History of Philosophy in the Contemporary Era [LPHIB004]

Objectives

The aim of this course is to provide access to some of the major works of contemporary philosophy and to familiarise the student with the major issues and concepts of this period. It also aims to indicate to what extent these philosophical works offer tools for critically deciphering the complexity of our contemporary world.

Content

Theme of the course: "Subjectivity and Otherness". These are two fundamental concepts of contemporary philosophical reflection, from which it is possible to re-understand several of its most significant developments. From the major figure, in this respect, of Hegel, to Levinas, Ricoeur, Henry or Derrida, the course will endeavour to follow what could be called the "crisis" of modern subjectivity, brought about by the requirement to define the presence to oneself from a heteroaffection - whether this takes the diverse and varied forms of temporality, historicity, corporeality, or the Other. The course will focus on some of the great "post-Hegelian" thinkers, as well as on two great philosophers of the 20th century - Husserl and Heidegger. It will also show how movements such as phenomenology and hermeneutics have confronted the otherness of the dramatic events that have marked the last century.