POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY
Stampa
Enrollment year
2019/2020
Academic year
2020/2021
Regulations
DM270
Academic discipline
SPS/01 (POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY)
Department
DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
Course
POLITICAL SCIENCE AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Curriculum
Studi internazionali
Year of study
Period
1st semester (28/09/2020 - 11/12/2020)
ECTS
6
Lesson hours
40 lesson hours
Language
Italian
Activity type
ORAL TEST
Teacher
CARTER IAN FRANK (titolare) - 6 ECTS
Prerequisites
There are no formal requirements for embarking on this course. However, students will find useful a prior acquantance with the forms of power and the differences between types of political regime, with the basic concepts of political economy, and/or with some of the classic authors in the history of political thought -- in particular, contractualists such as Locke, Rousseau and Kant, and utilitarians such as Bentham and Mill.
Learning outcomes
The course aims to provide students with in-depth knowledge of the problems of some of the main problems of contemporary normative political theory, in particular concerning theories of justice, their application in making ethical evaluations of public policies, and the underlying philosophical problems. The course also aims to develop students' capacities for criticism and argumentation, and for interpretation and analysis of abstract texts, and for the clear and orderly exposition of one's own ideas.
Course contents
The course will introduce, and provide comparative analysis of, some of the main contemporary theories of justice -- in particular utilitarianism, liberal egalitarianism, libertarianism, and the socialist egalitarian critique of liberalism and libertarianism. The main authors referred to will be J. Rawls, R. Nozick. J. Harsanyi, and G.A. Cohen. The theories of these authors will be evaluative comparatively, with particular reference to the concepts of freedom, equality, and rights.
Teaching methods
The course mostly consists in lectures. However, some classes will require participation on the students' part, aimed at developing the capacity for critical argumentation.
Reccomended or required readings
The exam will be based on a set of texts (articles and book chapters). These texts (in their Italian versions) are collected together as photocopies and can be purchased from the CLU bookshop in Via San Fermo, Pavia. Ask for: “Dispensa di Filosofia politica, anno accademico 2020/21”.

Non-italian exchange students may request an alternative list of equivalent English-language readings.

The texts are divided into two groups: a first group of introductory readings, and a second group of texts of the main authors discussed in the course.

Introductory readings:

1. W. Kymlicka, Introduzione alla filosofia politica contemporanea (Feltrinelli, 1996), cap. 1, “Utilitarismo”, pp. 19-62.
2. S. Maffettone, Introduzione a Rawls (Laterza, 2010), pp. 18-51.
3. M. Sandel, Giustizia. Il nostro bene comune, Feltrinelli, Milano, 2010, cap. 3: “Abbiamo la proprietà di noi stessi? Il libertarismo", pp. 69-88.
4. C. Arnsperger e P. Van Parijs, Quanta diseguaglianza possiamo accettare? Etica economica e sociale, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2003, cap. 2: "Il libertarismo".
5. F. Pasquali, "Una filosofia socialista", in Mondoperaio 3/2011, pp. 59-65.

Texts of the main authors:

6. J. Harsanyi, “Moralità e teoria del comportamento razionale”, in A. Sen e B. Williams (a cura di), Utilitarismo e oltre, Il Saggiatore, Milano 1990, pp. 51-80.
7. J. Rawls, Una teoria della giustizia (Feltrinelli, 1982), primo capitolo, pp. 21-60.
8. J. Rawls, estratti, in: V. Ottonelli, (a cura di), Leggere Rawls, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2010, pp. 85-117, 137-43.
9. R. Nozick, Anarchia, stato e utopia, Il Saggiatore, Milano 2000, pp. 48-65, 163-194.
10. G.A. Cohen, “Capitalismo, libertà e proletariato”, in I. Carter e M. Ricciardi (a cura di), L’idea di libertà, Feltrinelli, Milano 1996, pp. 161-181.
11. G.A. Cohen, Per l'eguaglianza e la giustizia, L'Asino d'Oro, Roma 2016, cap. 1 sez. I: "L'argomento degli incentivi", pp. 35-59.
Assessment methods
Student assessment is by a written exam of two hours. In the first hour, students will answer two compulsory questions of an expository nature. In the second hour, they will answer one compulsory question of a more open nature where a knowledge of the texts of the main authors will be required.

The questions posed in the exam are designed to test students' comprehension of the concepts and arguments presented in the lectures and in the exam texts, their capacity to compare and criticise those arguments, their capacity to apply them to important public questions, and their capacity to expound arguments clearly in written form.

Non-italian students may choose to write their exam scripts in English or French.
Further information
Sustainable development goals - Agenda 2030