Teaching code

4S01088

Teacher

Andrea Favaro

Coordinator

Andrea Favaro

Credits

6

Language

Italian

Scientific Disciplinary Sector (SSD)

IUS/20 - PHILOSOPHY OF LAW

Period

2° periodo lezioni (2A) dal Feb 11, 2026 al Mar 24, 2026.

Courses Single

Authorized

Lessons timetable Moodle Seminars 0

Learning objectives

The course has the purpose to invite students to think in a critical way the relationship between law and politics, forcing them to investigate the fundamental reasons of the legal order. Specifically, the lessons will have the goal to enforce the awareness that legal orders cannot repress the individual liberty, because it has the aim to protect it. In this sense a special attention will be reserved to the issue of consent, as basis of a legitimate order, and therefore to the discussion about the limits of any sovereign “political obligation”. For this reason the course will have a specific philosophical content and, at the same, will push to consider the modern State within a historical perspective. At the end of the course, students will develop the ability to formulate, in an autonomous and critical way, opinions and elaborated arguments on the main legal questions dealt with in class.

Prerequisites and basic notions

There are no prerequisites

Program

The course aims to encourage students to critically reflect on the relationship between individuals, law, and institutions, leading to a reflection on the founding rationales of a legal system and, in particular, on the protection of individual freedoms guaranteed by it. In this regard, particular attention will be paid to the issue of consent with respect to institutions and, therefore, to the discussion of the justification of obedience to legal-political authority in the contemporary context. The course will seek to highlight the fracture marked by the advent of the modern state, when the medieval order collapsed and the transition to the legal system established after the Peace of Westphalia began. Upon completion of the course, students will acquire the ability to independently and critically formulate complex judgments and arguments on the main topics covered in the course.

Bibliography

Didactic methods

The course will be held orally. Expert scholars will discuss specific topics in dialogue with the instructor and the students.

Learning assessment procedures

The exam will be oral and will address the topics covered during the lecture (or those included in the textbooks for non-attending students). The aim is to assess students' ability to discuss the topics covered in the course. Students must demonstrate: - understanding and knowledge; - ability to formulate judgments; - communication skills; - study method.

Evaluation criteria

The candidate will be assessed on his or her understanding of the course topics and his or her ability to present and argue about them.

Criteria for the composition of the final grade

The grade will be awarded out of 30 based on: - the ability to understand and study the course topics; - the ability to present answers in appropriate terms; - the ability to critically argue the course content.

Exam language

italiano

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