Issues in the History of Philosophy
Code
722031059
Academic unit
Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas
Department
Filosofia
Credits
10
Teacher in charge
Marta Mendonça
Weekly hours
3 letivas + 1 tutorial
Teaching language
Portuguese
Objectives
a) Detailed understanding of the importance of the history of Philosophy as an integral part of philosophical questions and as a source of problems and non one-sidedness in philosophical contemplation.
b) Detailed knowledge of fundamental questions in the history of Philosophy, so as to combine an understanding of the questions involved, their systematic significance (and their importance for contemporary debate) with a wide mastery of any important historical links.
c) Detailed knowledge of fundamental texts from the history of Philosophy, with a mastery of the interpretative tradition, the current state of research and all the relevant bibliography.
d) Carrying out of research work, under supervision, on the history of Philosophy, demonstrating original explanations and complying with scientific quality standards.
e) Acquisition of skills for carrying out independent research into the history of Philosophy.
Prerequisites
None
Subject matter
Error, illusion and ignorance.
Both the awareness that knowledge is carved in a horizon of ignorance and that error is a possibility inscribed in the exercise of thinking, and the interest in recognizing the illusion as such, are an essential part of the philosophical attitude and, accordingly, an earmark of Philosophy at all ages. But the relation of Philosophy with these concepts – the delimitation of their respective fields, the identification of their role and the setting of the potential threat they pose to the philosopher´s task – change significantly over the centuries. Throughout early Modern Age, ignorance has sometimes be taken as an operator of philosophical discourse, giving the reason why the natural attitude is constitutively illusory and the philosophical truth counterintuitive. This seminar will discuss how some philosophers of the early Modern period – Spinoza, Leibniz, La Mettrie and Hume – resorted to these concepts to found their arguments or refute those of others.
Bibliography
Hume, D. (1964), The Philosophical Works. 4 vols. Aalen: Scientia Verlag.
La Mettrie, J. O. (1796). Oeuvres philosophiques de La Mettrie, III volumes, Berlin: Chez C. Tutot.
Leibniz, G. W. (1965). Die philosophischen Schriften. 7 vols. Hrsg. Von K. I. Gerhardt. Hildesheim: Georg Olms Verlag.
Popkin, R. H. (2007), Skepticism: An Anthology. New York: Prometheus Books.
Spinoza, B. (1985). The Collected Works of Spinoza. 2 vols. Edited and translated by Edwin Curley. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Teaching method
The course will work as a seminar, with a double explanatory and hands-on approach. The dominant methodology will be the analysis of literature, especially sources. The guiding principle will alternate between a chronological approach to the philosophers and a comparative analysis of their positions. The different meanings that error, illusion and ignorance have in each philosopher, their roles in philosophical activity and how these concepts operate in the philosophical debate and its resolution will be debated.
Evaluation method
Oral participation in the seminar (35%).
A written essay (between 18,000 and 25,000 characters, including spaces) on a topic to be agreed between the teacher and the student at the beginning of the semester (65%).