects of metaphysical thought;
- masters a systematic and in-depth knowledge of the main strands of the metaphysical tradition, based on the study of primary and secondary literature;
- has a philologically well-grounded knowledge of the sources of the texts s/he deals with;
- understands the historical and philosophical meaning of the texts (read also in their original language);
- understands the diverse interpretive takes on the primary sources;
- has proficient knowledge of the bibliographic resources and methodological tools for research on the history of metaphysical concepts and debates.

Ability to apply knowledge and understanding
At the end of the course, the student
- can soundly and adequately make use of the knowledge of the vocabulary, methods, and the main subjects of the metaphysical tradition;
- can critically apply the acquired knowledge to historical contextualisation of authors and texts;
- is able to apply the acquired knowledge on the historical development of the argumentative forms and traditions of thought to the analysis of new texts and philosophical views;
- is able to acknowledge the transformation of classical paradigms, traditions and perspectives;
- can confidently and independently apply various interpretations to different topics and new problems;
- masters the methodological and bibliographic tools of historical-philosophical research to produce personal research and discuss the results obtained in presenting them to others, both specialists and non-specialists.