Cultures and Religions

Tolerance and religious freedom in early modern philosophy During the course will be read and discussed reflections on tolerance and religious freedom by key thinkers in early modern philosophy, including Leibniz, Bodin, Voltaire, and Locke. The 16th and 18th centuries were characterized by the publication of a vast body of philosophical writings on these topics, initially primarily in relation to the divisions that arose with the advent of the Reformation, which for the first time implied the need to regulate relations not only with other religions, but within Christianity itself. The course will also highlight how central questions in early modern philosophy (including the nature of the soul, the possibility of evil, miracles) and philosophical currents typical of that period (e.g., utopian thought and skepticism) influenced the debate on tolerance and religious freedom.

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1. Primary texts provided by the professor for each lesson and complete content of the lessons. 2. Two points of your choice: 1) M. L. Lanzillo, Tolleranza, Il Mulino, 2002; 2) G. Imbruglia, Utopia, Roma, Carocci, 2021; 3) Fiorella Pintacuda De Michelis, Socinianesimo e tolleranza nell’età del razionalismo, Milano, Franco Angeli, 1975; 4) The entire group of the following text: chapters by C. Vasoli, M. Biagioni, and D. Quaglioni, in La formazione storica dell’alterità. Studi di storia della tolleranza nell'età moderna offerti a Antonio Rotondò, ed. by H. Méchoulan, R. H. Popkin, G. Ricuperati, L. Simonutti, Firenze, Olschki 2001, volume 1, pp. 135-160, 331-356, and 360-373; chapter by P. Totaro, in La formazione storica dell’alterità, volume 2, pp. 577-594; R. Suitner, article Tolleranza, antitrinitarismo e religione civile nella prima età moderna, in Archivio Di Filosofia, 41 (2023), pp. 199-207; Introduzione, in T. Canella, Il Peso della tolleranza. Cristianesimo antico e alterità, Brescia, Morcelliana, 2017, pp. 5-26. Students unable to attend are asked to contact the professor to receive indication of further reading necessary for an independent study of the texts.

Attending the course is highly recommended.

The exam will consist of an oral test on the texts and topics covered in class and the assigned reading list. The tests will be held during the regular exam sessions. Students must demonstrate knowledge of the content of the texts covered and the ability to analyze them clearly, with a proper command of specialized vocabulary. The exam grade, if passed, is between 18 and 30 cum laude.

During the course, a selection of texts provided by the professor will be read and commented on lesson by lesson, contextualizing them also in the overall work of the philosophers treated and in the historical and cultural context of the time.