Philosophie und Kritik – Philosophical Seminar in German

elective seminars

Basic knowledge of German and a willingness to improve it are required to participate in the class.

The aim of the seminar is to jointly read and interpret selected philosophical texts in German. The seminar is open to students from outside the Faculty of Philosophy, and participation does not require prior completion of a philosophy course. The classes are held in German. The teacher takes into account different levels of language proficiency. The topic of the classes is related to various issues in the field of German and social philosophy. Details on the topic for a given academic year are given in the description for a given cycle.

The method used in the seminar consists of reading together specific passages of texts prepared by the instructor, and then explaining them and subjecting them to philosophical reflection in the form of discussion. The burden is placed on in-depth reading and interpretation of the text: when discussing the read passage, linguistic issues (vocabulary, complex grammatical constructions) are taken into account first, followed by the formulated theses and their possible interpretations.

The presenter also occasionally discusses strategies for interpreting philosophical texts and more complex grammatical and conceptual issues.

The discussion of text excerpts is done in such a way that even the works of authors considered difficult are made accessible to those who are just improving their competence in German or starting to learn about philosophy.

Each year the texts are selected around a different general theme.

Provided in the description of the cycle.

Acquired knowledge:

Graduates know and understand:

K_W02 to an in-depth degree - research methods and argumentative strategies of the selected philosophical discipline and methods of interpreting a philosophical text

K_W04 special philosophical terminology in a foreign language of choice (at the B2+ level)

K_W05 the main directions of development and the most important new achievements within the selected philosophical discipline

Acquired skills:

Graduates are able to:

K_U01 interpret philosophical texts independently, creatively and innovatively comment on and confront theses from various texts

K_U03 analyze complex philosophical arguments, identify theses and assumptions making them up, determine logical and argumentative relations between theses

K_U12 independently translate a difficult philosophical text from a foreign language into Polish

Acquired social competences:

Graduates are ready to:

K_K01 identify the knowledge and skills they possess

K_K02 identify deficiencies in his/her knowledge and skills and search for opportunities to remedy them

Credit on the basis of the student’s own translation of a German-language text (one of the texts discussed during the course or a text chosen in consultation with the lecturer) [PPT] or on the basis of a short essay written in German on one of the subjects discussed during the course [E]. The translation should be done by the student personally and single-handed, and it should show the student’s knowledge of German philosophical notions. The essay should show the student’s knowledge of German philosophical notions, of one of the philosophical traditions developed in the German-language area and it should include the author’s own position towards the described issue. The lecturer takes into consideration active participation of the student during the. [A]