Philosophy of History B [ LFILO2291 ]

Basic instruction in the history of philosophy.

The course will attempt to lay out the origin of the concept of a " philosophy of history " by distinguishing it from epistemological questions about the foundations of historical science.
The course will present a historical overview of the evolution of the concept of a philosophy of history.

Next, the course will present some observations on differing interpretations of the concept in order to point out the conflicts that set these interpretations against each other.
On this basis, a more specific debate shall be studied in order to provide an example of the general presentation.

Upon successful completion of the course, the student should :
- Be able to identify the major schools of thought in the philosophy of history ;
- Know the fundamental concepts associated with those schools of thought ;
- Be able to explain briefly the conflicts of interpretation that have resulted within contemporary thought.

A 10 pages paper to be made based on the reading of a commentary proposed in the reading file. After the sending of the paper by email, the student will receive in return a question on the paper to be responded in the oral evaluation.

Exposition of the answer during the oral evaluation (15 min.).

The paper can be written in French, English, Spanish or German by means of an agreement with the incumbent.

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A new philosophy of history: the issue of the subject

The course proposes to compare the analyses of the use suggested in Homo Sacer II, 5 and IV, 1 with the Foucault lectures founding a hermeneutics of the care of the self that constitute to our sense another figure of the use of the self that responds to Agamben's concerns. Beyond their critic of the Christian-religious matter, both authors envisage a history of nude life susceptible of giving back a sense to the being of individuals subsumed under the technologies of management of populations. The perspective of a eudemonics of nude life will endeavor to indicate the conditions of finding a way out of the relation to desire that is imposed by the hedonistic order of the ethically well-ordered society.

Giorgio Agamben, Qu'est-ce qu'un dispositif ?, trad. par Martin Rueff, Rivages, Paris, 2007.

Giorgio Agamben, Opus Dei, Archéologie de l'Office (Homo Sacer, II, 5), trad. M. Rueff, Paris Seuil, coll. "L'Ordre philosophique", 2012.

Giorgio Agamben,  Homo Sacer IV,1, De la très haute pauvreté : règles et forme de vie, traduit par Joël Gayraud, Payot & Rivages, Paris, 2011.

De La Durantaye L., Giorgio Agamben: A Critical Introduction, Stanford University Press, 2009.

Michel Foucault, Subjectivité et vérité, Cours au Collège de France (1980-1981), Ed. EHESS/Seuil/ Gallimard, Paris, 2014.

Michel Foucault, L 'herméneutique du sujet. Cours au Collège de France (1981-1982), Ed. EHESS/ Seuil/Gallimard, Paris, 2001.

Maesschalck M., «  Un sujet pour l'éthique ? Le pouvoir sur la vie nue de Agamben à Levinas », in Revue d'éthique et de théologie morale, n° 271, Cerf, Paris, 2012, pp. 11-25.

Pinheiro Gomez R.,  « Agamben lecteur de Foucault », in Nouvelle critique sociale, Europe-Amérique Latine, Aller-Retour, M. Maesschalck, A. Loute (éds), Polimetrica, Monza/Italy, 2011, pp. 117-153.

Popa D., « Giorgio Agamben. Les conditions de la communauté », in Nouvelle critique sociale, Europe-Amérique Latine, Aller-Retour, M. Maesschalck, A. Loute (éds), Polimetrica, Monza/Italy, 2011, pp. 91-115.

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