Teaching code

4S010551

Teacher

Lorenzo Bernini

Coordinator

Lorenzo Bernini

Credits

9

Language

Italian

Scientific Disciplinary Sector (SSD)

SPS/01 - POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY

Period

Sem. 2A, Sem. 2B

Lessons timetable Moodle Seminars 0

Learning objectives

The course aims to prove examples of the contribution philosophy can give to the critical comprehension of political and social conflicts in the contemporary world. To that end, the students will learn:
- the main models of political philosophy: normativism, realism and critique;
- the main traditions of justification and critique of war: realistic approaches, theories of just war, pacifist theories and theories of nonviolence;
- the contribution of political philosophy to the understanding and resolution of conflicts based on sex, gender, sexuality, racialization, disablement, class and their intersections;
- the contribution of political philosophy to the understanding and resolution of colonial, postcolonial and decolonial conflicts.
By the end of the course, the students will be able to apply the acquired knowledge for a critical understanding of conflicts in the contemporary world.

Prerequisites and basic notions

The course is introductory and does not require particular prerequisites.

Program

Course title:
Thinking war and peace: a critique of the present
Course content (both for attending students and for non-attending students):
1. The first module of the course will open with an introduction to political philosophy, aimed at illustrating the critical method by which texts and authors in the program will be discussed. Then, with the premodern understanding of politics in the background (exemplified by Aristotle's philosophy), it will present the main doctrines that have guided the functioning of politics in modernity (absolutism, liberalism, democracy, socialism) through the thought of four classical philosophers (Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Karl Marx).
2. The second module of the course will present six different interpretations of war and peace matured in modern political reflection: realist (Niccolò Machiavelli, Thomas Hobbes, Carl Schmitt) and internationalist (Karl Marx, Nikolaj Lenin) concepts of war, just war theory (Francisco de Vitoria, Alberico Gentili, Ugo Grozio) and regular war theory (Emer Vattel), juridical (Immanuel Kant, Hans Kelsen) and radical pacifism (Erasmus from Rotterdam).
3. The third module of the course will make a critic of the classical categories developed during modernity to justify war, through the comparison of two different positions: the feminist and queer radical pacifism elaborated by Adriana Cavarero and Judith Butler, and Achille Mbembe's anticolonial thought.

Bibliography

Didactic methods

Seminar lectures, discussions on the topics in the program.
Classes will be held in-person, will be recorded, and will remain available for one year.

Learning assessment procedures

For both attending and non-attending students, the exam will consist of a two-hour written assignment.
The program will remain in effect for one year, then for six exam appeals (June 2023 to February 2024).

Evaluation criteria

To pass the exam, students must demonstrate that:
- they have understood the principles underlying the different traditions and the different philosophical models presented;
- they are able to present their arguments in a precise and organic way ;
- they know how to apply the knowledge acquired to achieve a critical understanding of the conflicts of the contemporary world.

Criteria for the composition of the final grade

To pass the exam, the student must demonstrate sufficient knowledge of each module.

Exam language

Italiano