Philosophical anthropology [ LFILO1170 ]

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The course provides an introduction to some of the main topics in philosophical anthropology by linking them to the history of philosophy, the development of science and techniques and the cultural history of mentalities and sensibilities. The historical dimension is as important as the systematic dimension insofar as the course aims to enable students to form a critical analysis of the "contemporary status" of the human being. Following a comparative analysis of Socratic and Augustinian anthropology, we will perform an in-depth analysis of the critiques put forward by the masters of suspicion of both the first generation (Marx, Freud, Nietzsche) and the second (structuralism, Foucault).

By the end of the course, students will have covered some of the main topics in philosophical anthropology using philosophical texts and will be able to broaden their understanding of them;

relate these topics to certain scientific models (especially neuroscience and  psychopathology) and to place them in the context of wider cultural movements (especially the current social and political context).

The course also aims to develop students' ability to analyse, synthesise and transfer information they have learnt in the form of an individual study of an anthropological topic of their own choice

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This introductory course covers some major themes in philosophical anthropology on the basis of noteworthy texts from the history of philosophy : the body and the flesh, time and space, the human condition, joy and suffering, liberty and artificiality, death, dignity and vulnerability.

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