F1114 The Origins of the Modern Philosophical Worldview
This course presents the major trends that have given rise to the modern mind, to the development of scientific knowledge, and to the transformations of Western societies. During this period, namely, from the 16th to the 18th centuries, conquering rationality asserted its autonomy and led to the idea of Enlightenment, but at the same time reflected on its own limits.
Being held in Venice, this class will focus on the Italian thinkers who were at the origins of the apparition and development of the modern worldview. The humanists of the early Renaissance, such as Ficino and Pico della Mirandola, reevaluated the nature and the status of human beings in the cosmos. Towards the end of the 16th century, Giordano Bruno and Galileo Galilei shook the very foundations of the traditional cosmos, in the wake of Copernicus\'s heliocentric revolution. Bruno meditated on the possibility of the universe being infinite and on what that means for the relationship of humankind with God. Galileo established the bases and methodology of modern science, his insights leading ultimately to the atomism and mechanistic conception of matter which triumphed in the 17th-18th centuries. On the political side, Machiavelli revolutionized political reflection.
This comprehensive survey will thus cover metaphysics, epistemology, ethics and political thought. We will analyze representative texts, paying attention to their argumentative structures, and highlighting the logic in the development of problems and answers.
The course will provide students with the central concepts of modern thought and the essential historical knowledge, so as to understand the bases of the present comprehension of the world and of ourselves. Study of the texts, as well as class discussions, and writing assignments are designed to develop rigorous argumentation and expression skills.
Class Policy
Texts assigned in the syllabus must be studied before the class. As an help, introductory readings in secondary literature are indicated in the syllabus.
Being held in Venice, this class will focus on the Italian thinkers who were at the origins of the apparition and development of the modern worldview. The humanists of the early Renaissance, such as Ficino and Pico della Mirandola, reevaluated the nature and the status of human beings in the cosmos. Towards the end of the 16th century, Giordano Bruno and Galileo Galilei shook the very foundations of the traditional cosmos, in the wake of Copernicus\'s heliocentric revolution. Bruno meditated on the possibility of the universe being infinite and on what that means for the relationship of humankind with God. Galileo established the bases and methodology of modern science, his insights leading ultimately to the atomism and mechanistic conception of matter which triumphed in the 17th-18th centuries. On the political side, Machiavelli revolutionized political reflection.
This comprehensive survey will thus cover metaphysics, epistemology, ethics and political thought. We will analyze representative texts, paying attention to their argumentative structures, and highlighting the logic in the development of problems and answers.
The course will provide students with the central concepts of modern thought and the essential historical knowledge, so as to understand the bases of the present comprehension of the world and of ourselves. Study of the texts, as well as class discussions, and writing assignments are designed to develop rigorous argumentation and expression skills.
Class Policy
Texts assigned in the syllabus must be studied before the class. As an help, introductory readings in secondary literature are indicated in the syllabus.
Syllabus
Evaluation
Readings
Evaluation
Readings