Filozofia współczesna II

Wiedza
Student zna i rozumie zagadnienia współczesnej filozofii i ich wpływ na kulturę współczesną
Powiązane efekty kierunkowe:
F1aK_W05
Metody weryfikacji:
Egzamin
Inne:Dyskusja na zajęciach.

Wiedza
Student zna współczesny sposób opisywania problemów filozoficznych i poprawnie posługuje się terminologią
Powiązane efekty kierunkowe:
F1aK_W11
Metody weryfikacji:
Egzamin
Inne:Dyskusja na zajęciach.

Umiejętności
Student potrafi twórczo analizować teksty z zakresu filozofii współczesnej, także w językach obcych
Powiązane efekty kierunkowe:
F1aK_U04
Metody weryfikacji:
Egzamin
Inne:Dyskusja na zajęciach.

Kompetencje społeczne
Student rozumie różne nurty filozofii współczesnej, potrafi je identyfikować i analizować. Przejawia zrozumienie dla pluralizmu filozofii współczesnych.
Powiązane efekty kierunkowe:
F1aK_K03
Metody weryfikacji:
Inne:Dyskusja na zajęciach.

Konwersatorium:
Course Description

Main subjects treated and educational objectives

The course of “Contemporary Philosophy II” is defined as an advanced discussion class, aimed no less at enticing the students to engage in independent philosophical thinking than at acquainting them with a philosophical subject. The instructor (who does not specialize in contemporary philosophy, but appreciates several proposals advanced by contemporary philosophers) intends for his Fall 2025 course to be devoted to a work that develops Martin Heidegger’s crucial insights into the notion of truth via a methodological examination of Plato’s statements on truth. The work in question is The Essence of Truth: On Plato’s Parable of the Cave and the Theaetetus (Vom Wesen der Wahrheit: zu Platons Höhlengleichnis und Theätet, the 1931–32 lectures). The instructor is familiar with the sources that Heidegger comments on, especially with Plato’s Republic and Theaetetus (which the instructor studied in original) and will offer a commentary that touches upon both the issue of Heidegger’s accuracy with respect of Plato’s texts and the question of truth as such. Yet another perspective will be provided, one inspired by the manner in which Plato’s notion of truth obtained further refinement in Plotinus. The instructor will attempt to address, while reading Heidegger, the problem of inner duality of truth as opposed to simplicity of existence. 

Secondary educational objectives

The course is aimed at improving analytical reading skills through reading its requirements and moderated discussion. The final essay is intended to develop students’ ability to offer a critical and synthetic account of texts they study.

Prerequisites

Neither the curriculum nor the instructor present formal prerequisites to the students, viewing that the course is taught as an elective class in Erasmus program, and as a Senior year course in BA Philosophy. Students are required, however, to be capable of reading significant amounts of philosophical texts in English (originally published in French, in this particular case), o be able to take part in discussions and write in English. The instructor can accommodate, in special cases, the needs of students writing in French, Italian, or Greek.

The instructor assumes student’s familiarity with the readings assigned for classroom meetings and shall reduce their classroom activity grade if students cannot answer the instructor’s questions based on those readings.

Class calendar and reading assignments

# — Date — Clsrm — Subejcts/Readings — Code — Assignmemt

— 2025-10-06 — B302 — Introductory class: introduction to the book, work arrangements for the semester, course modalities — —

— 2025-10-13 — B302 — Commentary and discussion: “Preliminary Considerations”, §§1–2 — —
— 2025-10-20 — B302 — Commentary and discussion: Part I Chapter 1, “The Four Stages of the Occurrence of Truth”, §§ 3–4 (Parts A and B) — —
— 2025-10-27 — B302 — Commentary and discussion: Part I Chapter 1, “The Four Stages of the Occurrence of Truth”, §§ 5–9 (Part C) — —
— 2025-11-03 — B302 — Commentary and discussion: Part I Chapter 1, “The Four Stages of the Occurrence of Truth”, §§ 10–11 (Part D) — —
— 2025-11-17 — B302 — Commentary and discussion: Part I Chapter 2, “The Idea of the Good and Unhiddenness”, §§ 12–15 — —
— 2025-11-24 — B302 — Commentary and discussion: Part I Chapter 3, “The Question Concerning the Essence of Untruth”, §§ 16–19 — —
— 2025-12-01 — B302 — Commentary and discussion: Part II Chapter 1 “Preliminary Considerations”, §§ 20–21; Chapter 2, “Beginning of the Discussion of Theaetetus’ First Answer: ἐπιστήμη is αἴσθησιϛ. Critical Demarcation of the Essence of Perception”, §§ 22–25 — —
— 2025-12-08 — B302 — Commentary and discussion: Part II Chapter 3 “Stepwise Unfolding of Perceiving in All Its Connections”, Steps A and B, §§ 26–28, Step C, §§ 29–30 — —
— 2025-12-15 — B302 — Commentary and discussion: Part II Chapter 3 “Stepwise Unfolding of Perceiving in All Its Connections”, Step C, §§ 31–33 — T — Proposals for essay subjects due
— 2025-12-22 — Virtual — Commentary and discussion: Part II Chapter 3 “Stepwise Unfolding of Perceiving in All Its Connections”, Step D, §§ 34–35 — —
— 2026-01-05 — Virtual — Commentary and discussion: Part II Chapter 4 “Towards a Discussion of Theaetetus’ Second Answer: ἐπιστήμη Is ἀληθὴϛ δóξα. The Various Meanings of δóξα”, §§ 36–38 — E — Final essays due
— 2026-01-12 — B302 — Commentary and discussion: Part II Chapter “The Question Concerning the Possibility of the ψευδής δóξα”, Section A, §§ 39–40 — —
— 2026-01-19 — B302 — Commentary and discussion: Part II Chapter “The Question Concerning the Possibility of the ψευδής δóξα”, Section B, §§ 41–43 — —
— 2026-01-26 — B302 — Commentary and discussion: Part II Chapter “The Question Concerning the Possibility of the ψευδής δóξα”, Section B, §§ 44–46 — —

Konwersatorium:
The course has the format of a discussion class. There is a reading assigned to each class meeting, shown above, in the former section of the syllabus. The students are expected to acquaint themselves with the assigned reading in advance. The classroom discussion and commentary shall begin from a synopsis of the argument presented by the author in the chapter under consideration. Students not capable of contributing to this synopsis will receive a reduced participation grade for this day’s class meeting. During the discussion, students will be asked questions, requested to provide and formulate definitions of key concepts, and encouraged to offer a (constructive or destructive) criticism of the scrutinized author’s views and arguments. This effort is subsequently reflected in the final essay, whose requirements are presented in detail in next section of the syllabus.

Egzamin :
(2) Essay

(a) Essay subjects

At the classroom meeting marked with letter “T” in the calendar above, students will be asked to propose, even in a loose manner, the subjects of the essays that they intend to write. They can be based on any reading assigned in the course or on an additional reading, if approved by the instructor. Those subjects will be discussed collectively, with the instructor providing comments and proposing a formulation. On the basis of this formulation, the students shall send their final essay proposals for the instructor’s approval. This assignment can be either completed successfully or failed, and makes up 5% of the final grade.

(b) Completion of the essay

On the day marked in the classroom calendar with the letter “E”, essays are due. Essays need to be submitted via the online system (Moodle). Essays should not exceed 1750 words.

Essays should retrace, explain, and offer a commentary on, an argument made by the author of the text under scrutiny. A correct paraphrase of this argument is a prerequisite of writing a highly graded essay. However, it is important that students go beyond paraphrase and try to put forward their own evaluation of the arguments they discuss. Rubrics used in grading the essays are shown in Table 1.

(c) The material presented in the essay constitutes the basis of presentation of the essays during the (extended) final examination. The final grade is awarded in this presentation, and the preliminary grade can be modified due to collaborative improvements to the essay.

Table 1

 Essay Grading Rubrics — 100,00%

Components

Contents

Adequate presentation and paraphrase of the problem — 35%

Logically correct and consistent argument (in line with the level of consistency allowed by the text under scrutiny) —  2–4% will be deduced for each paragraph not serving the presentation of the argument in focus or otherwise straying from that argument — 35%

Form

Clarity

 — 0,5–2% will be deduced for an ambiguous   sentence — 10%

Grammar

 — 0,5–2% will be deduced for serious grammatical errors — 10%

Structure — 10% will be awarded to an essay with a clear structure — 10%

Plagiarism — negative points will be awarded in proportion to the plagiarized percentage of the essay — <0%

 


Inne Dyskusja na zajęciach.:
(1) Participation

Participation is graded in two sub-categories:

(a) Classroom presence

At the end of each class, the instructor takes the attendance and assigns to each student a grade, which reflects their attentive presence and work in the classroom. The scale used for this grade is the following one “Absent (0%), Very Late (25%), Late (50%), Tardy (75%), Present (100%).” At the end of the semester the results are averaged. 

(b) Classroom activity

At the end of each class, the instructor assigns a grade for a student’s activity in each particular class. 1 point is awarded for normal full activity of a student. The grade reflects both the spontaneous activity of the students and their capacity of answering questions based on the reading assigned for a classroom meeting.

Grades can exceed, however, in exceptional cases, 1 point. At the end of the semester, grades are added and divided by the sum of classes held in a semester. Empty grades (for canceled classes) are not taken into account. Missed classes are awarded a 0-points grade. A student who did not take care of getting acquainted herself / himself with the assigned reading cannot will have their good classroom activity grade reduced for the class.

Final grade

Calculation of the final grade is shown in Table 2. The percentages obtained in this calculation, executed by and visible to students in the online system (Moodle) are converted into final grades based on scale shown in Table 3. Also all grades obtained during the semester are shown in this scale, in parallel to point and percentage results. However, in grade calculations, only points and percentages are taken into account by the system.

The instructor may slightly amend the result calculated by the system, especially if to the advantage of a student.

Table 2 Course grading rubrics

Assignment — Code — Sum (up to 100,00%)

Essay — E — 65,0%

Participation, including — P — 35,0%

Classroom attendance — At —15,0%

Classroom activity — Ac — 20,0%

Table 3 Grading Scale

Threshold — Grade — Letter grade

< 60% — Insufficient — 2

60% — Passing — 3

73% — Passing plus — 3+ (3.5)

80% — Good — 4

87% — Good + — 4+ (4.5)

95% — Very Good — 5 

Other Disciplinary Issues

Using so-called “Artificial Intelligence”

One can hardly avoid noticing the easy availability of software systems that are advertised and marketed as “Artificial Intelligence” (AI). This is an deliberately erroneous name, given to generative pre-trained transformer software, based on predictive Large Language Models. The official recommendations at Ignatianum point to a number of risks involved by AI. The two major risks are rooted in the very nature of the aforementioned AI systems:

The risk of “weakening the capacity of self-development and critical thinking” due to dependence on technology is a result of the fact that AI systems have no intelligence whatsoever. Unlike humans and animals, AI systems are not endowed with any cognitive apparatus and have no means of either referring the chains of characters they produce to facts or of verifying and correcting the statements they appear to make. If one decides to rely on AI systems, one thereby relinquishes usage of actual and true intelligence.

The risk of “hallucinations” results from the fact that the aforementioned AI systems would be always producing an identical answer to an identical question, but not for the randomization that is involved in any answer. Thus, the answers produced by AI involve always an element of abandoning a paradigm found in earlier linguistic usage. Hallucination and abandonment of speech models considered to convey true statements are the core feature of AI, not a bug.

E-learning platform

The instructor communicates with the students and grades their work via the e-learning system “Moodle”, available at

moodle.ignatianum.edu.pl 

‣The essay needs to be submitted via the platform.

‣Students need to register with the system using their University e-mail accounts the system in order to become visible to the instructor, enrolled by him to the course, and be awarded grades. At first login, students need to activate their account by providing required information.

Familiarity with the Syllabus

The students are introduced by the instructor to this syllabus, which is also made available to them via the USOS and Moodle platforms. Afterwards, the instructor assumes that students know the syllabus, are aware of course requirements and assignment due dates.

Academic honesty

The instructor does not tolerate plagiarism. All instances of plagiarism are penalized by failing the assignment and passed to Disciplinary Commission for consideration.

Podstawowa:
Readings available at course Moodle module.

Heidegger, Martin. The Essence of Truth: On Plato’s Parable of the Cave and the Theaetetus. Translated by Ted Sadler. Continuum Impacts s. London / New York: Continuum / Bloomsbury Publishing, 2002.


Uzupełniająca:
Dahlstrom, Daniel O. Heidegger’s Concept of Truth. Modern European Philosophy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001.

DiCenso, James. Hermeneutics and the Disclosure of Truth: A Study in the Work of Heidegger, Gadamer, and Ricoeur. Studies in religion and culture. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1990.

Dreyfus, Hubert L. and Mark A. Wrathall. A Companion to Heidegger. Blackwell Companions to Philosophy 29. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2005.

Gordon, Haim and Rivca Gordon. Heidegger on Truth and Myth: A Rejection of Postmodernism. Phenomenology & Literature, 2. New York: Peter Lang, 2006.

Heidegger, Martin. Being and Truth [contains translation of 1933–34 lectures]. Translated by Gregory Fried and Richard Polt. Studies in Continental Thought. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2010.

———. Sein und Wahrheit: 1. Die Grundfrage der Philosophie; 2. Vom Wesen der Wahrheit [1933–34 lectures]. Gesamtausgabe 36–37, 2. Abteilung, Vorlesungen 1919–1944. Frankfurt am Main: Vittorio Klostermann, 2001.

———. Vom Wesen der Wahrheit: Zu Platons Höhlengleichnis und Theätet [1931–32 lecture, the basis for translation]. Gesamtausgabe 34, 2. Abteilung, Vorlesungen 1923–1944. Frankfurt am Main: Vittorio Klostermann, 1988.

Krell, David Farrell. Intimations of Mortality: Time, Truth, and Finitude in Heidegger’s Thinking of Being. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1986.

McManus, Denis. Heidegger and the Measure of Truth: Themes from His Early Philosophy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012.

Most, Glenn W. “Les Grecs de Heidegger.” In “Dire, démontrer, convaincre,” edited by André Laks and Michel Narcy, Philosophie antique 4 (2004). https://www.openedition.org/17730.

Nicholson, Graeme. Heidegger on Truth: Its Essence and its Fate. New Studies in Phenomenology and Hermeneutics. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2019.

Plato. Plato’s Theory of Knowledge: The ‘Theatetus’ and the ‘Sophist’ translated with a running commentary. Translated by Francis MacDonald Cornford. London: Kegan Paul, 1935. Reprinted 1966.

———. The Republic of Plato: Translated with Notes and an Interpretative Essay. Edited and translated by Allan Bloom. New York: Basic Books, 1968.

———. Theaetetus. Translated by Myles Burnyeat and M. J. Levett. Edited by Bernard Williams. Indianapolis: Hackett, 1994.

Stambaugh, Joan. Thoughts on Heidegger. Current Continental Research 217. [Pittsburgh, PA]; Washington, DC: Center for Advanced Research in Phenomenology; University Press of America, 1991.

Wrathall, Mark A. Heidegger and Unconcealment: Truth, Language, and History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010.