Méthodologie de la philosophie [LPHIB125]

Learning outcomes

This teaching unit helps students to become familiar with some of the most important authors in the history of philosophy, as well as with the language, concepts and working tools necessary for the practice of this discipline. This is an introductory course that makes up for the absence of history of philosophy courses in the first year of study. It also provides students with a basic understanding of the history of philosophy, which is essential for the study of philosophical authors and issues in the other philosophy courses on the first-year syllabus. A more practical part will introduce students to essential working tools (dictionaries, encyclopaedias, bibliographies, websites) and to methods for preparing texts, quotations, footnotes, etc.

At the end of the course, students should be able to

• be familiar with the major trends in the history of philosophy
• get to know the main lines of thought of a number of authors in the history of philosophy
• master some fundamental concepts in the history of philosophy
• be familiar with the main tools for studying philosophy
• master the technique of constructing a philosophical text (introduction/conclusion; footnotes; bibliography; table of contents)

Objectives

• Introduce students to the main philosophical concepts
• To enable students to familiarise themselves systematically and chronologically with the main currents in the history of philosophy
• Introduce students to the methodology of philosophical research, including the use of work instruments, libraries and research tools available on the web.

Content

In its theoretical part, the course will introduce the student, in a chronological and systematic way, to the thought of some philosophers who have marked the history of philosophy and some significant philosophical currents. By confronting them with an anthology of texts by some of the great philosophers who question the definition of philosophy, students will also be made aware of the difficulty of giving a univocal definition of philosophy.

In its practical part, the course deals with the various dimensions of the "methodology" of philosophy, essentially linked to everything that concerns access (both "practical" and "theoretical") to the philosophical text. Through practical exercises and visits to libraries and resources available on the web, students will learn to use research tools and to find their way in the 'world' of philosophy, whatever its dimensions: how to carry out research on a philosopher, on a philosophical term or concept; but also how to carry out bibliographical research and compile a bibliography,

Table of contents

Table of the "practical" part 1.1. Bibliography of philosophy a) Research tools and general works b) Tools available on the Web c) Access to texts d) Methodology of bibliographical research e) Drawing up a scientific bibliography 1.2. Libraries 1.3. Explanation and commentary of texts 2. Theoretical part 2.1. Changes in philosophy: What is philosophy? Anthology of philosophical texts that question the specificity of philosophy 2.2 Introduction to some major concepts in philosophy. The aim is to introduce students to the technical aspects of philosophy. The student should therefore become familiar with a few fundamental concepts of philosophy and become aware of their semantic evolution.

Exercises description

The exercises cover the "practical" part of the course