Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Philosophy

In this course, we will explore the sources, forms, and implications of the concept of alienation, as this emerged in the nineteenth century and developed over twentieth century philosophy. We will start, in the first part of the course, with an overview of the challenges brought about by Kant's philosophy with particular regard to the relation between nature and freedom. Particular attention will be given to the role of education and the re-evaluation of the finitude of human spirit in Fichte, Schiller, and Hegel. We will examine how the concept of alienation is related to the principle of moral autonomy, and how the ideal of self-determination advocated by philosophers of German Idealism shaped pedagogical programs of social and political reform. In the second part of the course, we will explore the relation between alienation and reification in social and political philosophy, starting with Marx and continuing with Arendt and the Frankfurt School. This theoretical journey will offer the basis to investigate alienation in relation to self-estrangement, environmental racism, and gender discrimination in selected classics of the twentieth century. We will also consider ways of resisting alienation by applying methodological frameworks inspired by Lugones' concept of world-traveling.