Information for the student – Contemporary Thought and Classical Tradition

The goal of this program is to provide advanced education in the history of thought and its different facets (philosophical, linguistic and social) from the inception of rational thought in ancient Greece to the present day. Students will acquire the tools to access and critically examine key texts by authors who have contributed decisively to shaping how we think and live in society. The texts will be studied in their original language whenever possible.

This general focus will be articulate through a multidisciplinary approach, in line with the nature of the subject matter, although the backbone of course will consist of historical and systematic study of the central themes that have been and continue to be of key importance in the sphere of philosophy.

The program will be research-orientated, although other competences will be indirectly acquired, many of which are applicable in a range of professional settings, particularly in the field of education.

In addition to the basic and general competences that university studies aim to promote, particularly those with greater relevance in philosophy, this master's degree also aims to provide students with the following specific competences (SC):

• SC1. Ability to comprehend philosophical texts in their original language, at least when written in one of the great languages of culture.
  
• SC2. Capacity to distinguish between the concepts underlying the formulation of seemingly identical or very similar philosophical ideas.
  
• SC3. Ability to identify conceptual coincidences and similarities between different formulations of philosophical ideas.
  
• SC4. Capacity to understand the inter-dependency of different theoretical and practical concepts.
  
• SC5. Ability to organize different philosophical concepts into coherent frameworks (concept maps).
  
• SC6. Capacity to recognize the influences of particular cultural trends on other areas of culture.
  
• SC7. Capacity to interpret philosophical texts from other eras without anachronism.
  
• SC8. Capacity to put the various components of a particular philosophical doctrine in hierarchical order, distinguishing between fundamental aspects and secondary themes.
  
• SC9. Ability to distinguish which of the ideas expressed by the author of a philosophical text are truly original and which are not.
  
• SC10. Capacity to locate the most up-to-date and relevant literature for each topic, in particular general bibliography and critical editions.

IMPORTANT: Since this master's degree is structured into several specializations, some specific competences correspond to certain specializations and not others (i.e. some may be restricted to the compulsory subjects within each specialization):

• Specialization A: SC1, SC7
  
• Specialization B: SC2, SC4
  
• Specialization C: SC3, SC6

All other competences will de developed across all three specializations.