OVERVIEW

The study of political phenomena and of the idea of a well-ordered society has always been one of the central fields of philosophy. The course in political philosophy analyses the classical themes of political philosophy and their enduring relevance for contemporary societies.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Students will acquire the theoretical tools needed to explore the field of contemporary theories of justice; such theories will be analyzed in their conceptual structure, their lexicon, and their theoretical ascendants, i.e. classics of political philosophy. Students will study in depth one topic of contemporary debate (the role and value of freedom, the nature of political obligation, the meaning of equality, the justification of democracy), thus learning how different theoretical approaches deal with the problem of political justice, and critically discussing the characteristics of each approach.

TEACHING METHODS

Lectures, class discussions.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Models of normative political philosophy. In the first part of the course, the main contemporary theories of political justice will be presented and analyzed, together with their theoretical ascendants, i.e. classics of modern political philosophy.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

S. VECA, La filosofia politica, Bari, Laterza, 2003.
J. RAWLS, Una teoria della giustizia, Milano, Feltrinelli, 2008.

One of the following two:
T. HOBBES, Il Leviatano, Bari, Laterza, 2006 (parti I e II, e cap. XLIII).
J.J. ROUSSEAU, Il contratto sociale, Milano, Rizzoli, 2005 (o qualsiasi altra edizione
integrale).

And one of the following:

G.A. COHEN, Per l'eguaglianza e la giustizia, Roma, L'asino d'oro, 2016.
R. NOZICK, Anarchia, stato e utopia, Milano, Net, 2005.

A. SEN, La diseguaglianza. Un riesame critico, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2010.

M. WALZER, Sfere di giustizia, Bari, Laterza, 2008.

S.M. OKIN, Diritti delle donne e multiculturalismo, Milano, Raffaello Cortina, 2007.

P. PETTIT, Il repubblicanesimo, Milano, Feltrinelli, 2000.

T. POGGE, Povertà mondiale e diritti umani, Bari, Laterza, 2010.

P. ROSANVALLON, La società dell'uguaglianza, Roma, Castelvecchi, 2013.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

VALERIA OTTONELLI (President)

MIRELLA PASINI

CARLO PENCO

DANIELE ROLANDO

LESSONS

LESSONS START

19 February 2019

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Oral and written exam. 

ASSESSMENT METHODS

La parte orale dell'esame è volta all'accertamento delle conoscenze relative alle teorie della giustizia esaminate durante il corso, con particolare riferimento alla loro struttura concettuale, il loro lessico specifico e le loro implicazioni per le istituzioni politiche. L'elaborato scritto (che i frequentanti possono presentare in sostituzione di uno dei testi dell'esame) non è meramente espositivo ma accerta la capacità dello studente di elaborare una riflessione critica autonoma relativamente a un tema specifico fra quelli esaminati durante il corso

Oral exam during exam sessions. The oral exam can be partially replaced by a written essay (only for attending students).

The oral part of the exam is aimed at ascertaining the student's knowledge of the theories of justice analysed during the course, with a special focus on their conceptual structure, their distinctive technical language and their implications for political institutions. The written essay (which for those who attended can substitute for part of the oral exam) should not consist in a mere summary of the existing literature, but it is meant to ascertain the student's ability to elaborate an autonomous critical perspective concerning a specific point or theme among those analysed during the course.

Exam schedule