The Graduate Program in Philosophy at the Federal University of Lavras (UFLA) began its activities in 2019 with the offering of the Master's program. The program's objective is to train master’s degree holders in philosophy who are qualified both for teaching and advanced research, whether in the history of philosophy or in contemporary philosophical issues. Additionally, it seeks to contribute, through its research, to the improvement of the national philosophical debate. The selection process for admission to the master’s program takes place once a year, during the first semester, for students to begin their studies in the second semester.

The program is divided into two research areas.

The “History of Philosophy” research area is defined by the exegesis of classical works from the philosophical tradition, the reconstruction of the accumulated debate about them, and the analysis of their repercussions. Its focus is on highlighting the multifaceted nature of theoretical conceptions and proposals throughout the history of philosophy, with particular emphasis on epistemology, ethics and political philosophy, logic, and ontology. This research area consists of four research projects: “Theories of the Soul”; “Arab Philosophy and Christian Philosophy in the Formation of Medieval Thought”; “Contractualism and Its Critiques”; and “Kant and German Idealism.” Rather than attempting to encompass the vast field that could be designated as the “history of philosophy,” this research area seeks—more modestly—to frame it based on certain aspects and historical moments, as outlined by the four projects that support it. In addition to showcasing the diversity in the treatment of the “history of philosophy,” these projects also ensure alignment between this research area and the individual research interests of the faculty members involved. To this end, the projects have been structured to bring together the individual research interests of at least two faculty members.

This guideline also applies to the relationship between the “Themes in Contemporary Philosophy” research area and the projects that support it. In this way, the PPGFil aims to ensure a balanced and cohesive distribution of its faculty across research and training activities. The “Themes in Contemporary Philosophy” research area seeks philosophical reflection on current topics and problems, the interpretation and discussion of contemporary philosophical thought, and the reconstruction of present-day philosophical debates—both internally within the philosophical field itself and at its interface with various other disciplines, such as education, psychoanalysis, psychology, law, sociology, economics, history, literature, visual arts, theater, and cinema. This research area consists of three research projects: “Subjectivity and Representation in Contemporary Philosophy”;  “Philosophy and Non-Philosophy in Contemporary French Thought” and “Critical Theory and Psychoanalysis.”

The research projects, in turn, are characterized as follows.

Based on the perspective that the investigation of the soul (psykhé or anima) is among the most important inquiries due to its role as the natural principle distinguishing an entire category of beings—namely, living beings—the research project “Theories of the Soul” aims to examine philosophers of classical and late antiquity concerning both practical and theoretical approaches to the soul. Given this division into two main thematic axes—moral practice and questions concerning nature and its metaphysical principles—the soul emerges as the intersection between these two areas. Aristotle’s claim that humans are political animals or Plato’s assertion that the good life is the just life illustrates this intersection well. From the idea that humans possess a set of faculties that allow them to sustain life (such as nutrition, movement, and deliberation), several questions arise, both concerning their material composition and regarding the nature of the animating principle. Regarding the nature of the principle responsible for the movements and actions of living beings—namely, the soul—the major problems debated during these periods focus, in the case of those who considered the soul to be immaterial (such as Plato, Aristotle, Alexander of Aphrodisias, Plotinus, Philoponus, Themistius, etc.), on the difficulty of demonstrating its relationship with the body. In contrast, for those who recognized its materiality (such as Democritus, Leucippus, Chrysippus, Epicurus, Seneca, Cicero, etc.), the challenge was to explain human actions that did not involve any material change, such as knowledge, deliberation, and the immortality of the soul. Thus, the project “Theories of the Soul” focuses on philosophical production from classical and late antiquity, encompassing classical schools (the Academy and the Lyceum), Hellenistic schools (Stoicism, Epicureanism, Cynicism, Skepticism, etc.), Neoplatonic and Peripatetic philosophers, early figures involved in the Christian philosophical debate (such as Origen and Philo of Alexandria), and contemporary analyses and appropriations of the theme. Faculty members involved in this research project include André Chagas Ferreira de Souza, Arthur Klik de Lima, and Meline Costa Sousa.

The research project "Arab Philosophy and Christian Philosophy in the Formation of Medieval Thought" starts from the observation that medieval philosophy, for many centuries, was the target of attacks and accusations based, according to some historians of philosophy, on its supposed philosophical irrelevance. As a result, the numerous works produced by philosophers of this period were reduced to mere theological texts. Consequently, two key aspects were disregarded: a) the philosophical contributions of the authors in question and b) the plurality of Arab, Jewish, and Christian philosophical traditions, each of which, in its own time, laid the foundations of medieval thought. In light of this and in alignment with new historiographical approaches, the project "Arab Philosophy and Christian Philosophy in the Formation of Medieval Thought" aims to demonstrate and explore the philosophical thought of two traditions, namely, the Arab and Christian traditions. On the one hand, it investigates the formation of the Arab tradition through its transformation of antiquity, particularly the thought of Aristotle. On the other hand, it examines the Christian tradition, shaped by the schools of the early centuries of the Christian era and largely guided by the thought of Augustine. A key focus of this research project is the constitution of what we refer to as the Arab tradition. Comprising a specific group of Muslim and Jewish authors who wrote their works in Arabic, this tradition is divided into two major periods. The first period, considered formative (8th/2nd–10th/4th centuries), marks the beginning of philosophical production in the Arabic language. During these centuries, a philosophical vocabulary and method were developed, culminating in the systematization of philosophy by Avicenna (Ibn Sina, 980–1037) in his works. Avicenna represents a turning point in medieval Arab philosophy, influencing later authors such as Al-Ghazali and Averroes, who either appropriated or challenged his metaphysical, physical, and psychological theories. This marks the beginning of the second major period of the Arab philosophical tradition. Among the key theories of this period are the doctrine of creation through intermediary causal agents, the distinction between essence and existence, and the systematization of the internal senses of the soul. With the translatio studiorum movement, Arab philosophy entered the Christian intellectual sphere starting in the 12th century. Epistemology, psychology, metaphysics, and cosmology gained prominence in Latin universities. Several important 13th-century debates gained momentum when the texts of falsafa (especially Avicenna and Averroes) were confronted with and, in some cases, assimilated by Christian tradition. This influence is particularly evident in the intense debate on the intellect, which took place at the University of Paris, heavily shaped by the works of Thomas Aquinas. However, rather than limiting the scope of this project to Aquinas and his interpretation of the Arabs, this research aims to provide a broad view of how medieval thinkers transformed ancient philosophical concepts, most notably during the 13th century. By fostering dialogue between Arab and Christian philosophy, this project seeks to provide faculty and students with a deeper understanding of the authors of these periods, as well as of the reception of Arab philosophy by Christian thinkers. The project is structured around three major research themes: The work of Augustine and the tradition shaped by his influence; Arab philosophy, including its reception of ancient thought and its transmission to the Latin world; The formation of the debate on these traditions in the 13th century, particularly in the works of Thomas Aquinas and his subsequent critics. Faculty members involved in this research project: Arthur Klik de Lima; Meline Costa Sousa.

The research project "Contractualisms and Their Critiques" aims to analyze the relationship between modern contractualist theories and their critiques and contemporary neo-contractualist theories and their critiques. The investigation will be conducted through four main areas of focus: The analysis of the role of the social contract in the justification of the state in classical contractualist theories (such as those of Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, and Kant); The examination of criticisms directed at this justification project (such as those by Hume, Burke, Fichte, Schelling, and Hegel); The study of the functions of the social contract in the formulation of principles of justice or societal bonds in contemporary neo-contractualist theories (such as those of Rawls, Nozick, Gauthier, and Pettit); The evaluation of criticisms of the various functions that the social contract could perform in neo-contractualist theories, including critiques from analytical Marxists, communitarians, feminists, multiculturalists, and even non-contractualist versions of liberalism or republicanism. Regarding the relationship between classical political philosophy and contemporary political philosophy, this project particularly investigates: The conception of society present in these theories (Are there similarities - and if so, what are they - between modern contractualist and neo-contractualist conceptions of society? Do neo-contractualist theories, despite not aiming to justify the state, share certain assumptions with contractualist visions of society, such as the idea that political association serves only an instrumental role in achieving pre-established ends? Are there common features among non-contractualist conceptions of society, and if so, what are they?); The conception of the individual in these theories (To what extent is it correct to speak of a pre-social conception of the individual in contractualist and neo-contractualist theories? How does this conception compare to an intersubjective view of the individual in theories that reject the social contract?). Faculty members involved in this research project: Amaro de Oliveira Fleck; Emanuele Tredanaro; Flavio Fontenelle Loque; João Geraldo Martins da Cunha; Marcelo Sevaybricker Moreira; Thiago Aguiar Simim.

The "Kant and German Idealism" research project aims to analyze the most influential proposals of idealism within 17th- and 19th-century German philosophy, as well as its philosophical roots and critical interlocutions. The investigation focuses on: The historical-philosophical reconstruction of the legacy inherited by German idealism from modern continental rationalism and British empiricism; The analysis and contextualization of the reformulations of transcendental and dialectical idealism, with a special emphasis on critical reactions; The examination of fundamental philosophical issues, such as the relationship between reason and experience, the nature of subjectivity and intersubjectivity, the connection between knowledge and consciousness, he concept of spirit and freedom. Within this framework, the project investigates Kantian criticism and classical German idealism in dialogue with modern philosophy and contemporary theoretical approaches. Faculty members involved in this research project: Alessandro Pinzani; Emanuele Tredanaro; Federico Orsini; João Geraldo Martins da Cunha.

The research project "Subjectivity and Representation in Contemporary Philosophy" proposes a close reading of a significant portion of thinkers who constitute what is known as contemporary philosophy. It reveals, in a constitutive manner, the presence of themes that gave rise to and characterized the thought of our present time. Among the many issues contemporary philosophy inherits from modern debates, the question of subjectivity allows for an examination of the structural axes of philosophical developments that are often considered distinct but share common problems. These shared concerns open the possibility of a meaningful dialogue. The project recognizes that this shared territory can be attributed to the concept of representation and its various modes of incidence—whether assumed or criticized—in the problem of grounding philosophical reflection in subjectivity. In this sense, this research project aims to investigate contemporary developments of this issue by exploring the following paths: Frege’s critique of psychologism in logic; The revival of transcendental subjectivity in the context of new logic in the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus; The reception of modern idealism (Descartes and Kant) in Husserlian transcendental phenomenology; The critique of the notion of the subject in Heidegger’s existential analytics; The development of the concepts of subjectivity and consciousness in Sartre’s thought; The project of overcoming classical dichotomies in Merleau-Ponty; The notion of the event as a critique of the subject in Deleuze; The critique of the subject as a linguistic illusion in Nietzsche; The critique of the notions of the subject of knowledge and truth in Foucault; The conception of subjectivity as duration in Bergson; The production of a new concept of the subject in Lacanian theory; Conceptions of subjectivity emerging from recent approaches in the philosophy of emotions. The faculty members involved in this research project are: Alexandre Filordi de Carvalho, Emanuele Tredanaro, Felipe Nogueira de Carvalho, Léa Carneiro Silveira, Luiz Roberto Takayama, and Renato dos Santos Belo.

The research project "Philosophy and Non-Philosophy in Contemporary French Thought" starts from the premise that contemporary French philosophers have redefined not only the notion of a distinct philosophical domain but also the very notion of territory itself. The singular approach of incorporating domains that initially appear external to philosophical inquiry raises the question of the interface between philosophy and non-philosophy. Let us briefly highlight some significant moments. In his Phenomenology of Perception, Merleau-Ponty defines true philosophy as “relearning to see the world,” suggesting that its goal does not differ from that of storytelling. His concept of indirect ontology is only comprehensible in light of philosophy’s interaction with non-philosophy. Similarly, Deleuze, in What is Philosophy?, defines philosophy as the art of creating concepts, portraying it as a creative activity akin to the arts while also assigning a cognitive function to artistic practice. If, as Deleuze argues, percept and affect are properly artistic powers inseparable from philosophical concepts, then non-philosophy becomes essential to philosophy. From another perspective, by conceiving a non-philosophical and pre-philosophical domain as the internal precondition of philosophy, Deleuze claims that “non-philosophy may be more at the heart of philosophy than philosophy itself.” Responding to accusations of being “half-historian” and “half-philosopher,” Foucault asserted his philosophical activity through its engagement with the non-philosophical sphere of history, a means of “freeing thought from what it silently assumes, allowing it to think differently.” Sartre, in one of his last interviews, reflected on his body of work, stating: “Everything I wrote was at once philosophy and literature—not juxtaposed, but with each element being simultaneously literary and philosophical.” This highlights an overt attempt to redefine philosophical discourse and practice. This common feature, evident in nearly all contemporary French philosophers, is further reinforced by their frequent engagement with disciplines traditionally considered external to philosophy, such as psychology, psychoanalysis, history, literature, painting, cinema, and politics. This research project seeks to explore these privileged moments in which philosophy positions itself within this border region. In doing so, it reveals the very status of contemporary philosophical discourse. The faculty members involved in this research project are: Alexandre Filordi de Carvalho, Luiz Roberto Takayama, and Renato dos Santos Belo.

The research project "Critical Theory and Psychoanalysis" takes as its starting point the recognition that, since its inception, Critical Theory of society has considered psychoanalysis an essential field of knowledge for understanding social trends—that is, for constructing a diagnosis of the present time, particularly due to its capacity to reveal the extent to which social constraints are internalized. This research project is structured around two main areas: On one hand, it seeks to reconstruct the trajectory of psychoanalytic research within Critical Theory, examining both the various diagnoses concerning subjective trends (i.e., transformations in subjectivity or the very constitution of subjectivity throughout the development of late capitalism) and the different roles assigned to psychoanalysis in each historical phase of Critical Theory (investigating why later generations of Critical Theorists—unlike the first generation—tend to draw inspiration more from developmental psychology and thinkers like Mead or Piaget than from Freudian psychoanalysis). On the other hand, it aims to deepen discussions between philosophy and psychoanalysis, particularly by analyzing Freud’s work in terms of its concepts, theses, and arguments (especially in metapsychology and cultural theory); examining J. Lacan’s anti-psychologistic interpretation and its implications for reflecting on social phenomena; investigating the philosophical influences that shaped both Critical Theory and psychoanalysis. The faculty members involved in this research project are: Alessandro Pinzani, Amaro de Oliveira Fleck, Léa Carneiro Silveira, Marcelo Sevaybricker Moreira, and Thiago Aguiar Simim.