Checking date: 23/05/2025 10:21:14


Course: 2025/2026

Contemporary trends in philosophy
(13824)
Bachelor in Humanities (Study Plan 2018) (Plan: 407 - Estudio: 213)


Coordinating teacher: GONZALEZ MARIN, MARIA CARMEN EVA

Department assigned to the subject: Humanities: Philosophy, Language, Literature Theory Department

Type: Electives
ECTS Credits: 6.0 ECTS

Course:
Semester:




Requirements (Subjects that are assumed to be known)
- History of Ancient and Medieval Philosophy - History of Modern Philosophy * IMPORTANT NOTICE: Students and teachers may use AI as long as there is an agreement between them at the beginning of the course, and it is carried out with total transparency.
Objectives
This course is designed to introduce students to the exciting debates that characterize twentieth century philosophy. Among the most prominent trends are analytical philosophy, phenomenology, hermeneutics, deconstruction etc. Each of these subject areas challenges us to revisit our ancient and modern origins and interrogate the history of philosophy. Students will be asked to revisit the following questions: what is the logical consequence of accepting this philosophers argument? What other propositions are implied? We might also ask: what are the particular presuppositions that inform a particular theorist's writings? Who is he/she responding to and what are the central claims? Competencies: 1. Students will demonstrate mastery of the basic debates that characterized twentieth century thought. 2. Students will develop an understanding of how various theories were historically developed. 3. Students will learn to utilize basic critical thinking skills including the capacity to logically assess the claims of contemporary theorists. 4. Students will be able to enumerate the implications and consequences bound up with the acceptance of particular philosophical theories. 5. Students will possess the ability to identify, discuss and research issues of interest in twentieth century philosophy.
Learning Outcomes
LEARNING OUTCOMES 1.Have acquired advanced theoretical and practical knowledge and demonstrated an understanding of the theoretical and practical aspects and working methodologies of the Humanities, so as to achieve a high level of knowledge generation. 2.Be able, by means of arguments or procedures developed and supported by themselves, to apply their knowledge, understanding and problem-solving skills in complex areas concerning the Humanities, including specialised professional activities requiring the use of creative and innovative ideas. 3.Have the ability to collect and interpret data and information on which to base their conclusions, including, where necessary and relevant, reflection on social, scientific or ethical issues in the field of the Humanities. BASIC COMPETENCES 1.Students have demonstrated possession and understanding of knowledge in an area of study that builds on the foundation of general secondary education, and is usually at a level that, while relying on advanced textbooks, also includes some aspects that involve knowledge from the cutting edge of their field of study 2.Students are able to apply their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional manner and possess the competences usually demonstrated through the development and defence of arguments and problem solving within their field of study. 3.Students have the ability to gather and interpret relevant data (usually within their field of study) in order to make judgements which include reflection on relevant social, scientific or ethical issues. 4.Students should be able to communicate information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialist and non-specialist audiences. 5.Students will have developed the learning skills necessary to undertake further study with a high degree of autonomy. GENERAL COMPETENCES 1.Acquire the essential knowledge of the various subjects of the humanities disciplines: History, Art, Philosophy, Literature, Spanish Language, Languages, Geography and Classical Culture; of their epistemological evolution and of the relationship of each one with related scientific disciplines, starting from the knowledge acquired in secondary education and up to a level that guarantees knowledge of the state-of-the-art in the study of the Humanities. 2.To develop the linguistic and cultural competences of their community language 3.Acquire the different methods of analysis, synthesis, research and thought corresponding to the humanities disciplines studied. 4.Learning to produce ¿knowledge¿ related to the various humanities subjects. 6.Acquiring the ability to introduce and apply critical thinking when analysing information, data, ideas, opinions and concepts related to the world of the Humanities. 7.Acquiring the ability to tackle problems and provide solutions concerning issues related to humanities disciplines. SPECIFIC COMPETENCES 1.Knowing and being able to define and relate the concepts, limits and sources of the subjects concerning humanistic disciplines, as well as knowing the main lines of work and analysis of history, geography, culture, thought and language. 2.Knowing and being able to interpret texts, materials and creations linked to the world of thought, history, geography, theoretical reflection, culture and art, through their correct spatio-temporal contextualisation. 3.Being able to identify and analyse common processes, throughout history, in the relations between society and its intellectual, artistic and cultural productions. 4.Being able to produce analytical texts, essays and reports with rigour and applying a scientific method in accordance with good research and professional practices. 7.Learning and being able to apply the interdisciplinary approach of the degree in related disciplines, both in the world of culture and in the world of thought, communication, historical and geographical studies and creation and representation.
Description of contents: programme
TRENDS IN CONTEMPORARY THOUGHT 1. INTRODUCTION TO CONTEMPORARY THOUGHT. GENEALOGIES. 2. PRAGMATISM. 3. THE REVIVAL OF LOGIC AND CRITICISM OF METAPHYSICS. 4. FROM LOGICAL POSITIVISM TO PHILOSOPHY OF ORDINARY LANGUAGE. 5. ANALYTICAL PHILOSOPHY OF THE SECOND HALF OF THE CENTURY. 7. FROM PHENOMENOLOGY TO EXISTENTIALISM. 8. FRENCH EXISTENTIALISM. PHILOSOPHY AND LITERATURE. 9. CRITICAL THEORY. 10. STRUCTURALISM. 11. POSTMODERN TIMES. 12. HERMENEUTICS: DIALOGUE AND LANGUAGE. 13. DECONSTRUCTION AND PHILOSOPHY. 14. NEOPRAGMATISM AND THE END OF PHILOSOPHY. READINGS: 1 The birth of modernity ", in Ch. Delacampagne. History of Philosophy in the Twentieth Century; G. Steiner, Real Presences. REQUIRED READINGS: Nietzsche: Aurora, The Gay Science, Human All Too Human (Excerpts) Freud: The Poet and daydreams. 2 H. Putnam: Pragmatism REQUIRED READINGS: W. James: "The concept of truth in pragmatism". J. Dewey: "The influence of Darwinism on philosophy ", in the Misery of Epistemology. 3. J. Ayer: The logical positivism. IntroductioN. REQUIRED READINGS: G. Frege: "On Sense and Reference ". R. Carnap: "The overcoming of metaphysics through logical analysis of language ". 4. Ph. Alston: The Origins of Analytical Philosophy. Moore, Russell, Wittgenstein. REQUIRED READINGS: B. Russell: "Logical Atomism" L. Wittgenstein: Tractatus Logicus-Philosophicus; Philosophical Investigations (EXCERPTS) 5. E. Tugendhat. Introduction to Analytic Philosophy. REQUIRED READINGS: W. O. Quine: "Two Dogms of Empiricism " D. Davidson: "The empirical content" in Subjective, Intersubjective, Objective. Or "The myth of the subjective ", in Mind, World and ActioN. 6 W. Szilashi. Introduction to Husserl's Phenomenology REQUIRED READINGS: E. Husserl: An Invitation to Phenomenology, or The Idea of ¿¿Phenomenology. Five Lessons. 7. V. Fatone: Introduction to Existentialism. REQUIRED READINGS: M. Heidegger: § § 32 to 35 of Being and Time. 8. S. de Beauvoir: Existentialism and the Wisdom of the People. REQUIRED READINGS: J.P. Sartre: "Existentialism is a Humanism". A. Camus: "The Myth of Sisyphus". 9 r. Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School. REQUIRED READINGS: W. Benjamin: "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction". "Theses of the Philosophy of History" in Angelus Novus. T. Adorno, Minima Moralia (EXCERPTS). 10 G. Deleuze. "What is recognized as structuralism?" REQUIRED READINGS: M. Foucault. Technologies of the Self. 11. A. Giddens. "Structuralism, poststructuralism and cultural production" REQUIRED READINGS: J.F. Lyotard. The Postmodern Condition. 12. R. Koselleck. History and Hermeneutics. REQUIRED READINGS: H.G. Gadamer. "Language and understanding", in Truth and Method 2. 13. J. Culler. On Deconstruction REQUIRED READINGS: J. Derrida. "Sign, event, context "; Force of law CHAPTER 1. 14 R. Rorty: Philosophy: End or transformation? REQUIRED READINGS: R. Rorty: Contingency, Irony and Solidarity A. Badiou. Manifesto for Philosophy
Learning activities and methodology
The teaching method includes: 1) Lectures, which sets up guidelines for understanding the problems and the readings of the relevant texts (1.5 ECTS). 2) Seminar class work on texts previously read by students. The seminar should encourage student participation in both oral communication and in the discussion. (1.5 credits) 3) Reading by the student, as well as finding information in libraries and on the web (1.5 credits) 4) Writing papers and book reviews. (1 credit) 5) Tutoring: discussion of problems and revising their papers.
Assessment System
  • % end-of-term-examination/test 55
  • % of continuous assessment (assigments, laboratory, practicals...) 45

Calendar of Continuous assessment


Extraordinary call: regulations

The course syllabus may change due academic events or other reasons.