Themes that will be discussed include the nature of film and the specificity of film as a medium; the way that films may be said to argue philosophically, and the relationships between thought, language, and the moving image. A recurring theme will be what the philosophical value for ethical reflection films is. During the course, central philosophical topics such as philosophy of mind, memory, personal identity, moral transformation and many different varieties of moral philosophy will be discussed. We will alternate between philosophical texts about film and aesthetics, films, and classical philosophical texts that do not directly speak about film (whereas the films we watch together indeed may "speak" about topics discussed in the classical philosophical texts). For detailed required and recommended reading for individual courses, see the Syllabus in the study materials. Wednesday, September 24, 1. Lecture Lecture: Introduction. The photograph and the moving image. What is a movie? Learning from film, philosophizing with films (Niklas Forsberg) FILM BLOCK 1: Bladerunner (Lecture, Film Screening, Seminar. Teacher Niklas Forsberg) 2. Lecture, Wednesday, October 1, 2025, 16 - 18. Lecture: Bladerunner and the Idea of a Soulless Human Being. Illuminating the Mind/Body problem in a Movie Theatre 3. Film Screening, Wednesday October 1, 2025, 18 -20. Film screening: Bladerunner, Director's Cut, directed by Ridley Scott, 1992 [1982]. 4. Seminar Discussion Wednesday, October 8, 2025, 16 - 18. FILM BLOCK 2: The Philadelphia Story (Lecture, Film Screening, Seminar. Teacher: Niklas Forsberg) 5. Lecture, Wednesday, October 15, 2025, 16 - 18. Moral perfectionism 6. Film Screening, Wednesday October 15, 2025, 18 - 20. The Philadelphia Story (George Cukor) 7. Seminar Discussion, Wednesday October 22, 2025, 16 - 18. FILM BLOCK 3: The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Lecture, Film Screening, Seminar. Teacher: Niklas Forsberg) 8. Lecture: Wednesday, October 29, 2025, 16 - 18 Memory, Love, and Personal Identity 9. Film Screening: The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Wednesday, October 29, 2025, 18 - 20 10. Seminar Discussion, Wednesday, November 5, 2025, 16 - 18. 11. Classical film-theory 1: Realism, November 12, 2025, 16-18 Read before, Andre Bazin "The ontology of the photographic Image" 12. Film Screening: La Jetée (Chris Marker 1962), November 12, 2025, 18-20 13. Classical film-theory 2: Montage, November 19, 2025, 16-18 Read before. Malcolm Turvey: "Introduction" (from Doubting Vision) 14. The origins of documentary film, November 26, 2025, 16-18 Read Before: Trinh T Minh-ha: "The totalizing quest for meaning" 15. Film screening: The Act of Killing (Joshua Oppenheimer 2012), November 26, 18-20 16. The ethics of documentary: What is a film-camera? December 3, 2025, 16-18 Discussion on The Act of Killing Read Before: Simone Weil: "Evil" (from Gravity and Grace) 17. Analog/digital-virtual, December 10, 2025, 16-18 Read before: Laura U. Marks: "Video's Body, Analog and Digital" 18. Film screening: Frem (Viera Cákanyová 2019), December 10, 2025, 18-20 19. Kinesthetic empathy in film, December 17, 2025, 16-18 Discussion on Frem Read before: Antony Fredriksson: "Nonhuman Images: Environment and Emotion in Two Films by Viera Cákanyová"
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Film and Philosophy: Reading Seminar in Philosophy 3 (MREA3) Centre for Ethics as Study in Human Value, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, University of Pardubice Fall 2025 Room: EA13022 Wednesdays 4-6 PM (Lectures), 6-8 PM (Screenings) This course aims to: (i) elucidate what it means to think philosophically with and about film, (ii) to think about the relationship between film and philosophy, (iii) to critically examine the philosophical significance of films in terms of how, for example, films portray and convey emotions and knowledge, and how films may induce changes of beliefs more generally. We will also discuss how philosophical problems are portrayed and processed in films. First lecture, Both Niklas and Antony: 24.9 Niklas sessions: 1.10, 8.10, 15.10, 22.10, 29.10, 5.11 Niklas screenings: 1.10, 15.10, 29.10 Antonys sessions: 12.11, 19.11, 26.11, 3.12, 10.12, 17.12 Antonys screenings: 12.11, 26.11, 10.12 For detailed required and recommended reading for individual courses, see the Syllabus in the study materials.
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