02494 - Political Philosophy

Learning outcomes

Political Philosophy is conceived as the application of philosophical investigation to politics and thus as a study of the contribution that philosophy may give to political practice. This implies both a clarification of the terms used in our everyday political vocabulary and an attempt at designing models of a just society. The course intends to provide the students with the following abilities: a) notions on methodology in historical investigation; b) ability to analytically read a text while at the same time situating it into the historical and linguistic context of the age; c) knowledge of the perennial tasks of political philosophy; d) knowledge of the contemporary debate on the subject of citizenship, universal rights and global justice.

Course contents

Political Philosophy is conceived as the application of philosophical investigation to politics and thus as a study of the contribution that philosophy may give to political practice. This implies both a clarification of the terms used in our everyday political vocabulary and an attempt at designing models of a just society. The course intends to provide the students with the following abilities: a) notions on methodology in historical investigation; b) ability to analytically read a text while at the same time situating it into the historical and linguistic context of the age; c) knowledge of the perennial tasks of political philosophy; d) knowledge of the contemporary debate on the subject of citizenship, universal rights and global justice.

In the academic year2012/13 the course will examine the problem of citizenship and its relationship with universal human rights and global justice. These problems will be investigated both historically and analytically through an examination of the works of some leading contemporary political theorists. Thefirst classes will be devoted to an account of the methodology in the history of political thought and to a clarification of the notion of political philosophy.

Classes will start on Monday February 11th, 2013 and will be held on onday, Tuesday, Wednesday from 3 to 5 pm in Room C, S. Cristina.

Readings/Bibliography

There are two compulsory readings for the course:

S. Veca, La filosofia politica, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 1998;

G. Giorgini, Liberalismi eretici, Trieste, Edizioni Goliardiche, 1999.

In addition, the student must choose two texts among the following list:

H. Arendt, the Human Condition, Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 2007.

S. Benhabib, Another Cosmopolitanism, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2006.

S. Hampshire, Innocence and Experience, London, Penguin, 1990.

S. Holmes-C. Sunstein, The Cost of Rights, New York, W.W. Norton, 1999.

R. Scruton, How to Think Seriously about the Planet: The Case for an Environmental Conservatism, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2012.

L. Strauss, The City and Man, Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1978.

L. Strauss, Liberalism, Ancient and Modern, Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1993.

A. MacIntyre, After Virtue, London, Duckworth, 2007.

A. MacIntyre, Dependent Rational Animals: Why Human Beings Need the Virtues, Open Court, 2001.

N. Matteucci, Il liberalismo in un mondo in trasformazione, Bologna, Il Mulino, 1998.

R. Nozick, Anarchy, State, Utopia, New York, Basic Books, 1974.

M. Nussbaum, Women and Human Development: The Capabilities Approach, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2000.

M. Nussbaum, Upheavals of Thought. The Intelligence of Emotions, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2003 (only part 1).

J. Rawls, The Law of Peoples, Cambridge, mass, Harvard University Press, 1999.

J. Rawls, Political Liberalism, New York, Columbia University Press, 1993.

M. Rothbard, The Ethics of Liberty, New York, New York University Press, 1998.

A. Sen, Development as Freedom, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1999;

F. Zakaria, The Future of Freedom, New York, W.W. Norton, 2003.

Foreign students are invited to contact the instructor for help with the choice of texts. They are also welcome to study the Italian texts listed in the Italian version of the programme.

Teaching methods

The course is composed of 30 classes, each 2 hour-long, for a total of 60 hours and 10 credits.

Assessment methods

The final exam consists in a discussion of the two compulsory readings as well as of the texts chosen by the student. Foreign students can take the final exam either in English or in Italian.

Links to further information

http://didattica.spbo.unibo.it/pais/

Office hours

See the website of Giovanni Giorgini