Modern Philosophy

The course examines the main protagonists of the modern period of philosophy, from the 17th to 19th centuries, with a particular focus on empiricist (Locke and Hume) and rationalist (Descartes and Leibniz) traditions, as well as on Kant and post-Kantian French and German philosophical schools. We will investigate modern philosophy's roots in medieval and renaissance philosophy and its direct influence on contemporary analytical and continental philosophy.This course introduces students to the origins of philosophy in classical antiquity, from the 7th c. BC to the 4th c. AD. The course will treat the most important Greek and Latin philosophers. Important topics that will be considered are cosmology and physics, philosophical theology, moral and political philosophy, with an emphasis on Plato and Aristotle, their sources and followers or critics.