The teaching is organized as follows:

Learning objectives

Ethics of Relation The course is aimed to understand the ethical relationship by the point of view of the rational foundation of ethics: in order to this, the course is based on the knowledge of texts of the twentieth century or contemporary philosophy (referring to the ethical meaning of living in the “polis”, to communication ethics and dialogue, to the relationship to environment and aesthetics) and to the knowledge of the origins of the various ethical theories connected to those texts; this way the course aims to promote the skill to apply theoretical and methodological tools in order to develop ethics of relation in the areas that affect the life of the human being in relationship with the community, with the natural and social environment and with culture and science, producing so an organic and systematic overview that by the use of the logical-argumentative competence allows to develop a personal critical reflection and actualization concerning the ethical, relational, communicative and cultural sphere.

Prerequisites and basic notions

There are no prerequisites for this course, apart from the basic knowledge of the history of philosophy.

Program

Relational nature of the human being and performative agency.

The course is aimed to focus the meaning of the ethical relationship both as regards the understanding of human nature and as regards the ethical meaning of performative agency and community. To this end, the following aspects, among others, will be developed:

- Introduction to the ethics of relation;
- The path of philosophical thought, according to Martin Buber, around the question "What is the human being?"
- Relational nature of the human being;
- Gratuity and reciprocity in the original value of the relationship: "Me" and the "other" according to Buber;
- The subject as a "crossroads of relationships" in the Ethics of relation by Adriano Fabris;
- Relational and performative meaning of agency;
- Ethics of relation and community;
- In the exercise part, the development of an in-depth work and discussion on philosophical understanding of human nature and ethics of relation will be proposed by comparing the different views presented in the reference texts.

Bibliography

Didactic methods

The teaching methods consist of lectures and exercises. During the lectures, the analysis, commentary and discussion of the reference texts listed in the “Bibliography” section will be carried out, thus addressing the program contents in the perspective of the teaching objectives. The exercise part will be carried out, as anticipated above, through an in-depth work and discussion on the interrelationship between philosophy and ethics of relationship by comparing the different views presented in the reference texts.
Both lectures and exercises will be held face to face in the classroom. Lectures will also be recorded and subsequently made available from time to time for later viewing in the e-learning of the course. However, the exercises will not be recorded.
The reference texts indicated in the "Bibliography" section are mandatory for both attending and non-attending students, specifying that the attendance of the exercise part requires the active participation of students. Therefore non-attending students will carry out the exercise work by writing a paper concerning the program's topics and consisting of minimum 20000 and maximum 25000 characters (including spaces) to be sent to the teacher. This essay must be submitted by non-attending students (via e-mail to the teacher's institutional e-mail address) one week before the official exam, so that the teacher has the time necessary to formulate a judgment (which will contribute to the final evaluation during the exam as described below in the section "Learning assessment procedures").

Learning assessment procedures

The exam consists, both for the attending and for the non-attending students, of an oral exam concerning the program and the mandatory reference texts listed in the “Bibliography” section and also in the evaluation of the exercise activity carried out.

Evaluation criteria

In order to pass the exam, students will have to demonstrate that they have achieved the learning outcomes; therefore the following will be verified:
1) The knowledge and interpretative skills acquired with respect to the mandatory reference texts and to the teaching program, in the light of a valid critical and hermeneutic approach to those same texts and to addressed issues;
2) Acquired skills on a methodological and logical-argumentative level;
3) Skill to develop a personal critical reflection and actualization regarding the ethical, relational, communicative and cultural sphere, starting from the addressed issues.

Criteria for the composition of the final grade

The assessment will concern both parts of the course (lessons and exercises): the grade will be single and will be expressed in thirtieths at the end of the oral exam described above.

Exam language

Italiano.