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Introduction to Philosophy in the winter semester 2024/25: The aim of the course is to introduce the students to the field of philosophical questioning and to present philosophy as never-ending movement of thought rather than a system of particular teachings. To this end, we will use several examples of important texts of the Western philosophical tradition. The course will focus on the acquirement of the skills necessary for the interpretation of philosophical texts.
Introduction to Philosophy in the winter semester 2025/26: Introduction to Philosophy Pierre Hadot, Philosophy as a Way of Life Pierre Hadot (1922-2010) is one of the most influential and wide-ranging historians of ancient philosophy of our time. His books Philosophy as a way of life (Spiritual exercises from Socrates to Foucault, 1987) and What is ancient philosophy? (1995) present a history of philosophy as a spiritual exercise from Socrates to Foucault. By focusing our attention on this understanding of philosophy, Hadot provokes us to ask the question of what it means to philosophise today. Poslední úprava: Kranát Jan, Mgr., Ph.D. (16.01.2025)
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For the winter semester: There are two conditions for gaining the credits: 1) Being prepared for the classes and having read the assigned texts. 2) The students are asked to read one of the books introducing to philosophy. Each student should write a short essay about one of the philosophical questions chosen from the selected book (three pages) as well as prepare a short introduction to the question, which she/he will present to other students. For the summer semester: Credits can be earned by regular preparation and active participation in the seminar and the final colloquy resuming the private and common readings plus one of following topics:
1. Socrates’ Irony: Philosophy as a Way of Life, pp. 148-158 2. Socrates and Eros: Philosophy as a Way of Life, pp. 158-170 3. Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius: Philosophy as a Way of Life, pp. 191-202 4. Philosophy, Exegesis, and Creative Mistakes; Spiritual Exercises: Philosophy as a Way of Life, pp. 71-76; 81-89 5. Learning to Dialogue; Learning to Die; Learning How to Read: Philosophy as a Way of Life, pp. 89-109 6. The Value of the Present Instant: Philosophy as a Way of Life, pp. 217-235 7. The Sage and the World: Philosophy as a Way of Life, pp. 251-261 Poslední úprava: Kranát Jan, Mgr., Ph.D. (16.01.2025)
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The texts that will be read and interpreted during the winter semester: Patočka, Jan, Heretical Essays in the Philosophy of History (selected paragraphs), Descartes, René, Meditations on First Philosophy (1st, 2nd and 3rd meditation), Searle, John, Minds, Brains and Science (chapters I and II), Sartre, Jean-Paul, Existencialism is a humanism, Hume, David, An Enquiry concerning Human Understanding (chapters II–V, XI), Jaspers, Karl, Way to Wisdom. An Introduction to Philosophy (chapter IV)
Other literature: A) Introductions to philosophy: · Jostein Gaarder, Sophie’s World. A Novel About the History of Philosophy, New York: Berkleys Books 1996. · Roger Scruton, An Intelligent Person‘s Guide to Philosophy, Penguin Books 1998. · Edward Craig, Philosophy. A Very Short Introduction, Oxford: Oxford University Press 2002. · Thomas Nagel, What Does It All Mean?, Oxford: Oxford University Press 1987. · Simon Blackburn, Think. A Compelling Introduction to Philosophy, Oxford: Oxford University Press 1999. B) History of philosophy: · Anthony Kenny, A New History of Western Philosophy, 4 volumes, Oxford: Oxford University Press 2004–2007 (accessible online from the library catalogue). · Frederick Copleston, A History of Philosophy, 8 volumes, London: Burns & Oates 1946-1966 (accessible in the library). · John Shand, Philosophy and Philosophers. An Introduction to Western Philosophy, London: UCL Press 1993. C) Introduction to the texts read in the course: · Julia Annas, Ancient Philosophy. A Very Short Introduction, Oxford: Oxford University Press 2000 (Plato and Aristotle) · Simon Blackburn, „Knowledge“, in: Think. A Compelling Introduction to Philosophy, Oxford: Oxford University Press 1999, pp. 15–40 (René Descartes) · Scruton, Roger, Kant. A Very Short Introduction, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001. D) Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: https://plato.stanford.edu/index.html The encyclopaedia is a very useful online tool and its entries can serve as a good introduction to various philosophers and philosophical topics. Summer semester: Literature: · Pierre Hadot, What is ancient philosophy? Engl. translation Michael Chase, Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press 2002. · Pierre Hadot, Qu’est-ce que la philosophie antique?, Paris: Gallimard 1995. · Pierre Hadot, Philosophy as a Way of Life: Spiritual Exercises from Socrates to Foucault, Engl. translation Michael Chase, Oxford: Blackwell 1995. · Pierre Hadot, Exercices spirituels et philosophie antique, Paris: Albin Michel 1987. · Pierre Hadot, N’oublie pas de vivre: Goethe et la tradition des exercices spirituels, Paris: Albin Michel 2008.
Sources: · Plato, Socrates’ Defense (The Apology of Socrates), transl. Cathal Woods and Ryan Pack, 2007: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1023144 · Plato, Symposium, transl. David Horan, The Dialogues of Plato, vol. 2, 2021: https://www.platonicfoundation.org/translation/symposium/ · Plato, Phaedo, transl. Alex Long, Meno and Phaedo, Cambridge University Press 2010. · Aristotle, Metaphysics, transl. W. D. Ross, Oxford: Clarendon Press 1924. · Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, transl. Terence Irwing, Cambridge, Indianopolis: Hackett 1999. · Sextus Empiricus, Outlines of Scepticism, ed. Julia Annas – Jonathan Barnes, Cmabridge University Press 2000. · Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, transl. R. D. Hicks, vol. 2, London: Heinemann – New York: Putnam 1925. · Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, transl. G. Hays, New York 2002. Poslední úprava: Kranát Jan, Mgr., Ph.D. (16.01.2025)
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