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MA module The Essays by Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) is a difficult text, just like the attempt to find in them an order is: each essay deals with a different topic, and the treatment of each topic is often made up by a subtle web of other topics. One easily falls under the impression of being confronted to a chaotic text as well as to an author, who jumps from one argument to another. But the key to access the text is provided by Montaigne himself in the premise to the reader: the aim of the Essays is that of “painting a sincere portrait of one’s self”. This course will focus on such declaration, which is developed by Montaigne in his book and is at the core of his philosophical project. What is the self he talks about? And how does this reconnect with the “culture of the soul” he intends to deploy, whilst describing his own but also other kind of human experiences (from Julius Caesar and Epaminondas, as heroes of the past, to the cannibals of the “New world”), by relying on the fact that each human being “brings in herself the form of humanity”? These are some of the main questions around which the course will revolve. Other instruments to better understand the meaning of the utterance “sincere portrait” will be provided by the study of the criticisms of readers such Pascal and Rousseau as well as by some incursion in history of art: criticisms such that of Pascal become clearer, if put beside the account of “true images” of the religious of Port-Royal and put into practice by the painters Philippe (1602-1674) and Jean-Baptiste de Champaigne (1631-1681). NB: Permanent link to Zoom meetings on Moodle. Please register to the Moodle page of this course to access it Poslední úprava: Tropia Anna, Ph.D. (30.09.2020)
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The aim of the course will be that of stimulating the discussion and the reflection by the students around a selection of texts from the Essays. Poslední úprava: Tropia Anna, Ph.D. (12.09.2020)
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1. (see Moodle)
Michel de Montaigne, The Complete Essays. Transl. By M. A. Screech, Penguin Classics 2003
René Descartes, The Philosophical Works of Descartes, 2 vols, ed. by J. Cottingham, Cambridge University Press, 1985-1991
Blaise Pascal, Pensées and Other Writings, Transl. By H. Levy, Oxford University Press 1995
Pierre Nicole, excerpta from the Essais de morale (Paris 1671)
Suggested readings (more on Moodle)
L. Brunschvicg, Descartes et Pascal, lecteurs de Montaigne. Éditions de la Baconnière, 1942
V. Carraud, L’invention du moi. PUF 2010
J. Benoist, V. Carraud, J-L Marion (eds), Montaigne: scepticisme, métaphysique, théologie. PUF 2004
M. Screech, Montaigne and Melancholy. The Wisdom of the Essays. Rowman and Littlefield, 2000
S. Lely, ““Peindre dans la verité”. Les images à Port-Royal, entre suspicion et devotion”, in Port-Royal et les images: un accès aux textes?, Actes de la journée d’étude organisée a’l’Université de Rouen en mai 2011, publiés par T. Gheeraert, Publications numériques du CérédI, 11, 2015.
Poslední úprava: Tropia Anna, Ph.D. (13.09.2020)
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Owing to the current situation, classes will be taught online in the form of video-conferences on the platform Zoom. Before the first class, the students registered on this Sis-page will receive an email with instructions. Zoom is very simple to use, but in case you had any problem, please contact me in due time: anna.tropia@ff.cuni.cz The requirements in order to complete this course are:
(1) In Class Active Participation, which includes: reading the assignements and regular attendance. Also, starting from the first classes, students will be asked to present the texts assigned for a short-in-class presentation (20'), to be discussed previously with the teacher.
(2) A Final Oral exam (in presence or online), to be discussed in due time during the term. Poslední úprava: Tropia Anna, Ph.D. (22.09.2020)
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Course-outline
1. Sketching “a sincere portrait” of one’s self. Glory, Presumption, and the storytelling of one’s own life (I, 26, 31; II, 7, 10, 14, 16, 17, 37; III, 10). 2. The shame of saying “I”: Pascal vs Montaigne 3. Painting a true image: religious painting and philosophy 4. Scepticism, theology and philosophy (II, 12; III, 9) Poslední úprava: Tropia Anna, Ph.D. (12.09.2020)
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