|
Lecturer(s)
|
|
|
|
Course content
|
Course Title: Organismic Thinking in Philosophy Course Description This course examines the philosophical tradition that understands living beings as irreducible wholes rather than complex machines. Beginning with Aristotle's foundational claim that the soul is the "first actuality of an organic body" and Descartes' counter-thesis that the body operates as a mechanical automaton, we trace the development of organismic thinking through Kant's critical analysis of "natural purposes," the existential biology of Hans Jonas, Bergson's critique of both mechanism and finalism, Uexküll's revolutionary concept of the Umwelt, Goldstein's holistic neurology derived from clinical work with brain-injured patients, Canguilhem's philosophy of biological normativity, and Varela's theory of autopoiesis. The course addresses a fundamental question: Why can't we adequately understand living beings using the same conceptual tools we apply to machines? Students will encounter this question in concrete contexts (pathology, perception, behavior, evolution) and examine the philosophical reasons for thinking that organisms require a distinct ontological and epistemological framework. Central themes include: the reciprocal causation of parts and whole; the organism's constitution of its own meaningful environment; biological normativity and the nature of health and disease; metabolism as self-constitution; and the deep continuity between life and mind. No prior familiarity with these authors is assumed. Students will develop skills in close textual analysis, conceptual comparison across historical periods, and the application of philosophical frameworks to concrete biological and medical phenomena.
|
|
Learning activities and teaching methods
|
|
Dialogic Lecture (Discussion, Dialog, Brainstorming), Work with Text (with Book, Textbook)
|
|
Learning outcomes
|
Students will become familiar with the philosophical tradition that understands living beings as irreducible wholes rather than complex machines. Students will develop skills in close textual analysis, conceptual comparison across historical periods, and the application of philosophical frameworks to concrete biological and medical phenomena.
|
|
Prerequisites
|
The course will be conducted in English. Students will be required to read literature in English and complete short writing assignments. All course materials will be provided at the beginning of the course and throughout the semester as needed.
|
|
Assessment methods and criteria
|
Student performance
Students are expected to read excerpts from primary texts before each lesson, actively participate in discussions, and complete several short writing assignments.
|
|
Recommended literature
|
|