Medieval Philosophy
A.Y. 2025/2026
Learning objectives
This course aims at providing students, through the study of relevant authors and problems, with 1) a thorough understanding of the history of medieval thought; 2) the essential critical tools that allow them to read autonomously and critically philosophical texts authored by medieval authors and to analyze their context, their sources, their argumentative forms.
Expected learning outcomes
Knowledge and understanding
At the end of the course, the student
- knows a decisive phase of the development of philosophical and scientific thought through the reading of primary and secondary sources
- understands how scientific traditions, ideas and argumentative forms changed between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance
- has an advanced knowledge of the bibliographical and methodological tools of research in the history of philosophy.
Ability to apply knowledge and understanding
At the end of the course, the student
- is able to philologically understand texts and essays examined in class
- is able to clearly and thoroughly expound the problems discussed in these texts and to critically evaluate their interpretations
- can apply the knowledge and reading methods learned in class to other philosophical and scientific texts and problems.
At the end of the course, the student
- knows a decisive phase of the development of philosophical and scientific thought through the reading of primary and secondary sources
- understands how scientific traditions, ideas and argumentative forms changed between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance
- has an advanced knowledge of the bibliographical and methodological tools of research in the history of philosophy.
Ability to apply knowledge and understanding
At the end of the course, the student
- is able to philologically understand texts and essays examined in class
- is able to clearly and thoroughly expound the problems discussed in these texts and to critically evaluate their interpretations
- can apply the knowledge and reading methods learned in class to other philosophical and scientific texts and problems.
Lesson period: First semester
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Single course
This course cannot be attended as a single course. Please check our list of single courses to find the ones available for enrolment.
Course syllabus and organization
Single session
Responsible
Lesson period
First semester
Course syllabus
The course is addressed to students of the Master's Degree in Philosophical Sciences and other students of the University whose plan includes the possibility of choosing the course of History of Medieval Philosophy for 6 or 9 CFU.
The course has three main objectives:
1) to examine, through direct reading of patristic and medieval texts, the theme of philosophy as self-knowledge and soul-care
2) to critically reconstruct the historiographical debate on philosophy as a theory or as a way of life
3) to offer an analytical reading of Petrarch's De ignorantia, placing it back in its historical and cultural context.
The course has three main objectives:
1) to examine, through direct reading of patristic and medieval texts, the theme of philosophy as self-knowledge and soul-care
2) to critically reconstruct the historiographical debate on philosophy as a theory or as a way of life
3) to offer an analytical reading of Petrarch's De ignorantia, placing it back in its historical and cultural context.
Prerequisites for admission
Basic knowledge of medieval philosophy
Teaching methods
Lectures and debates
Teaching Resources
Common program for both the 6 and 9 ECTS credit exams:
Texts:
1) A selection of patristic and medieval texts provided in class
2) Boezio di Dacia, Del sommo bene, in Boezio di Dacia, Sull'eternità del mondo, Sui sogni, Sul sommo bene, a cura di L. Bianchi, La Vita Felice, Milano 2017, pp. 233-250
3) F. Petrarca, De ignorantia. Della mia ignoranza e di quella di molti altri, a cura di E. Fenzi, Milano, Mursia, 1999
Secondary Literature:
J. Domański, La philosophie, théorie ou manière de vivre? Les controverses de l'Antiquité à la Renaissance [..] avec une préface de Pierre Hadot, Cerf-Editions Universitaires de Fribourg, Paris-Fribourg, 1996 (traduzione inglese disponibile online su Minerva : Philosophy, Theory or Way of life? Controversies in Antiquity, the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. With a Foreward by Pierre Hadot [ ] With an Essay by Krzystof Łapiński, Leiden/Boston, Brill, 2024)
Additions for the 9 ECTS credit program:
1) A text (two texts for non-attenders) to be chosen from:
- L. Bianchi, «Petrarca e la filosofia», in Petrarca, a cura di G. Baldassari e C. Berra, Firenze, Carocci, 2025, pp. 349-364
- E. Fenzi, «Filosofia», in Lessico critico petrarchesco, a cura di L. Marcuzzi, R. Bovia, Carocci, Firenze 2016, pp. 126-139
- É. Anhéim, «Pétrarque: l'écriture comme philosophie», Revue de synthèse, 129 (2008), pp. 587-609 (available on MyAriel)
- C. Celenza, «What counted as Philosophy in the Italian Renaissance? The History of Philosophy, the History of Science, and Styles of Life», Critical Inquiry, 39 (2013), pp. 367-401 (available on MyAriel)
- E. Garin, «Il filosofo e il mago», in L'uomo del Rinascimento, a cura di E. Garin, Laterza, Roma-Bari,1989, pp. 167-202
- P. Hadot, La filosofia come modo di vivere. Conversazioni con Jeannie Carlier e Arnold I. Davidson, Einaudi, Torino, 2008, pp. pp. 133-216
- R. Imbach, «Virtus illitterata. Il significato filosofico della critica della Scolastica nel De sui ipsius et multorum ignorantia di Petrarca», in R. Imbach, C. König Pralong, La sfida laica, Carocci, Firenze, 2016, pp. 115-128
- J. Sellars, «Renaissance Humanism and Philosophy as a Way of Life», Metaphilosophy, 51, 2020, pp. 226-243 (available on MyAriel)
International students who do not read Italian can agree with the lecturer on a complete bibliography in English.
Texts:
1) A selection of patristic and medieval texts provided in class
2) Boezio di Dacia, Del sommo bene, in Boezio di Dacia, Sull'eternità del mondo, Sui sogni, Sul sommo bene, a cura di L. Bianchi, La Vita Felice, Milano 2017, pp. 233-250
3) F. Petrarca, De ignorantia. Della mia ignoranza e di quella di molti altri, a cura di E. Fenzi, Milano, Mursia, 1999
Secondary Literature:
J. Domański, La philosophie, théorie ou manière de vivre? Les controverses de l'Antiquité à la Renaissance [..] avec une préface de Pierre Hadot, Cerf-Editions Universitaires de Fribourg, Paris-Fribourg, 1996 (traduzione inglese disponibile online su Minerva : Philosophy, Theory or Way of life? Controversies in Antiquity, the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. With a Foreward by Pierre Hadot [ ] With an Essay by Krzystof Łapiński, Leiden/Boston, Brill, 2024)
Additions for the 9 ECTS credit program:
1) A text (two texts for non-attenders) to be chosen from:
- L. Bianchi, «Petrarca e la filosofia», in Petrarca, a cura di G. Baldassari e C. Berra, Firenze, Carocci, 2025, pp. 349-364
- E. Fenzi, «Filosofia», in Lessico critico petrarchesco, a cura di L. Marcuzzi, R. Bovia, Carocci, Firenze 2016, pp. 126-139
- É. Anhéim, «Pétrarque: l'écriture comme philosophie», Revue de synthèse, 129 (2008), pp. 587-609 (available on MyAriel)
- C. Celenza, «What counted as Philosophy in the Italian Renaissance? The History of Philosophy, the History of Science, and Styles of Life», Critical Inquiry, 39 (2013), pp. 367-401 (available on MyAriel)
- E. Garin, «Il filosofo e il mago», in L'uomo del Rinascimento, a cura di E. Garin, Laterza, Roma-Bari,1989, pp. 167-202
- P. Hadot, La filosofia come modo di vivere. Conversazioni con Jeannie Carlier e Arnold I. Davidson, Einaudi, Torino, 2008, pp. pp. 133-216
- R. Imbach, «Virtus illitterata. Il significato filosofico della critica della Scolastica nel De sui ipsius et multorum ignorantia di Petrarca», in R. Imbach, C. König Pralong, La sfida laica, Carocci, Firenze, 2016, pp. 115-128
- J. Sellars, «Renaissance Humanism and Philosophy as a Way of Life», Metaphilosophy, 51, 2020, pp. 226-243 (available on MyAriel)
International students who do not read Italian can agree with the lecturer on a complete bibliography in English.
Assessment methods and Criteria
The final examination consists of a 30 minutes oral exam, whose purpose is to test the knowledge and skills acquired by students. The grading system for the final exam is based on a 0-30 scale, 18 being the lowest passing mark. Evaluation criteria:
- knowledge of the texts and of the essays examined during the course (knowledge);
- ability to understand concepts and arguments (understanding)
- ability to critically evaluate different interpretations of texts and historical problems (development);
- use of language (exposition).
- knowledge of the texts and of the essays examined during the course (knowledge);
- ability to understand concepts and arguments (understanding)
- ability to critically evaluate different interpretations of texts and historical problems (development);
- use of language (exposition).
Modules or teaching units
Parte A e B
M-FIL/08 - HISTORY OF MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHY - University credits: 6
Lessons: 40 hours
Parte C
M-FIL/08 - HISTORY OF MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHY - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Professor(s)
Reception:
Monday 14.30-16.30
Studio Ghiacciaia (first floor)