Ateneo - UPO

Philosophy Facing the Problem of Good and Evil: Paths in Twentieth-Century Thought

P. Ricoeur, Il male. Una sfida alla filosofia e alla teologia, Morcelliana, Brescia 2007

H. Jonas, tr. it. Il concetto di Dio dopo Auschwitz. Una voce ebraica, il melangolo, Genova 1993

L. Pareyson, Ontologia della libertà, Einaudi, Torino 1995, pp. 151-233

S. Weil, Il Bello e il Bene, Mimesis, Milano-Udine 2013

A collection of texts by Weil will be made available at the beginning of the course

The course aims to present (addressing both a basic and an advanced level) the essential turning points of several key 20th-century philosophical perspectives that have tackled the radical question of good and evil in relation to different cultural and religious horizons. The course also intends to provide students with the tools to independently comprehend a text in theoretical and moral philosophy concerning the question of good and evil, enabling them to express critical judgments on these issues.

Basic knowledge is required in order to have easily entrance to the courses of the department.

The course will be held in person with lectures and seminars.

Students with disabilities, Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD), or Special Educational Needs (SEN) can request specific services and tools by contacting the relevant office or visiting the dedicated page on the University website: https://uniupo.it/it/servizi/servizi-studentesse-e-studenti-condizione-di-disabilità-e-dsa. Students with disabilities, SLD, or SEN, after contacting the University staff, can contact the professor in charge of the course regarding the specific exam modalities and educational aspects.

During the oral examination the knowledge of the principal aspects of a wide content and its historical context will be tested (40%); then the analytic and synthetic understanding of a more specific content with peculiar attention to the correctness of the exposition will be tested (30%); at the end the commentary of a text explained during the lectures and a critical and autonomous judgment about it will be required (30%). The questions (at least three) will concern the three aspects mentioned before and the final mark will be given with reference to the indicated percentages. To achieve a sufficient mark, the student must show to know and understand the basic aspects of themes and authors of the programme. To achieve an excellent mark, the student must show to know and understand in depth all the topics investigated.

Following a general introduction to the problem of good and evil, the course will present—also through the reading and commentary of selected texts—the philosophical perspectives on good and evil developed by Ricoeur, Pareyson, and Simone Weil, which are rooted in different ways within a Christian cultural context, as well as that of Jonas, which draws upon a Jewish cultural model

It is expected that students can orientate themselves in an adequate way in knowing and understanding (also applied) of the proposed contents and that they learn how to use some essential critical tools to express in an autonomous and operative way a personal judgment about these contents.