95674 - Philosophy of Law (LM)

Learning outcomes

This Course aims to provide students with specific themes and problems within the present philosophical debate on law, among them the relationship between law and morality, human rights, the tension between law and violence, the source and structure of intentional forms of social violence. With regard to this context of discussion, the Course intends to promote a competent and critical way of thinking

Course contents

Why Punish?

On the Origins and Nature of "Minimal Criminal Law"

Entitled Why Punish?, the course aims to reconstruct the paradigm of humane and restrained criminal law by examining its historical and conceptual foundations and tracing its major theoretical and cultural developments. In this perspective, the long era of the witch persecutions in the early modern period emerges as an exemplary case.

A rights-based approach to criminal justice has experienced periods of great influence and success, but also phases of crisis, intense criticism, and decline, followed by renewed efforts at revitalization and reform.

The principal reference text for the course will be Cesare Beccaria’s On Crimes and Punishments (Dei delitti e delle pene), a foundational work of modern criminal-law thought and an essential starting point for understanding the evolution of reflection on punishment and its limits.

Today, the “Beccaria paradigm,” namely the model of penal guarantees and limited punishment, once again faces challenges that call some of its fundamental assumptions into question. For this reason, the second part of the course will be devoted to the analysis of several issues of particular relevance in contemporary debates. One such challenge is the re-emergence of cruelty within the legal sphere, a phenomenon that raises crucial questions concerning the meaning, purposes, and limits of punishment in democratic societies.

The course will also examine the nature, function, and legitimacy of detention, critically addressing the reality of imprisonment and its compatibility with the principles of the rule of law. Particular attention will be devoted to the crime of torture, its persistent presence in the contemporary world, and the theoretical, legal, and moral tensions it continues to generate even within democratic legal systems.

Readings/Bibliography

Textbooks:

 

Friedrich von Spee, I processi contro le streghe (Cautio criminalis) [1631], ed. by Anna Foa, Salerno Editrice, Rome 2002

Cesare Beccaria, Dei delitti e delle pene [1764], ed. by Alberto Burgio, Feltrinelli, Milan 1993

Alessandro Manzoni, Storia della colonna infame [1843], ed. by Adriano Prosperi, Einaudi, Turin 2023

Luigi Ferrajoli, Il paradigma garantista. Filosofia e critica del diritto penale, Editoriale scientifica, Naples 2016, Part I, pp. 1-77

 

One essay among the following:

Brian P. Levack, La caccia alle streghe in Europa, Laterza, Rome-Bari 2012

Michel Foucault, Sorvegliare e punire. Nascita della prigione, Einaudi, Turin 1976, Part I  and Part II, pp. 5-144

Franklin E. Zimring, La pena di morte. Le contraddizioni del sistema penale americano, il Mulino, Bologna 2009

Massimo La Torre, Charlie Barnao, Alessandro Novellino (eds), Il ritorno della crudeltà. Il diritto come tormento, Milieu, Milan 2025

Marina Lalatta Costerbosa, Il silenzio della tortura. Contro un crimine estremo, DeriveApprodi, Rome 2016

 

Reading of One literary text chosen from the following:

Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Il giudice e il suo boia, Adelphi, Milan 2015

Friedrich Dürrenmatt, La panne. Una storia ancora possibile, Adelphi, Milan 2014

Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Giustizia, Adelphi, Milan 2021

Elvio Fassone, Fine pena: ora, Sellerio, Palermo 2015

Victor Hugo, L’ultimo giorno di un condannato a morte, Feltrinelli, Milano 2016

Franz Kafka, Il processo, Feltrinelli, Milan 2014

Franz Kafka, Nella colonia penale, Marsilio, Padua 2001

Goliarda Sapienza, L’università di Rebibbia, Einaudi, Turin 2016

Goliarda Sapienza, Le certezze del dubbio, Einaudi, Turin 2022

Leonardo Sciascia, Porte aperte, Adelphi, Milan 1987

 

Non-attending students can usefully consult one among the following texts:

Pierre Audegean, Violenza e giustizia. Beccaria e la questione penale, il Mulino, Bologna 2023, chap. I, II, III, IV, VIII e IX, pp. 1-110, 175-230 

 

Class schedule:

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday -11 a.m. - 1 p.m: Aula IV - via Zamboni, 38.

 

Beginning of the Course: I Semester - 9.16. 2026

Reception hours:

From 9 September 2026, the reception of students will be held at 3pm every Wednesday, unless otherwise indicated in the Notices on the lecturer's webpage.

The reception is always without appointment;
it is also possible online by calling directly via teams. At the end of the in-person meetings, all those who have called (not written chat) will be contacted again by the lecturer.

It is advisable to always consult the lecturer's notices before going to the department. Occasionally other teaching or institutional commitments result in changes.

Teaching methods

§Lectures and discussion on bioethical themes.

Interdisciplinary seminars will be hold by experts working in the field.

§Seminars with guest speakers.

§Lessons will be recorded (but not necessary in real time) and made available by accessing ad hoc virtual teams-classroom. Access is possible through the unibo institutional credentials at the link present from September on the virtual materials of the Course.

Assessment methods

Final oral examination. Room 5.01 (str. Zamboni 38). On September there will be an examination schedule.

Evaluating criteria:

Expertise; practical reasoning ability; critical competence.

On the basis of these three main parameters it will be formalised in an evaluation expressed in thirtieths, which may vary according to the full range of available grades.

Notes:

18-21/30 basic level

22-25/30 moderate level

26-28/30 good level

29-30/30 excellent level.

Exam sessions
During the 2026/2027 academic year, (for all students) exam sessions are scheduled in the following months (please note that the examination can be taken by both attending and non-attending students once the last lecture of the course has been held):

9.9.2026 h 3 p.m.

10.28.2026 h 11 a.m.

12.16.2026 h 11 a.m.

1.13.2027 h 11 a.m.

2.9.2027 h 11 a.m.

3.10.2027 h 11 a.m.

5.5.2027 h 11 a.m.

6.09.2027 h 11 a.m.

7.07.2027 h 11 a.m.

Students with disabilities and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students with disabilities or Specific Learning Disorders have the right to special adjustments according to their condition, following an assessment by the Service for Students with Disabilities and SLD. Please do not contact the instructor but get in touch with the Service directly to schedule an appointment. It will be the responsibility of the Service to determine the appropriate adjustments. For more information, visit the page: https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students .

It is recommended that students contact the University office in advance. Any proposed adjustments must be submitted at least 15 days in advance for the instructor’s approval, who will evaluate their appropriateness in relation to the learning objectives of the course.

Teaching tools

Useful Links:

www.studiperlapace.it

https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/elenco-opere/Enciclopedia_delle_scienze_sociali/

https://plato.stanford.edu/

Office hours

See the website of Marina Lalatta Costerbosa