The course of History of Philosophy I aims at being an introduction to the main problems of philosophical thinking, deepening on the basic assumptions that support it. It is therefore necessary to address the origins of philosophy and look into its first developments: because every philosophy constitutes already a way of dialogue with the philosophical tradition. The student thus acquires not only the basic methodological tools necessary for the understanding of classic texts, but also and above all, the ability to connect philosophical problems with the base from where they arose, in addition to acquiring a holistic view of the problems of philosophical thought from their origin. One will learn to critically read texts, to properly interpret, analyse and connect them to their ultimate sources. An indispensable philosophical foundation will be acquired to understand the development of philosophy, providing the student with basic philosophical vocabulary.

HISTORY OF THE PHILOSOPHY I LESSON 1: Greek thought in the axial age Parmenides of Elea and the poem of being LESSON 2: Socrates' death as a founding experience Reading and discussion of The Apology LESSON 3: Plato and the sofists Reading and discussion of Plato's Phaedrus LESSON 4: Plato: knowledge and politics Reading and discussion of The Republic I LESSON 5: Aristotle and the project of systematic knowledge Reading and discussion of Metaphysics I LESSON 6: Aristotle and Ethics as a theory of action and of virtue Reading and discussion of Nichomachean Ethics. LESSON 7 The political form of life Reading and discussion of Politics I-II LESSON 8: Greek epicureanism and its Roman heritage LESSON 9: Greek stoicism and its Roman Heritage LESSON 10: Augustin and the primacy of the Will LESSON 11: An open door to philosophy in the Middle Ages: Muslim philosophy, its Thomist reception and a first hint of the modern subject.

By analysing texts of the philosophical tradition we will develop a conceptual map of the evolution of the philosophical problematic that serves as the founding of our thinking, hence reading and text analysis constitutes the most important tools. These analyses will connect to theoretical content, provided by the teacher, to unravel the texts under study. Students should actively participate in the text commentary sessions and should deliver to the teacher three essays of the proposed texts. The student will count at all times with the teacher's assistance, through personalised tutorials if required.