Throughout the centuries, the word "analysis" has become an umbrella term used to describe methods and processes of reasoning within different domains of knowledge, or even whole disciplines like mathematical analysis. Meanwhile, references to analysis are also abundant in Western philosophical tradition, from Greek Antiquity to 20th century philosophy. To make one suggestive example, in his famous Philosophy of Enlightenment Ernst Cassirer even considered analysis as the paradigm around which the whole philosophy of 18th century could be understood. This wide-ranging thesis is both fascinating and problematic. Does it imply the existence of a common unifying methodology underscoring different philosophical systems or philosophical positions? Or was Cassirer pointing to a mere family resemblance, whereas a variety of analysis was there at play, instead? On the other hand, for which historical or philosophical reasons the whole domain of synthesis (considered, classically, the counterpart of analysis) seems to be missing from Cassirer's picture? In this seminar, we shall start from the above questions and extend them to other historical periods and case studies as well, at first by considering the early modern period and the Greek antiquity, and later by moving to contemporary philosophy. In this way we hope, through the reading and the discussion of relevant philosophical texts, to obtain a better understanding of the variety of traditions that contributed to frame the complex history of analysis.
P R O G R A M
(February 24)
Ernst Cassirer, The Philosophy of the Enlightenment, chap. I: The Mind of the Enlightenment, pp. 3-36 (Beacon Press, Boston 1955, orig. 1932).
(March 2)
Isaac Newton, Rules for the Study of Natural Philosophy (Principia, Book Three), pp. 87-93 (I. Newton, Philosophical Writings, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2004). "Analyse" in Encyclopédie de Diderot et d'Alembert (Paul-Jacques Malouin, 1751): http://encyclopédie.eu/index.php/science/772922625-analyse/772922625-ANALYSE
(March 23)
Jaako Hintikka – Unto Remes, The Method of Analysis. Its Geometrical Origin and its General Significance, ch. IX: On the Significance of the Method of Analysis in Early Modern Science, pp. 105-117 (D. Reidel Publishing Company, Dordrecht 1974).
(The program of subsequent sessions will be settled collectively)
