General information

Course type AMUPIE
Module title The Concept of Free Will Throughout the Ages
Language English
Module lecturer prof. UAM dr hab. Maria Marcinkowska-Rosół
Lecturer's email marmarro@amu.edu.pl
Lecturer position professor UAM
Faculty Faculty of Polish and Classical Philology
Semester 2023/2024 (summer)
Duration 30
ECTS 4
USOS code 03-AP-CFTA

Timetable

Module aim (aims)

- to gain a deeper understanding of the idea of free will

- to gain knowledge of the main problems connected with the concept of free will

- to gain knowledge of the origin of the concept of free will in the Western Culture

- to gain knowledge of the development of the concept of free will in the Western philosophy

- to be able to link the premodern theories of human freedom with the modern theories and research in the area 

- to be able to discuss the problem of human freedom in the historical context

Pre-requisites in terms of knowledge, skills and social competences (where relevant)

All students interested in the topic are welcome.

Syllabus

 

    1. The concept of free will – introduction

 

    1. Plato and Aristotle on human freedom

 

    1. Hellenistic conceptions of freedom

 

    1. The conceptions of freedom in the Roman period

 

    1. The conceptions of freedom in the Roman period

 

    1. Medieval disputes on free will 

 

    1. Medieval disputes on free will 

 

    1. The concept of free will in the Renaissance

 

    1. The concept of free will in Early Modern Philosophy 

 

    1. The concept of free will in Early Modern Philosophy 

 

    1. The concept of free will in Early Modern Philosophy

 

    1. The concept of free will in Late Modern Philosophy

 

    1. The concept of free will in Contemporary Philosophy

 

    1. The concept of free will in Contemporary Philosophy

 

    1. Free Will and Neuroscience

 

Reading list

  1. Kane (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Free Will, New York, 2001.
  2. Albrecht Dihle, The Theory of Will in Classical Antiquity, Berkeley - Los Angeles - London 1982.
  3. Charles H. Kahn, Discovering will: From Aristotle to Augustine, In John M. Dillon & A. A. Long (eds.), The Question of "Eclecticism": Studies in Later Greek Philosophy. Berkeley: University of California Press 1988, pp. 235-260.
  4. Honderich, T. (Ed.), The Oxford Companion to Philosophy. : Oxford University Press, 2005.
  5. Jörn Müller, Roberto Hofmeister Pich (Hg.): Wille und Handlung in der Philosophie der Kaiserzeit und Spätantike, Bd. 287. Berlin/New York: De Gryuter (Beiträge zur Altertumskunde), 2010.