Department of Philosophy

On the Question of Life and Death I(PH415)

Course Code Course Name Semester Theory Practice Lab Credit ECTS
PH415 On the Question of Life and Death I 7 3 0 0 3 4
Prerequisites
Admission Requirements
Language of Instruction French
Course Type Elective
Course Level Bachelor Degree
Course Instructor(s) Erinç ASLANBOĞA erincatcat@yahoo.com (Email)
Assistant
Objective The objective of this course is to open a debate between different approaches on the subjects of death, mourning and melancholy by offering a comparative reading between psychoanalytic thought and contemporary philosophy. The course proposes to reflect not only on the question of life and death, on the relationships between the living and the dead but also on other philosophical problems such as otherness, friendship, fidelity, vulnerability. Selected texts by S. Freud, J. Derrida, R. Barthes and J. Butler will be discussed during the course.
Content The problem of life and death, the relationship between mourning and melancholy, in the thought of Freud, Derrida, Butler.
Course Learning Outcomes Learning to reflect on the philosophical notions of life, death, mourning, vulnerability.
To develop critical thinking skills.
To build links between philosophy and other disciplines.
Teaching and Learning Methods Reading and analysis of texts
References S. Freud, Deuil et mélancolie.
J. Derrida, Donner la mort, Paris, Galilée, 1999.
J. Butler, Vie précaire. Les pouvoirs du deuil et de la violence après le 11 septembre 2001. trad. J. Rosanvallon, J. Vidal, Paris, Editions Amsterdam, 2005
Print the course contents
Theory Topics
Week Weekly Contents
1 Mourning as an ontological, psychological, social, ethical and political problem between life and death, between one's own death and the death of the other, between individual and collective history.
2 The psychoanalytic conception of mourning, the “work of mourning”.
3 The relationship between the bereaved and the loss of the libidinal object, between “normal” and “pathological” mourning.
4 The aporia of mourning
5 Critique of the modalities of mourning: identification, introjection, incorporation
6 The mourning of mourning: otherness, friendship, fidelity
7 The relationship between photography and death.
8 The relationship between photography and death.
9 Vulnerability as an ontological condition of life
10 Vulnerability as an ontological condition of life
11 The relationship between one's own death and the death of the other.
12 Individual and collective mourning.
13 Individual and collective mourning.
14 Government of relations between the living and the dead.
Practice Topics
Week Weekly Contents
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Contribution to Overall Grade
  Number Contribution
Contribution of in-term studies to overall grade 1 50
Contribution of final exam to overall grade 1 50
Toplam 2 100
In-Term Studies
  Number Contribution
Assignments 0 0
Presentation 0 0
Midterm Examinations (including preparation) 1 50
Project 0 0
Laboratory 0 0
Other Applications 0 0
Quiz 0 0
Term Paper/ Project 0 0
Portfolio Study 0 0
Reports 0 0
Learning Diary 0 0
Thesis/ Project 0 0
Seminar 0 0
Other 0 0
Toplam 1 50
No Program Learning Outcomes Contribution
1 2 3 4 5
1 Analyze philosophical texts with analytical and critical rigor; X
2 Get an exhaustive knowledge on the history of philosophy; from antiquity to 20th century; X
3 Provide access to information and expertise in the fields of systematic philosophy, such as ethic, esthetic, history of science, philosophy of society; X
4 Establish the relation between philosophy and other fields of knowledge, such as, history, psychology, anthropology, sociology and other positive sciences; X
5 Learn the theories of political science and the philosophical evaluation of historical and actual events; X
6 Have a sufficient level of French and English in order to follow philosophical debates; X
7 Have a sufficient level of the ancient Greek, Latin and Ottoman languages for reading philosophical texts written in these;
8 Develop a creative thinking and a knowledge of aesthetic theories which will allow the analysis of artworks and the history of art; X
9 Acquire academic research methods and writing ability as well as to develop analytical skills, interpretation and criticism. X
Activities Number Period Total Workload
Class Hours 14 3 42
Working Hours out of Class 14 2 28
Midterm Examinations (including preparation) 1 12 12
Final Examinations (including preparation) 1 15 15
Total Workload 97
Total Workload / 25 3,88
Credits ECTS 4
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