PHIL30960 Love and Knowledge

Academic Year 2023/2024

Love is one of the philosophical themes with the longest and richest tradition in the history of thought, yet it is little studied today. Or it is studied as an affect (or emotion), in the post-Cartesian tradition. Leading scholars have argued that the most original contribution that authors active in the Western world have made to the history of philosophy has been their reflections on love. In this module, we will study love as a means of knowledge both from a metaphysical perspective (love as knowledge of that which is beyond the sensible world) and from a subjective and inter-subjective perspective (love as knowledge of the self and knowledge of the other). In short, we are studying love not as an affect, but as an opening towards a form of knowledge through which the individual questions himself. The module values the detailed study of texts and considers the cultural contexts in which they were produced. We will study some of the most important authors who reflected on this topic: Plato, Plotinus, Augustin, Thomas Aquinas, Dante, and Marsilio Ficino.

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Curricular information is subject to change

Learning Outcomes:

* recognize the metaphysical nature of the question of love

* learn about texts and themes little studied by philosophers today

* reflect on a single philosophical theme from a long-term historical perspective

* learn how to write a philosophical essay in a structured manner

* appreciate the cultural diversity explored in these texts

* develop an awareness to authors and texts from the past

Indicative Module Content:

* eros and agape (definitions and misunderstandings: Platonic vs Christian views on
love?)
* love as affection vs love as epistemic leverage (Phenomenology, Descartes and Modernity vs Ancient
and Medieval approaches)
* love as desire (understood as absence or presence)
* love and beauty
* love as a philosophical way of life (Porphyry)
* love as knowledge
* metaphysical knowledge (Plato, Plotinus – beauty as transcendental and love
as key to accessing knowledge beyond the senses)
* self-knowledge – the role of Platonists in the development of Christian views
on love (Plotinus, Augustine, Ficino)
* love and ethics (Aquinas’ innovation and reaction against Augustine – Aquinas’
influence on Dante)
* “platonic love” is not… platonic (Ficino’s approach and interpretation)
* four types of love: idolatrous, eikonic, seductive, aghatonic

Student Effort Hours: 
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

24
Tutorial

8
Autonomous Student Learning

93
Total

125
Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Reading: an essential component of this module is *reading* and interpreting philosophical texts. Explaining and understanding seminal works is a necessary step to assimilate concepts and stimulate a solid and creative, personal thinking. Students will have to read between 2 to 5 pages every week.

Group projects: students learn when discussing and even contradicting one another. Collaborative work is also an effective way to negotiate or accommodate different opinions. Small groups will be encouraged to discuss in class various problems on the themes analyzed.

Essays: writing remains the most relevant way to structure personal thoughts and also how to engage with primary and secondary bibliographies.

Also:
* at least four hours of class and tutorial will be devoted entirely to preparing the essays, so that students can give their all and do their best to achieve good marks

* tutorials will be devoted to an in-depth study of the texts (a few short fragments), and will focus on students' questions about these texts

* attendance and active participation in courses and tutorials are not compulsory, but they are an aspect that can be taken into account for the final grades 
Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 
Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Open Book Exam Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade
Essay: A short commentary (up to 1,5000 words) on a short text discussed in class. The text is given at the end of the class in week 6; students have 72 hours to submit their commentary/essay. Week 6 n/a Graded No

50
Essay: A short commentary (up to 1,5000 words) on a short text discussed in class. The text is given at the end of the class in week 12; students have 72 hours to submit their commentary/essay. Week 12 n/a Graded No

50

Carry forward of passed components
No
 
Remediation Type Remediation Timing
In-Module Resit Prior to relevant Programme Exam Board
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 
Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

One-on-one meetings with registered students in weeks 3, 5 and 8 in order to identify problems of comprehension and enhance written / oral skills for the group project. Individual feedback in tutorials related to the group project in advance of the discussion / essay. Individual or group feedback on essay within two two weeks of assignment.

Primary sources
Plato, Symposium (at least Diotima’s speech)
Plotinus, Enneads I, 6, 7-9 and 5, 8, 2-3
Porphyry, The Life of Plotinus, §23
Augustine, Confessions (the following fragments: II, iv.9, v.10; III, i.1; VII,x.16; VIII,xii.28-29; X,
xxvii.38)
Marsilio Ficino, Commentary on the Symposium (speech VI, chapters 16-19; speech VI,
chapter 2)
Thomas Aquinas, Summa theologiae, I-II, q.26, a.1-4; q. 28, a. 3 and II-II, q. 26
Dante, The Divine Commedy, Purgatorio 17-18 and Paradiso 33.
Secondary sources
A. Nygren, Agape and Eros, Philadelphia, The Westminster Press, 1953 2 , p. 205-219
G. Fine (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Plato, Oxford, OUP, 2011, 286-310.
J.-L. Marion, The Erotic Phenomenon, Chicago / London, The University of Chicago Press,
2003, p. 1-10.
H. Arendt, Love and Saint Augustine, Chicago / London, The University of Chicago Press,
1996.
I. Murdoch, “The Sublime and the Good”, in Chicago Review 13.3(1959), p. 42-55.
A. Smith, “The Quest for Beauty and Truth”, in Classics Ireland 18(2011), p. 74-90.
Name Role
Mr Keith Feenan Tutor
Giuseppe Thomas Vitale Tutor
Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.
 
Spring
      
Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 Tues 11:00 - 12:50
Tutorial Offering 1 Week(s) - 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30 Tues 09:00 - 09:50
Tutorial Offering 2 Week(s) - 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30 Tues 10:00 - 10:50
Spring