Learning outcomes

In depth critical analysis on relevant themes of political philosophy

"The words of politics: what is freedom?"
Freedom: this word has recently come back into the public debate after the Paris attacks. Yet this key-term of Western political thought is often abused or imprecisely employed. The course aims at analyzing the modern concept of freedom by taking into account two crucial thinkers of the liberal tradition, Benjamin Constant and Alexis de Tocqueville, and Hannah Arendt's provoking analysis of freedom as active participation to political life and as "public happiness".

Program

Texts

• B. Constant, La libertà degli antichi, paragonata a quella dei moderni, Einaudi, 2005
(including the essay Profilo del liberalismo, by Pier Paolo Portinaro)

• A. de Tocqueville, La democrazia in America, a cura di G. Candeloro, edizione BUR, the following parts:
LIBRO PRIMO, pp. 19-121
LIBRO SECONDO, pp. 185-213, p. 253-278.
LIBRO TERZO pp. 511-539, pp. 579-634 e pp. 705-747

• H. Arendt, Tra passato e futuro, Garzanti (qualsiasi ristampa)

• Course papers:
1) H. Arendt, L’azione e la “ricerca della felicità” (da: Filosofia politica e pratica del pensiero. Arendt, Voegelin, Strauss, a cura di G. Duso, Franco Angeli, pp. 333-348);
2) O. Guaraldo, “Hannah Arendt. La politica come libertà”, in “Quaderni laici”, n. 7, 2012, pp. 97-116.

ATTENTION
1.The course papere will be available for downloading at the course
blog:www.publichappiness.wordpress.com
2. The course presupposes basic knowledge of the main theories and authors of modern political thought. Students can refer to the following textbook: S. Petrucciani, Modelli di filosofia politica, Einaudi 2003 (in particular "Parte seconda").

Examination Methods

oral exam