Medieval Arabic and Jewish Philosophy

The purpose of this course is to provide a general and introductory overview of the history of medieval Arabic and Jewish philosophy, with particular reference to key authors and their works.
The course aims to convey a vision of the history of philosophy that includes "foreign" wisdom, which, through passage via different languages and cultures, has reached Latin Europe and thus constitutes an integral part of Western philosophical history.

Knowledge and Understanding:

By the end of the course, students will be able to:
- Present the fundamental concepts of Islamic and Jewish religion, theology and culture.
- Illustrate the main problems and topics of medieval Arabic and Jewish philosophy, as well as introduce major authors and their works.
- Reconstruct the fundamental lines of knowledge transmission, from Greek philosophy and science to Arabic philosophy, and from there to medieval Jewish thought.
- Understand specific philosophical terminology through direct reading of texts.
- Develop ability in critically reading, understanding, and contextualizing philosophical sources.
- Describe basic methodological tools for historiographical research.

Application of Knowledge and Understanding:

By the end of the course, students will have acquired:
- The ability to navigate historically and conceptually within the main currents of medieval Arabic and Jewish philosophy.
- Mastery of philosophical terminology acquired through direct reading of texts.
- Competence in navigating the development of philosophical thought across different cultures and languages.
- The ability to critically read a classic philosophical text.
- The skill to communicate in a conceptually organized manner what has been learned.