Fundamentals of Philosophy

PART I: COMPULSORY MODULE

1. PERIPHILOSOPHICAL NOTIONS ON PHILOSOPHY

   The subject Periphilosophical Notions on Philosophy is developed through four chapters, with the central theme focusing on the conception of philosophy that a particular philosophical system may hold. It aims to contextualize philosophy as a form of knowledge that must be understood within the historical-cultural contexts in which it has been practiced (the political implantation of philosophy). In this context, the course addresses general distinctions such as technique, science, barbarism, civilization, ideology, and more specific distinctions such as philosophy in the strict sense, philosophy in the broad sense, exempt philosophy, and immersed philosophy. Additionally, it offers a series of reflections on the relationship between philosophy and society, and argues the central thesis that philosophy is understood as a second-order knowledge. This subject is structured along the following lines:

   The different knowledge and philosophical knowledge.

   The different meanings of philosophy.

   Philosophy and the city.

   Philosophy as second-degree knowledge.

2. ONTOLOGY

   The subject of Ontology is broken down into five chapters. This is one of the core subjects of the Fundamentals of Philosophy course, as it presents the ontological system of philosophical materialism through its cardinal ideas: M, E, and Mi. Throughout five chapters, students are introduced to the concept of Matter, starting from mundane contexts and progressing to properly gnoseological contexts. The course then explores the ideas of ontological-special Matter (Mi), ontological-general Matter (M), and the transcendental Ego (E). Lastly, the system of ideas related to ontological-special Matter will be examined in contrast with the idealistic distinction between nature and culture. Students will encounter a highly original ontological framework that will serve as a valuable reference point—particularly in the History of Philosophy subject—for interpreting other philosophical systems within the tradition. The guidelines from which this subject has been constructed are the following:

   General notions on the idea of Matter.

   The idea of World and the genres of materiality.

   The general ontological matter.

   The idea of Transcendental Ego.

3. GNOSEOLOGY (THEORY OF SCIENCE)

   Gnoseology (Theory of science) is divided into six chapters. This subject is a crucial part of the Fundamentals of Philosophy course, as it introduces the Theory of Categorial Closure, which constitutes the theory of science within philosophical materialism. Together with Ontology, it forms an essential pair for interpreting both historical and contemporary philosophical systems. The main thesis of this subject is the idea that the sciences do not have a singular object of study as their defining characteristic. Instead, each science comprises a field made up of a heterogeneous multiplicity of objects, with each science constituting a category. In this sense, gnoseology is defined in contrast to epistemology, as well as to other general approaches to the sciences. One of the key features of this subject is its critical perspective on the concept of the scientific method. This viewpoint stems from the central thesis that sciences are gnoseologically autonomous and incommensurable forms of knowledge, and from the idea of scientific truth as a synthetic identity relative to each categorical field. Additionally, this subject provides students with a broad and systematic overview of other gnoseological theories of science, ranging from Aristotelianism to contemporary critical rationalism and postmodern theories. Lastly, criteria are provided to establish a classification of the sciences. The following aspects have been taken into account when configuring this subject:

   The fact of the variety of theories of science.

   Distinction between Gnoseology and Epistemology.

   Distinction between gnoseological and non-gnoseological approaches and their types.

   Systematization of gnoseological families.

   Structure of the body of science.

   Scientific method and classification of sciences.

4. NOETOLOGY

   The subject Noetology is developed over three chapters, centered on the concept of noetology as a form of rationality that lies between Logic and Psychology. Noetology is closely linked to the idea of rationality from an institutional perspective. In this context, the subject explores distinctions between epistemology, gnoseology, ontology, and noetology. It also examines the connections between gnoseological and noetological analysis, introducing the concept of the gnoseological cycle through examples from science and aesthetics. A key chapter in this subject focuses on the figures of dialectics, offering an original and effective approach to understanding dialectics in coordination with noetological analysis. This subject is structured along the following lines:

   Relevance and distinction of noetological analyses.

   The noetological cycle and the idea of rationality.

   The figures of dialectics interpreted noetologically.

   Formal logic and material logic: Noetology as dialectical material logic.

5. PHILOSOPHICAL ANTHROPOLOGY

   Philosophical Anthropology is a subject that revolves entirely around one of the philosophical questions par excellence of the philosophical tradition, namely: "What is Human?". This subject presents a comprehensive philosophical theory on the concept of Human, providing students with an understanding of the foundational elements that constitute the fabric of any anthropological philosophy, whether spiritualist, idealist, materialist, positivist, or otherwise. The originality of this subject lies in its approach, which incorporates the dialectics related to the anthropological diallel. In the initial phase, students of Philosophical Anthropology will be introduced to the generic concepts of cultural anthropology, such as folklore, ethnography, ethnology, and anthropology. Following this, a critical distinction will be made between predicative and non-predicative anthropologies. The subject will also explore the ideas of anthropological material and anthropological space. Another key topic is the definition of institutions and ceremonies within the framework of anthropological theory, which is significant not only for philosophical anthropology but also for its implications in other subjects. Finally, students will be introduced to the concept of Culture, examined through the lens of the myth of culture theory. This subject is organized and developed along four lines:

   Anthropology in worldly, scientific and philosophical contexts.

   The question of Man: anthropological material and anthropological space.

   Institutions and ceremonies.

   Culture as myth.

6. ETHICS, MORALS AND POLITICS 

   The subject Ethics, Morals and Politics is divided into four chapters. This subject begins with the premise that ethics, morality, and politics are distinct and often contradictory planes where human actions and norms develop in different ways. The norms of ethics should not be confused with those of morality and politics, as they may come into conflict or confrontation with one another. We will approach questions of ethics, morality, and politics by starting from everyday and scientific contexts and then moving toward second-degree philosophical reflection. The subject will analyze ethical theories, such as those of Piaget and Kohlberg, and will distinguish between material ethics and formal ethics. Next, we will focus on defining ethics, morality, and politics from the perspective of philosophical materialism. Lastly, we will address the highly relevant topic of bioethics, considering the dialectic between the ontological and gnoseological planes within its framework. This subject has been designed with the following aspects in mind: 

   Ethics, morals and politics from worldly and scientific perspectives.

   Philosophical reflection on ethics, morality and politics.

   Distinction between ethics, morals and politics.

   Bioethics from the coordinates of philosophical materialism.

7. AESTHETICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF ART

   This subject consists of four chapters that explore a wide range of topics related to the arts, aesthetics, philosophy of art, and the concept of substantive art, using numerous examples from various artistic categories such as sculpture, architecture, music, painting, and cinema. The subject Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art follows a systematic approach. Students will learn distinctions such as fine arts, useful arts, adjective art, substantive art, and aesthetics. They will also be introduced to the concept of artistic category and the dialectic between artistic disciplines and aesthetic ideas. This subject will also provide access to the current panorama of the different conceptions of art (subjectivism, naturalism, artificialism and aesthetic objectivism). Finally, the question of the boundaries between the arts is raised.

   This subject is structured along the following lines:

   Introduction to the vocabulary of the philosophy of art

   The level of categories and artistic disciplines.

   The conceptions of the artistic work.

   The boundaries between the arts.

8. THE ROLE OF PHILOSOPHY TODAY 

   The Role of Philosophy Today aims to introduce students, over the course of three chapters, to the understanding of philosophical critique within the contexts of scientific-technological, political, and religious knowledge. This subject will present the concept of philosophical critique based on a regressus toward its formal components. Consequently, an original classification of critique is offered, divided into four modulations: dialogical, translogical, logotherapeutic, and ontological critique, all of which go beyond the metaphysical notion of critique understood as absolute. Additionally, the concept of praxis will be analyzed, as it is inherently connected to the idea of critique. Finally, a rigorous analysis of the most relevant fundamentalisms of the 21st century will be developed: scientific and technological fundamentalism, democratic fundamentalism and religious fundamentalism. This subject has been designed with the following aspects in mind: 

   The idea of criticism and its types.

   The body of knowledge.

   The idea of praxis.

   Philosophy in the body of knowledge and fundamentalism.

PART II: OPTIONAL ITINERARIES

1. APPROACH TO THE IDEA OF WORLD MAP

   The subject Approach to the Idea of "World Map” is developed over four chapters, with its central theme focused on the concept of the analogical map.  The primary argument presented in this subject posits that univocal maps do not fully encapsulate the idea of a map, as the incommensurabilities between them inevitably lead us to a philosophical conception of a map. One of the conclusions that students of this subject will likely reach is that the history of philosophical systems can be understood as the history of constructing and confronting different types of world maps. This subject also addresses topics such as the analysis of map definitions in various dictionaries and the distinction between extensional and intentional perspectives when referring to the term "map.” Additionally, the institutional meaning of maps and the gnoseological presuppositions embedded in the idea of a map are examined. Students will gain an overview of philosophical materialism's interpretation of maps. Finally, we reflect on the map and the idea of Transcendental Ego. The lines from which this subject is delineated are the following:

   Worldly and scientific contexts of the map idea.

   Gnoseological analysis of the idea of map.

   Maps in philosophical materialism.

   The idea of "world map" and the Transcendental Ego.

2. THEORY OF TOTALITY AND PARTS

   The subject Theory of Totality and Parts is organized into three chapters and aims to provide the foundational holistic concepts necessary for a comprehensive understanding of how various philosophical systems are structured in their ontological, gnoseological, moral-philosophical, aesthetic, and philosophical-anthropological dimensions. To this end, the subject is divided into three sections: a general analysis of the idea of the whole, a study of totality from the perspective of the parts, and an exploration of totality from the perspective of the all. Students will encounter original concepts such as holotic, metafinite, metameric, synolon, part, diameric, and sinecoid. Additionally, they will engage with distinctions such as attributive vs. distributive totalities, diathetic vs. adiathetic totalities, and homeomeric vs. holomeric totalization—all of which will serve as valuable tools for philosophical criticism. This subject has been constructed based on the following ideas:

   The idea of totality from the perspective of all.

   The idea of totality from the perspective of the parts.

   The idea of totality.

3. HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY 

   The History of Philosophy subject aims to introduce students to the concept of the history of philosophy from a methodological and, consequently, philosophical perspective. To achieve this, the subject is divided into two closely related chapters. Rather than providing a purely historical overview of the development of various philosophical systems, the focus is on examining the philosophical—and ideological—presuppositions involved in constructing any history of philosophy. The central thesis of this subject is that the history of philosophy can only be properly understood and practiced from certain philosophical presuppositions. From the standpoint of philosophical materialism, the subject outlines the approach required for a philosophical history of philosophy, as opposed to a philological history of philosophy. This subject is structured along the following lines:

   The concept of history of philosophy.

   Theory of the history of philosophy.

   Distinction between philosophical history of philosophy and philological history of philosophy.

   The system of basic ordinations of the history of philosophy.

4. PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY 

   The subject Philosophy of History is organized into three chapters. Its central idea revolves around the conception of history as a process that, ontologically, must be understood as unfinished (in fieri), and as a discipline that, gnoseologically, relies on the operations of the gnoseological subject with relics and narratives in the anomalous present.  In the initial approach, students will be introduced to the genesis of History, while also being provided with key concepts and distinctions, such as history as "res gestae" (historical events) and History as "rerum gestarum" (the study of historical events). Additionally, the subject will engage students in a reflection on History as a scientific discipline, critically analyzing the gnoseological problems of history and examining controversies that have arisen within the Aristotelian framework. The subject will also address reflections on the concept of universal history. This will be done by considering various perspectives, including the object, subject, and predicate perspectives. Furthermore, students will explore the relationship between the categories of universal history and empire. This subject is structured along the following lines:

   Concepts and ideas of history.

   History from the gnoseological point of view.

   History from the ontological point of view.