The western tradition: moral and political values

A.A. 2024/2025
12
Crediti massimi
80
Ore totali
SSD
M-FIL/06 SPS/02
Lingua
Inglese
Obiettivi formativi
The course aims at introducing the students to the moral and political values prominent in the Western tradition. A selection of values (such as liberty, autonomy, equality, fairness, fraternity, solidarity, critique, limitation of power..) and issues connected with them will be presented and analyzed in order to teach the students how to recognize when they are at stake, when they conflict with each other and how to critically assess the possible solutions and policies dealing with these values. At the end of the course, the students must be able to evaluate social and political issues in the light of the main moral and political values and to envisage the justification for the choices concerning them.
Risultati apprendimento attesi
The expected learning outcomes include:
- The knowledge and understanding of the meaning and the practical implications of the main moral and political values in the Western tradition
-The ability to apply the knowledge and understanding of these values to the issues raised by the conflict among the values themselves and by typical contemporary social problems
-The ability to analyse and evaluate critically real life situations taken from the recent history of moral and political discussion
-The skill to communicate and argue in favour and against some values in specific situations, identifying themselves with one or another of the different opinions concerning the issue at stake in a discussion with the colleagues and the teacher (debate method)
-The ability to read, understand, summarize and communicate the content of chapters and articles concerning the moral and political values discussed, obtained through the reading and exposition in the classroom, guided by the teacher (flipped classroom method)
Corso singolo

Questo insegnamento può essere seguito come corso singolo.

Programma e organizzazione didattica

Edizione unica

Responsabile
Periodo
Primo trimestre

Prerequisiti
The admission to the course requires a general preliminary knowledge of the Western moral and political tradition. No specific knowledge in philosophy or political theory is required.
Modalità di verifica dell’apprendimento e criteri di valutazione
UNIT 1
Attendant students are required to read the assigned materials during the course and to participate actively in the discussion of the texts. Also, the students have to show, in the final colloquium, that they have read and understood all the assigned texts and that they can argue on relevant issues using the concepts, the knowledge and the theories that have been presented and used in the course.
The assessment is based on an oral colloquium, and it includes the evaluation of the active role played by each student (through short presentations of the texts, participation in the discussion, offering arguments and cases, raising objections to the theories) during the course.
For non-attendant students, evaluation is based on an oral colloquium.
The criteria for assessment are:
1. Adequate and complete knowledge of the contents and the material of the course
2. Adequate language in the use of moral concepts and theories
3. Clarity of exposition in the presentations and in answering the questions
4. Capacity to re-elaborate the contents in order to face problematic issues in morally and politically relevant situations
The mark is assigned in 30/30

UNIT 2
The course will combine lessons, student presentations, and class discussion to provide students with a general and unified overview of four key themes in the Western political tradition. In lieu of presentations, non-attending students will be expected to write a short paper (3-5 pages). In the final oral colloquium, attending and non-attending students should demonstrate that
- they have read and understood the teaching materials and all the texts listed in the bibliography
- they can argue on relevant issues using the concepts and theories explained and discussed in the course.
The assessment will be based on
the paper or the presentation (40% of the mark)
the final oral colloquium (60% of the mark)
The mark will be expressed in 30/30.
Unit 1
Programma
Unit 1
Course syllabus
These lessons (40 hours) are divided into 5 thematic sessions, each consisting of 8 hours.

1. European values and ethical-political traditions
a. Moral values and the main moral traditions
b. Critical values: "Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité"
c. The ethics of Enlightenment
d. I. Kant, An Answer to the Question: What is Enlightenment? (1784): presentation, objections and discussion

2. Liberty & Autonomy
a. The meanings of freedom and liberty
b. I. Berlin, Two concepts of liberty, (extract) (1958): presentation, objections and discussion
c. The value of autonomy
d. I. Kant, Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, Section II (extract) (1785): presentation, objections and discussion

3. Equality & Fairness
a. The idea of equality
b. J-J. Rousseau, A Discourse on Inequality (1755) (extract): presentation, objections and discussion
c. Equality of what?
d. J. Rawls, A Theory of Justice (1971) (extract): presentation, objections and discussion

4. Fraternity & Solidarity
a. From fraternity to modern solidarity
b. K. Bayertz, Four Uses of "Solidarity" (1999): presentation, objections and discussion
c. Solidarity as a challenge: Europe, crises, ageing society
d. C. Gould, Transnational Solidarities (2007): presentation, objections and discussion

5. Emancipation and Non-Western views
a. Emancipation and social criticism
b. A. Honneth, The Original Idea: The Consummation of the Revolution in Social Freedom (2015): presentation, objections and discussion
c. Colonialism and post-colonialism
d. D. Chakrabarty, The Idea of Provincializing Europe (2000): presentation, objections and discussion
Please note: The syllabus will be fine-tuned at the beginning of the course. The final version of the syllabus, completed with more precise bibliographical indications and suggestions for papers and presentations, will be available on the Ariel website of the course. https://mpvwt.ariel.ctu.unimi.it/v5/home/Default.aspx
Metodi didattici
Frontal lessons and structured discussions of assigned texts (40 hours).
The teaching is divided into 5 thematic Sessions (8 hours per Session), each comprising 4 units (2 hours per unit); 2 units are devoted to frontal lessons introducing the history and theory of each moral and political value (presented in couples: see the program); 2 units are devoted to structured discussions of assigned relevant texts concerning the values.
During the structured discussion the students have: 1) to shortly present the assigned text (10-15 minutes); 2) to discuss the text, arguing its basis in favour and against the thesis proposed by the author (30 minutes); 3) to offer and discuss examples proposed by the teacher (30 minutes); 4) to take a precisely argued position on the topics chosen for the discussion (15 minutes).
The aim of the active part is to train the students' argumentative capacities on issues where the moral and political values are at stake.
At the end of each discussion unit, the teacher summarizes the results of the discussion and re-organizes the contents concerning each value in a systematic perspective. The whole of the values treated in the course offer a general unitary overview of the Western moral and political tradition.
Materiale di riferimento
Teaching Resources
1. European values and moral traditions
Bibliography: I. Kant, An Answer to the Question: What is Enlightenment? (1784).
2. Liberty & Autonomy
Bibliography: I. Berlin, Two concepts of liberty (1958), in Four Essays on Liberty, Oxford University Press, Oxford 1969; I. Kant, Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, Section II (extract).
3. Equality & Fairness
Bibliography: J-J. Rousseau, A Discourse on Inequality (1755) (extract); J. Rawls, A Theory of Justice (1971), Belknap Press, Cambridge 1971/1999, pp. 3-19 (extract)
4. Fraternity & Solidarity
Bibliography: K. Bayertz, "Four Uses of 'Solidarity'", in Id. (ed.), Solidarity, Kluwer, Dordrecht 1999, pp. 3-28; C. Gould, "Transnational Solidarities", Journal of Social Philosophy, Vol. 38 No. 1, pp. 148-164.
5. Emancipation and Non-Western views
Bibliography: A. Honneth, The Original Idea: The Consummation of the Revolution in Social Freedom, in Id., The Idea of Socialism, Polity Press, Cambridge 2018, pp. 1-26; D. Chakrabarty, The Idea of Provincializing Europe (2000), in Id., "Provincializing Europe", Princeton University Press, Princeton 2000, pp. 3-23.
Unit 2
Programma
Course syllabus
The course will be divided into five parts: an introduction and four thematic sections

1.Introduction (4 hours)
-Political values and the value of history
-Political values and contested concepts

2. Political freedom (9 hours)
- Beyond Berlin's distinction: negative liberty and Skinner's third concept of freedom
- Pettit's republican idea of freedom
- Positive liberty and Honneth's view of social freedom
Student presentations and class discussion

3. Constitutionalism (9 hours)
-Constitutionalism as a contested concept: before and after Montesquieu
-Constant's constitutionalism as institutional pluralism
-Sieyès's distinction between constituent power and constituted power
Student presentations and class discussion


4. Critique (9 hours)
-Freedom, critique, and political society: La Boétie's notion of voluntary servitude
-What is critique? Foucault's art of voluntary inservitude
-What is critique? Walzer's social criticism
Student presentations and class discussion

5. Feminism (9 hours)
-How many feminisms are there? The three waves of feminism
-A glimpse of Italian feminism
-Current debates: intersectionality and beyond
Student presentations

Please note, The syllabus will be fine-tuned at the beginning of the course. The final version of the syllabus, with more detailed bibliographic references and suggestions for papers and presentations, will be available on the course's Ariel website:
https://mpvwt.ariel.ctu.unimi.it/v5/home/Default.aspx
Metodi didattici
The course will combine frontal teaching, student presentations and class discussion. The teacher's frontal lessons will introduce each topic through a close examination and detailed explanation of the texts in the bibliography. Student presentations will facilitate class discussion through in-depth analysis of the texts assigned by the teacher. In lieu of presentation, non-attending students are required to write a short paper (3-5 pages).
Student presentations are expected to
summarise the main points of the assigned text
relate them to the main themes of the course
argue for or against the main theses of the assigned texts
raise comments and questions for class discussion
Each presentation will last 20 minutes. At the end of each presentation, the teacher will lead and moderate a class discussion. Student presentations will take place on the dates announced at the beginning of the course. The teacher will assign the texts for the student presentations at the beginning of each thematic section.
Student papers should
-argue on relevant issues using the concepts and theories explained and discussed in the course
-defend a personal opinion in a clear and coherent way
The topics for the papers will be posted on the Ariel page of the course at the beginning of class, together with the editorial norms for the composition. Papers must be sent by e-mail to the teacher 10 days before the oral colloquium.
The criteria for the assessment are:
1. Adequate and complete knowledge of all the contents and the material of the course
2. Adequate language in the use of political concepts and theories
3. Clarity and coherence of exposition (in oral colloquium as well as in papers and presentation)
4. Capacity to critically re-elaborate the contents in order to express personal opinions and address problematic issues
Materiale di riferimento
Teaching Resources
The following texts are required to be studied by both attending and non-attending students:
1) W.B. Gallie, Essentially Contested Concepts, in «Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society», New Series, vol. 56 (1955-56), pp. 167-198

2a) Q. Skinner, A Third Concept of Liberty, in «Proceedings of the British Academy», 117 (2002), pp. 237-268
2b) P. Pettit, Freedom, in D. Estlund, The Oxford Handbook of Political Philosophy, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2012
2c) A. Honneth, Three, Not Two, Concepts of Liberty: A Proposal to Enlarge Our Moral Self-Understanding, in R. Zuckert and J. Kreines (eds), Hegel on Philosophy in History, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2017, pp. 177-192

3a) B. Constant, Principles of Politcis (1815), https://oll.libertyfund.org/title/constant-principles-of-politics-applicable-to-all-governments, book 1, chap. 1-6 and book 3 and D.V.K. Steven, Benjamin Constant and Constitutionalism, in "Historia Constitucional", (2015), n. 16, pp. 19-46;
3b) Seyès E-J., What is the Third Estate?, choice edition and L. Rubinelli, How to Think Beyond Sovereignty: Emmanuel Sieyes on Constituent Power, in "European Journal of Political Theory", 2016, pp. 1-21

4a) E. de La Boétie, The Discourse of Voluntary Servitude, OLL: On Line Lybrary of Liberty: https://oll.libertyfund.org/title/kurz-the-discourse-of-voluntary-servitude
4b) M. Foucault, What is Critique? and What is Enlightenment?, in M. Foucault, The Politics of Truth, ed. by M.S. Lotringer and L. Hochroth, Los Angeles, Semiotext(e),2007, pp. 41-83 and S. Newman, The Question of Freedom in Foucault and La Boétie, «Soft-power» 2 (2015), n. 1: http://www.softpowerjournal.com/web/?p=789 OR
4c) M. Walzer, The Practice of Social Criticism, in M. Walzer, Interpretation and Social Criticism, Cambridge Mass., Harvard University Press, 1993, pp. 33-66 and M. Walzer, The Company of Critics: Social Criticism and Political Commitment in the Twentieth Century, New York, Basic Books, 2002, chapter on Foucault

5a) K. Chrenschaw, Mapping the Margins, Intersectionality, Identity Politics and Violence against Women of Color, in «Stanford Law Review», 43 (1991), no. 6, pp. 1241-1299 and A. Carastathis A., The Concept of Intersectionality in Feminist Theory, «Philosophy Compass» (2014), pp. 304-314, 5b) bell hooks, Feminism is for everybody, London, Routledge 2015 OR 5c) C. Arruzza, T. Bhattacharya and N. Fraser, Feminism for the 99%: A Manifesto, London Verso 2019

The course slides and the course teaching materials will be available for attendant and non-attendant students on the Ariel website of the course.

If necessary, non-attending students may resort to the following readings:
-F. Lovett, Republicanism, in The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2018/entries/republicanism/
-M. Bevir, The Contextual Approach, in G. Klosko (ed. by), The Oxford Handbook of the History of Political Philosophy, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2011
-C. Corradetti, The Frankfurt School and Critical Theory, C Corradetti, in The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: ttps://iep.utm.edu/frankfur/#:~:text
-N. Hirschmann, Feminism, in G. Klosko (ed. by), The Oxford Handbook of the History of Political Philosophy, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2011
- D. Cameron, Feminism, Chicago, The Chicago University Press, 2019
- D. Grimm, Constitutionalism: Past, Present, and Future, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2016, chapter 2: Conditions for the Emergence and Effectiveness of Modern Constitutionalism
Moduli o unità didattiche
Unit 1
M-FIL/06 - STORIA DELLA FILOSOFIA - CFU: 6
Lezioni: 40 ore

Unit 2
SPS/02 - STORIA DELLE DOTTRINE POLITICHE - CFU: 6
Lezioni: 40 ore
Docente: Volpe Alessandro

Docente/i
Ricevimento:
Giovedì 10.00-13.00. Per favore, prendere appuntamento via mail. (Pausa estiva dal 26/07/24 al 3/09/24)
Studio del docente e/o Piattaforma Teams.