Course program
Enlightenment and Critique
Starting from an analysis of Immanuel Kant's text on the Enlightenment, the course aims to focus the role and the effects of the Enlightenment rationalism, his supposed universality undermined by the dramatic experiences of the twentieth century, but even his unexpressed potentialities. The critique articulated by Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer in the famous book Dialectic of the Enlightenment, written during the Second World War, suffers from a double point of view: that of Europe devastated by fascism, which the authors had just left behind; and that of the American society, in which they lived. According to Adorno and Horkheimer, both of these points of view are different manifestations of a nefarious tendency that would be at the heart of the Enlightenment: the tendency of a reversal in its opposite, not only in the extreme barbarism of fascism, but also in the most hidden enslavement of the mass societies of liberal democracies. But, if reason cannot be the object of sacralization, it cannot even be the target of a devastating demolition. In this sense Michel Foucault develops a critique, focusing on the possibility of exercising again a "free" and "public" use of reason, which can open up a radical "ontology of the present".
Prerequisites
A knowledge corresponding to the level of the bachelor’s degree in philosophy is required. General knowledge of the fundamental issues at stake in theoretical philosophy is also required.
Books
1. Immanuel Kant, Risposta alla domanda che cos’è l’illuminismo?, qualsiasi edizione o traduzione italiana accreditata (ad esempio in Scritti di storia, politica e diritto, a cura di F. Gonnelli, Laterza, Roma 1995, pp. 45-52).
2. Max Horkheimer e Theodor Adorno, Dialettica dell’illuminismo, Einaudi, Torino 2010.
3. Michel Foucault, Che cos’è l’Illuminismo?, n. 13 e n. 17, in Archivio Foucault 3. 1978-1985. Estetica dell’esistenza, etica e politica, a cura di A. Pandolfi, Feltrinelli, Milano 2020, pp. 217-232 e 253-261
4. Michel Foucault, Che cos’è la critica?, ed. it. a cura di A. Di Gesu e M. Polleri, DeriveApprodi, Bologna 2024.
Frequency
Attending the course is highly recommended
Exam mode
The evaluation consists of an oral examination. The following will be assessed (also during the course) 1. Knowledge and understanding of the texts covered by the course, from the most general aspects to its details; in particular, the students' ability to confront a philosophical text and to critically and personally analyse specific aspects of it will be assessed (evaluation points 1-12). 2. The students' ability to express themselves and to master, even in detail, the vocabulary (evaluation points 1-8). 3. Knowledge of the philosophical context (with respect to the thought of the authors covered in the course and with respect to the philosophical currents of reference) (evaluation points 1-5). 4. The capability of original elaboration and personal exploration of the issues addressed (evaluation points 1-5)
Bibliography
Reading guides and introductions to the thought and specific works of the authors on the programme. Secondary literature on specific topics will be recommended during the course
Lesson mode
Lectures with reconstruction of the context and reading, analysis and commentary of the texts. The original texts will be constantly taken into account. Seminar discussion of the topics covered and possibility of “flipped classroom” experiments.