Philosophical Anthropology: Advanced Course

Description

The aim of the course is a critical discussion on definition of human nature in the context of contemporary continental philosophy. Special attention will be given on the philosophical analysis of the unstable relation between normality and anomaly and on the notion of “common sense”. Other disciplines (such as psychopathology, sociology, and cultural anthropology) will be referred to in order to investigate the anthropological dimension. At the end of the course the students should be able to: analyze a given philosophical text, identifying the key ideas and evaluating the argumentative structure; clearly articulate their own thoughts about and develop their own critical point of view towards these ideas; defend their own point of view in a productive discussion with the other students and with the teacher; have a clear awareness of the relevance of an interdisciplinary approach to a philosophical discussion in the area of philosophical anthropology; write a philosophical paper on the main subject of the course.