History of Philosophy

The History of Philosophy course aims at a generalist training to ensure knowledge of the major questions debated from the origins of philosophy to the present day.

A training that deals with the classical questions of the history of philosophy

Cross-cutting issues :

• The fields of metaphysics,
• the fields of theory of knowledge, 
• the fields of philosophy of science and technology, 
• areas of ethics,
• the field of political and legal philosophy,
• the fields of aesthetics.

Questions that are articulated according to the major periods of this history:

• Ancient philosophy, 
• medieval and renaissance philosophy,
• modern philosophy,
• contemporary philosophy.

Consider philosophy in its history to understand the genesis and evolution of its issues

The proposed electives study the great periods of the history of philosophy, because understanding philosophical debates presupposes that they are restored in the continuity of this history. Philosophical authors are not separated from the period in which they were born, placing them in a historical perspective that led them to comment, use and reinterpret those who preceded them. Understanding the continuities but also the ruptures specific to this history is necessary to apprehend, without anachronism, the different moments that comprise it. 

The interest of this master's course is to enable a generalist training, making a distinction between lectures and seminars, which is also an introduction to research. General courses are therefore offered, whether on authors, currents of thought or notions, to constitute a solid knowledge base and methodological practices. They are complemented by research seminars during which more in-depth and technical questions are addressed, sometimes thanks to the insights of ad hoc external speakers, chosen from among the best French and international specialists, on these issues.

Finally, some of the courses on History of Philosophy programs are shared with the Contemporary Philosophy program because the issues and the stakes that navigate philosophical questioning are not only those of a past history but on the contrary are perpetuated in history as it is written today.