History of Political Thought
A.Y. 2019/2020
Learning objectives
The course aims to allow the students to acquire the theoretical, methodological and critical tools of the history of political thought. The student will acquire the ability to apply the knowledge learned in the context of the history of political thought for the purpose of a critical re-elaboration of the problems and will be able to express critical judgments. At the end of the course the students should have achieved the ability to communicate clearly, and to write in a correct way, synthetic considerations on the main issues of modern and contemporary politics, critically reshaping ideas and theses put forward by the main authors who have contributed to the western political and philosophical tradition.
Expected learning outcomes
Knowledge and understanding
At the end of the course, the student:
1. has an adequate knowledge of the theories and themes in the history of political thought and can identify and discuss its critical points;
2. masters a systematic and in-depth knowledge of the history of political thought from ancient times to contemporary times, acquired through the reading of the classics and the study of secondary literature;
3. has proficient knowledge of the bibliographic resources and methodological tools characterising the historical and political research.
Ability to apply knowledge and understanding
At the end of the course, the student:
1. can master and apply the knowledge acquired in the history of political thought to make critical judgments in relation to the issues addressed;
2. can apply the acquired knowledge on the historical development of the argumentative forms, traditions of thought to the analysis of textual and theoretical problems in contemporary political thought;
3. can master and apply the methodological resources and bibliographic tools of political-philosophical research and can produce original research, discussing the results obtained.
At the end of the course, the student:
1. has an adequate knowledge of the theories and themes in the history of political thought and can identify and discuss its critical points;
2. masters a systematic and in-depth knowledge of the history of political thought from ancient times to contemporary times, acquired through the reading of the classics and the study of secondary literature;
3. has proficient knowledge of the bibliographic resources and methodological tools characterising the historical and political research.
Ability to apply knowledge and understanding
At the end of the course, the student:
1. can master and apply the knowledge acquired in the history of political thought to make critical judgments in relation to the issues addressed;
2. can apply the acquired knowledge on the historical development of the argumentative forms, traditions of thought to the analysis of textual and theoretical problems in contemporary political thought;
3. can master and apply the methodological resources and bibliographic tools of political-philosophical research and can produce original research, discussing the results obtained.
Lesson period: Second semester
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Single course
This course cannot be attended as a single course. Please check our list of single courses to find the ones available for enrolment.
Course syllabus and organization
Single session
Responsible
Lesson period
Second semester
Course syllabus
1 The origin of the commercial society and of the homo oeconomicus
We will analyse the origin of homo oeconomicus and the emergence of the commercial society through the studies of Friedrich von Hayek, Louis Dumont, Elena Pulcini and Christopher Berry.
2 The fable of the bees by Bernard Mandeville
We will read and comment on The Fable of the Bees by Mandeville, a fundamental work to understand the relationship between economy, morality and politics at the beginning of the eighteenth century.
3 The Theory of Moral Sentiments
We will read and comment on some pages of The Theory of Moral Sentiments, the work in which Adam Smith criticizes Mandeville's most provocative theses.
We will analyse the origin of homo oeconomicus and the emergence of the commercial society through the studies of Friedrich von Hayek, Louis Dumont, Elena Pulcini and Christopher Berry.
2 The fable of the bees by Bernard Mandeville
We will read and comment on The Fable of the Bees by Mandeville, a fundamental work to understand the relationship between economy, morality and politics at the beginning of the eighteenth century.
3 The Theory of Moral Sentiments
We will read and comment on some pages of The Theory of Moral Sentiments, the work in which Adam Smith criticizes Mandeville's most provocative theses.
Prerequisites for admission
The course is open to post graduate students (Laurea magistrale) and assumes a basic knowledge of the history of modern philosophy and of history of political thought gained during the B.A. degree (Laurea Triennale).
Teaching methods
Lectures
Debate and discussion
Work Group
Debate and discussion
Work Group
Teaching Resources
Readings and assignments for attending students:
Assignments for both 6 and 9 ECTS exams:
1 E. Pulcini, L'individuo senza passioni. Individualismo moderno e perdita del legame sociale, Torino, Bollati Boringhieri, 2001.
2 B. Mandeville, La favola delle api, Bari-Roma, Laterza, 1987 (e ristampe successive), pp. 3-51, pp. 70-79; pp. 132-149; B. Mandeville, Dialoghi tra Orazio e Cleomene, Lecce, Milella, 1978, pp. 67-228; B. Mandeville, La ricerca sull'origine dell'onore e sull'utilità del Cristianesimo in guerra, Firenze, La Nuova Italia, 1998, pp. 2-65.
3 One text of your choice:
P. Carrive, Bernard Mandeville. Passions, Vices, Vertus, Paris, Vrin, 1980.
M. Goldsmith, Private Vices, Public Benefits. Bernard Mandeville Social and Political Thought, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1985.
E. Hundert, The Enlightenment's Fable, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1994.
I. Primer (edited by), Mandeville Studies. New Explorations in the Art and Thought of Dr. Bernard Mandeville (1670-1733), The Hague, Martin Nijhoff, 1975.
M.E. Scribano, Natura umana e società competitiva. Studio su Mandeville, Milano, Feltrinelli, 1980.
M. Simonazzi, Mandeville, Roma, Carocci, 2011.
M. Tolonen, Mandeville and Hume anatomists of civil society, Oxford, Voltaire Foundation, 2013.
Additional assignments for 9 ECTS exam:
4 A. Smith, La teoria dei sentimenti morali, Milano, BUR, 1995, pp. 81-138; 149-155; 168-175; 198-221; 251-290; 425-434; 579-614.
Readings and assignments for non-attending students:
Assignments for both 6 and 9 ECTS exams:
1 E. Pulcini, L'individuo senza passioni. Individualismo moderno e perdita del legame sociale, Torino, Bollati Boringhieri, 2001.
2 A.M. Battista, Nascita della psicologia politica, Genova, ECIG, 1982; ristampato con il titolo Psicologia e politica nella letteratura eterodossa francese del Seicento, in A.M. Battista, Politica e morale nella Francia dell'età moderna, a cura di A.M. Lazzarino Del Grosso, Genova, Name, 1998, pp. 221-247.
3 B. Mandeville, La favola delle api, Bari-Roma, Laterza, 1987, pp. 3-51, pp. 70-79; pp. 132-149; B. Mandeville, Dialoghi tra Orazio e Cleomene, Lecce, Milella, 1978, pp. 67-228; B. Mandeville, La ricerca sull'origine dell'onore e sull'utilità del Cristianesimo in guerra, Firenze, La Nuova Italia, 1998, pp. 2-65.
4 One text of your choice:
P. Carrive, Bernard Mandeville. Passions, Vices, Vertus, Paris, Vrin, 1980.
M. Goldsmith, Private Vices, Public Benefits. Bernard Mandeville Social and Political Thought, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1985.
E. Hundert, The Enlightenment's Fable, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1994.
I. Primer (edited by), Mandeville Studies. New Explorations in the Art and Thought of Dr. Bernard Mandeville (1670-1733), The Hague, Martin Nijhoff, 1975.
M.E. Scribano, Natura umana e società competitiva. Studio su Mandeville, Milano, Feltrinelli, 1980.
M. Simonazzi, Mandeville, Roma, Carocci, 2011.
M. Tolonen, Mandeville and Hume anatomists of civil society, Oxford, Voltaire Foundation, 2013.
Additional assignments for 9 ECTS exam:
5 A. Smith, La teoria dei sentimenti morali, Milano, BUR, 1995, pp. 81-138; 149-155; 168-175; 198-221; 251-290; 425-434; 579-614.
6 One text of your choice:
S. Cremaschi, Il sistema della ricchezza. Economia politica e il problema del metodo in Adam Smith, Milano, Franco Angeli, 1984.
K. Haakonssen, The Science of a Legislator. The Natural Jurisprudence of David Hume and Adam Smith, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1981.
I. Hont, Politcs in Commercial Society. Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Adam Smith, edited by B. Kapossy and M. Sonenscher, Cambridge Mass., Harvard University Press, 2015.
E. Rothschild, Sentimenti economici. Adam Smith, Condorcet e l'Illuminismo, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2003.
E. Schliesser, Adam Smith. Systematic Philosopher and Public Thinker, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2017.
D. Winch, Adam Smith's Politics, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1978; tr. it. La politica di Adam Smith, Ancona, Otium, 1991.
A Zanini, Adam Smith. Economia, morale, diritto, Milano, Bruno Mondadori, 1998
Slides and other digital resources available on e-learning course: https://msimonazzisfp.ariel.ctu.unimi.it/
Assignments for both 6 and 9 ECTS exams:
1 E. Pulcini, L'individuo senza passioni. Individualismo moderno e perdita del legame sociale, Torino, Bollati Boringhieri, 2001.
2 B. Mandeville, La favola delle api, Bari-Roma, Laterza, 1987 (e ristampe successive), pp. 3-51, pp. 70-79; pp. 132-149; B. Mandeville, Dialoghi tra Orazio e Cleomene, Lecce, Milella, 1978, pp. 67-228; B. Mandeville, La ricerca sull'origine dell'onore e sull'utilità del Cristianesimo in guerra, Firenze, La Nuova Italia, 1998, pp. 2-65.
3 One text of your choice:
P. Carrive, Bernard Mandeville. Passions, Vices, Vertus, Paris, Vrin, 1980.
M. Goldsmith, Private Vices, Public Benefits. Bernard Mandeville Social and Political Thought, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1985.
E. Hundert, The Enlightenment's Fable, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1994.
I. Primer (edited by), Mandeville Studies. New Explorations in the Art and Thought of Dr. Bernard Mandeville (1670-1733), The Hague, Martin Nijhoff, 1975.
M.E. Scribano, Natura umana e società competitiva. Studio su Mandeville, Milano, Feltrinelli, 1980.
M. Simonazzi, Mandeville, Roma, Carocci, 2011.
M. Tolonen, Mandeville and Hume anatomists of civil society, Oxford, Voltaire Foundation, 2013.
Additional assignments for 9 ECTS exam:
4 A. Smith, La teoria dei sentimenti morali, Milano, BUR, 1995, pp. 81-138; 149-155; 168-175; 198-221; 251-290; 425-434; 579-614.
Readings and assignments for non-attending students:
Assignments for both 6 and 9 ECTS exams:
1 E. Pulcini, L'individuo senza passioni. Individualismo moderno e perdita del legame sociale, Torino, Bollati Boringhieri, 2001.
2 A.M. Battista, Nascita della psicologia politica, Genova, ECIG, 1982; ristampato con il titolo Psicologia e politica nella letteratura eterodossa francese del Seicento, in A.M. Battista, Politica e morale nella Francia dell'età moderna, a cura di A.M. Lazzarino Del Grosso, Genova, Name, 1998, pp. 221-247.
3 B. Mandeville, La favola delle api, Bari-Roma, Laterza, 1987, pp. 3-51, pp. 70-79; pp. 132-149; B. Mandeville, Dialoghi tra Orazio e Cleomene, Lecce, Milella, 1978, pp. 67-228; B. Mandeville, La ricerca sull'origine dell'onore e sull'utilità del Cristianesimo in guerra, Firenze, La Nuova Italia, 1998, pp. 2-65.
4 One text of your choice:
P. Carrive, Bernard Mandeville. Passions, Vices, Vertus, Paris, Vrin, 1980.
M. Goldsmith, Private Vices, Public Benefits. Bernard Mandeville Social and Political Thought, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1985.
E. Hundert, The Enlightenment's Fable, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1994.
I. Primer (edited by), Mandeville Studies. New Explorations in the Art and Thought of Dr. Bernard Mandeville (1670-1733), The Hague, Martin Nijhoff, 1975.
M.E. Scribano, Natura umana e società competitiva. Studio su Mandeville, Milano, Feltrinelli, 1980.
M. Simonazzi, Mandeville, Roma, Carocci, 2011.
M. Tolonen, Mandeville and Hume anatomists of civil society, Oxford, Voltaire Foundation, 2013.
Additional assignments for 9 ECTS exam:
5 A. Smith, La teoria dei sentimenti morali, Milano, BUR, 1995, pp. 81-138; 149-155; 168-175; 198-221; 251-290; 425-434; 579-614.
6 One text of your choice:
S. Cremaschi, Il sistema della ricchezza. Economia politica e il problema del metodo in Adam Smith, Milano, Franco Angeli, 1984.
K. Haakonssen, The Science of a Legislator. The Natural Jurisprudence of David Hume and Adam Smith, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1981.
I. Hont, Politcs in Commercial Society. Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Adam Smith, edited by B. Kapossy and M. Sonenscher, Cambridge Mass., Harvard University Press, 2015.
E. Rothschild, Sentimenti economici. Adam Smith, Condorcet e l'Illuminismo, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2003.
E. Schliesser, Adam Smith. Systematic Philosopher and Public Thinker, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2017.
D. Winch, Adam Smith's Politics, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1978; tr. it. La politica di Adam Smith, Ancona, Otium, 1991.
A Zanini, Adam Smith. Economia, morale, diritto, Milano, Bruno Mondadori, 1998
Slides and other digital resources available on e-learning course: https://msimonazzisfp.ariel.ctu.unimi.it/
Assessment methods and Criteria
The final examination consists of an interview on the topics and texts provided by the program, aimed at ascertaining the comprehension of the texts, a thorough knowledge of the main conceptual contributions of the history of political thought in the eighteenth century and the ability to approach the issues of a general nature adopting the appropriate methodological perspectives. The student must show that he is able to discuss the arguments of the various authors using a suitable vocabulary and to know how to orient himself within the bibliographic apparatus of reference in the historical-political field.
Students who follow the course will have the opportunity to take part of the exam through exercises, lectures and group work.
Evaluation criteria:
- knowledge of the theoretical aspects of the topics discusses during the course (exposition);
- ability to exemplify concepts (understanding);
- autonomy of judgement, capacity of use and apply concepts (development);
- communication skills and the adequacy of language.
Students who follow the course will have the opportunity to take part of the exam through exercises, lectures and group work.
Evaluation criteria:
- knowledge of the theoretical aspects of the topics discusses during the course (exposition);
- ability to exemplify concepts (understanding);
- autonomy of judgement, capacity of use and apply concepts (development);
- communication skills and the adequacy of language.
Unita' didattica A
SPS/02 - HISTORY OF POLITICAL THOUGHT - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Unita' didattica B
SPS/02 - HISTORY OF POLITICAL THOUGHT - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Unita' didattica C
SPS/02 - HISTORY OF POLITICAL THOUGHT - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Professor(s)
Reception:
Office hours: Thursday, 4.30 pm-7.30 pm via Teams, with prior appointment by email.
Cortile della Ghiacciaia, first floor, or Microsoft Teams.