Political Philosophy and Public Ethics

The course aims to introduce students to the critical analysis of organizations and institutions from the combined perspective of political philosophy and public ethics. While the study of political phenomena, conflict, and the idea of a well-ordered society has always been a central area of political philosophy, public ethics focuses on the study of different theoretical and methodological approaches to justify public choices and collective issues concerning common living. Our lives as citizens unfold in a public space governed by public policies and institutional decisions that shape and influence it. In order to find answers to the main political and public questions, we are sometimes consulted, while at other times our representatives make the decisions. However, the possibility of finding acceptable answers depends on the ability to locate responses that are neither subjective nor ideological. Studying the methods and principles that allow for fair participation in the discussion of goods and resources for coexistence means reasoning in terms of public ethics. The educational objective of this course is to develop knowledge and skills useful for finding criteria to justify or critically evaluate the legitimacy of decisions, institutions, and political and public practices, using terms that are also recognizable from the standpoint of dialogue and communication. Political philosophy and public ethics can thus be conceived as a repertoire of shared languages among individuals who remain partially morally estranged from each other, and among whom convergences, divergences, incompatibilities, and disagreements may arise. In this sense, both disciplinary perspectives define the criteria for public discussion on the reasons for preferring one rule over another, on the principles that can be used in policies, legislation, and institutions.
The acquired theoretical and methodological baggage will be applied to the analysis of concrete cases concerning one of the fundamental issues of political philosophy and public ethics: conflict and its management.

- knowledge and understanding of the main theoretical/methodological paradigms of political philosophy (deontological approach, consequentialist approach, public ethics and cases studied in class;
- ability to apply the knowledge and understanding acquired to the analysis and discussion of disputes at the heart of public debate, not only related to cases studied in class, but also to broader and more diverse dilemmatic contexts;
- critical judgment and evaluation skills, both of the theoretical perspectives addressed, and of the regulatory and practical contexts encountered and examined;
- the ability to make judgments and defend arguments associated with communication skills appropriate to make reasoning explicit and understandable in front of interlocutors, specialists and non-specialists;
- the ability to address conflictual organizational contexts and propose theoretical-practical solutions for conflict reduction.