History of Political Philosophy
A.Y. 2022/2023
Learning objectives
The course aims to provide students with a solid basic knowledge of the history of political philosophy. Students will acquire skills in textual and conceptual analysis. They will be able to place the classics of political philosophy in their historical and philosophical contexts. They will also be able to deal with the main historiographical interpretations, showing thereby that they have acquired good hermeneutic competences.
Expected learning outcomes
Knowledge and understanding
At the end of the course, the student:
- Understands the concepts and lines of argument used by the authors;
- Knows the fundamental aspects of the history of Western political philosophy from antiquity to the contemporary period (with special focus on the classics);
- Knows the fundamental lexicon of political philosophy in its historical development;
- Understands the relationships connecting the history of political philosophy to the history of scientific thought;
- Masters the basic methodological tools of the research in political philosophy.
Ability to apply knowledge and understanding
At the end of the course, the student:
- Can apply the understanding of concepts and argumentative forms to the analysis of complex texts written by political philosophers;
- Can apply the knowledge acquired studying specific texts and authors to the historical understanding and philosophical contextualization of other works and thinkers;
- Can apply the political-philosophical lexicon to the analysis and discussion of contemporary problems;
- Can apply the understanding of the historical relationships between political philosophy and other forms of knowledge to the analysis and discussion of texts and problems;
- Can make use of basic methodological tools and bibliographic resources to the preparation of a scientific paper in the political-philosophical domain.
At the end of the course, the student:
- Understands the concepts and lines of argument used by the authors;
- Knows the fundamental aspects of the history of Western political philosophy from antiquity to the contemporary period (with special focus on the classics);
- Knows the fundamental lexicon of political philosophy in its historical development;
- Understands the relationships connecting the history of political philosophy to the history of scientific thought;
- Masters the basic methodological tools of the research in political philosophy.
Ability to apply knowledge and understanding
At the end of the course, the student:
- Can apply the understanding of concepts and argumentative forms to the analysis of complex texts written by political philosophers;
- Can apply the knowledge acquired studying specific texts and authors to the historical understanding and philosophical contextualization of other works and thinkers;
- Can apply the political-philosophical lexicon to the analysis and discussion of contemporary problems;
- Can apply the understanding of the historical relationships between political philosophy and other forms of knowledge to the analysis and discussion of texts and problems;
- Can make use of basic methodological tools and bibliographic resources to the preparation of a scientific paper in the political-philosophical domain.
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
Course title:
Republicanism and contractualism: modern traditions of political philosophy compared
(60 hours - 9 CFU)
Course presentation.
The course aims, first, to introduce students to the problems and key concepts of political philosophy and, then, to present two particularly significant traditions of its development in the modern age: the republican tradition and the contractualist tradition.
The «Discorsi sulla prima deca di Tito Livio», the founding text of the modern republican tradition," and Thomas Hobbes' «De cive» one of the clearest and most concise expositions of his contractarian approach, will be studied in depth. The most significant theses of modern authors, from Milton to Locke, from Rousseau to Kant, that draw on the basic assumptions of the two traditions of political philosophy will be illustrated.
1. First Part - Learning Unit A (3 CFUs)
1.1. Recurrent problems and fundamental concepts of political philosophy
Students are required to prepare the following text:
B. Henry, A. Loretoni, A. Pirni, M. Solinas, eds.,
«Filosofia politica», Milano, Mondadori Università, 2020.
[pp. 186-196; 221-234; 306-317; 332-342 of this volume are not to be prepared].
1.2. The republican paradigm: Niccolò Machiavelli
Students are required to prepare the following texts:
N. Machiavelli, «Discorsi sopra la prima deca di Tito Livio»,
con introduzione di G. Sasso, premessa la testo e note di G. Inglese, Milano, Rizzoli, 1984, 1996²:
Book one: in full; book two: chapters 1-15; 19-23; 27-29; book three: chapters 1-9; 40 - 41.
Q. Skinner, «Machiavelli», Bologna, Il Mulino, 1999.
2. Second part - Learning Unit B (3 CFUs)
2.1. The contractualist paradigm: Thomas Hobbes
Students are required to prepare the following texts:
T. Hobbes, «De cive. Elementi filosofici sul cittadino»,
a cura di T. Magri, Roma, Editori Riuniti University Press, 2009;
N. Bobbio, «Thomas Hobbes», Torino, Einaudi, 2004
3. Third Part - Learning Unit C (3 CFUs).
Students are required to prepare one of the following texts of their choice:
Stephanus Junius Brutus, «Vindiciae contra tyrannos. Il potere legittimo del principe sul popolo e del popolo sul principe», a cura di Saffo Testoni Binetti, Napoli, Istituto Italiano per gli Studi Filosofici Press, 2021.
J. Milton, «Uccidere il tiranno», con una prefazione di Giulio Giorello, Milano, Raffaello Cortina Editore, 2011.
J. Harrington, «La Repubblica di Oceana», a cura di Giuseppe Schiavone, Torino, Utet Libreria, 2004.
B. Spinoza, «Trattato politico», con testo latino a fronte, a cura di Paolo Cristofolini, Pisa, ETS, 2004.
S. Pufendorf, Il diritto di natura e delle genti, and other texts presented in the following anthology: A.L. Schino, a cura di, «Il pensiero politico di Pufendorf», Roma - Bari, Laterza, 1995.
J. Locke, «Il secondo trattato sul governo», con testo inglese a fronte, e introduzione di Tito Magri, Milano, BUR, 1998, 2001.
E. Nuzzo, «La superiorità degli Stati liberi. I repubblicani inglesi (1649-1722)», Napoli, Edizioni Scientifiche Italiane, 1984 [antologia di testi di John Milton, James Harrington, Henry Neville, Thomas Gordon, John Trenchard, Algernon Sidney, Walter Moyle, available in photocopy on the course's ARIEL site].
J.-J. Rousseau, «Il contratto sociale», in one of the following editions:
J.-J. Rousseau, «Il contratto sociale», a cura di Roberto Gatti, Milano, BUR, 2005;
J.-J. Rousseau, «Il contratto sociale», con testo francese a fronte, a cura di Maria Garin, Introduzione di Tito Magri, Roma - Bari, Laterza, 2019;
I. Kant, «Primi principi metafisici della dottrina del diritto», con testo tedesco a fronte, a cura di Filippo Gonnelli, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2005;
I. Kant, «Per la pace perpetua», in one of the following editions:
I. Kant, «Per la pace perpetua», con una prefazione di Salvatore Veca, Milano, Feltrinelli, 2013;
I. Kant, «Per la pace perpetua», con una prefazione di Norberto Bobbio, Roma, Editori Riuniti University Press, 2020.
General caveats:
(a) The study of prefaces and introductions to the reported editions is an integral part of exam preparation.
b) Non-attending students of the bachelor's degree take the same syllabus as the attending students.
c) Students taking the exam for the second time are required to contact the professor to work out a individualized syllabus.
d) The professor is available to agree on partial modifications of the syllabus at the motivated request of students, made during office hours.
Republicanism and contractualism: modern traditions of political philosophy compared
(60 hours - 9 CFU)
Course presentation.
The course aims, first, to introduce students to the problems and key concepts of political philosophy and, then, to present two particularly significant traditions of its development in the modern age: the republican tradition and the contractualist tradition.
The «Discorsi sulla prima deca di Tito Livio», the founding text of the modern republican tradition," and Thomas Hobbes' «De cive» one of the clearest and most concise expositions of his contractarian approach, will be studied in depth. The most significant theses of modern authors, from Milton to Locke, from Rousseau to Kant, that draw on the basic assumptions of the two traditions of political philosophy will be illustrated.
1. First Part - Learning Unit A (3 CFUs)
1.1. Recurrent problems and fundamental concepts of political philosophy
Students are required to prepare the following text:
B. Henry, A. Loretoni, A. Pirni, M. Solinas, eds.,
«Filosofia politica», Milano, Mondadori Università, 2020.
[pp. 186-196; 221-234; 306-317; 332-342 of this volume are not to be prepared].
1.2. The republican paradigm: Niccolò Machiavelli
Students are required to prepare the following texts:
N. Machiavelli, «Discorsi sopra la prima deca di Tito Livio»,
con introduzione di G. Sasso, premessa la testo e note di G. Inglese, Milano, Rizzoli, 1984, 1996²:
Book one: in full; book two: chapters 1-15; 19-23; 27-29; book three: chapters 1-9; 40 - 41.
Q. Skinner, «Machiavelli», Bologna, Il Mulino, 1999.
2. Second part - Learning Unit B (3 CFUs)
2.1. The contractualist paradigm: Thomas Hobbes
Students are required to prepare the following texts:
T. Hobbes, «De cive. Elementi filosofici sul cittadino»,
a cura di T. Magri, Roma, Editori Riuniti University Press, 2009;
N. Bobbio, «Thomas Hobbes», Torino, Einaudi, 2004
3. Third Part - Learning Unit C (3 CFUs).
Students are required to prepare one of the following texts of their choice:
Stephanus Junius Brutus, «Vindiciae contra tyrannos. Il potere legittimo del principe sul popolo e del popolo sul principe», a cura di Saffo Testoni Binetti, Napoli, Istituto Italiano per gli Studi Filosofici Press, 2021.
J. Milton, «Uccidere il tiranno», con una prefazione di Giulio Giorello, Milano, Raffaello Cortina Editore, 2011.
J. Harrington, «La Repubblica di Oceana», a cura di Giuseppe Schiavone, Torino, Utet Libreria, 2004.
B. Spinoza, «Trattato politico», con testo latino a fronte, a cura di Paolo Cristofolini, Pisa, ETS, 2004.
S. Pufendorf, Il diritto di natura e delle genti, and other texts presented in the following anthology: A.L. Schino, a cura di, «Il pensiero politico di Pufendorf», Roma - Bari, Laterza, 1995.
J. Locke, «Il secondo trattato sul governo», con testo inglese a fronte, e introduzione di Tito Magri, Milano, BUR, 1998, 2001.
E. Nuzzo, «La superiorità degli Stati liberi. I repubblicani inglesi (1649-1722)», Napoli, Edizioni Scientifiche Italiane, 1984 [antologia di testi di John Milton, James Harrington, Henry Neville, Thomas Gordon, John Trenchard, Algernon Sidney, Walter Moyle, available in photocopy on the course's ARIEL site].
J.-J. Rousseau, «Il contratto sociale», in one of the following editions:
J.-J. Rousseau, «Il contratto sociale», a cura di Roberto Gatti, Milano, BUR, 2005;
J.-J. Rousseau, «Il contratto sociale», con testo francese a fronte, a cura di Maria Garin, Introduzione di Tito Magri, Roma - Bari, Laterza, 2019;
I. Kant, «Primi principi metafisici della dottrina del diritto», con testo tedesco a fronte, a cura di Filippo Gonnelli, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2005;
I. Kant, «Per la pace perpetua», in one of the following editions:
I. Kant, «Per la pace perpetua», con una prefazione di Salvatore Veca, Milano, Feltrinelli, 2013;
I. Kant, «Per la pace perpetua», con una prefazione di Norberto Bobbio, Roma, Editori Riuniti University Press, 2020.
General caveats:
(a) The study of prefaces and introductions to the reported editions is an integral part of exam preparation.
b) Non-attending students of the bachelor's degree take the same syllabus as the attending students.
c) Students taking the exam for the second time are required to contact the professor to work out a individualized syllabus.
d) The professor is available to agree on partial modifications of the syllabus at the motivated request of students, made during office hours.
Prerequisites for admission
No prerequisites are required.
Teaching methods
The course will be taught by the professor with face-to-face lectures. At the end of each lecture, a discussion of the issues addressed and key concepts illustrated may take place.
Lectures will be recorded and left available to students on the ARIEL platform.
Lectures will be recorded and left available to students on the ARIEL platform.
Teaching Resources
Students who intend to acquire 9 credits bring all three parts to the examination. Students who intend to acquire 6 credits, however, take parts 1 and 2 for examination.
1. First Part - Learning Unit A (3 CFUs)
1.1. Recurrent problems and fundamental concepts of political philosophy
Students are required to prepare the following text:
B. Henry, A. Loretoni, A. Pirni, M. Solinas, eds.,
«Filosofia politica», Milano, Mondadori Università, 2020.
[pp. 186-196; 221-234; 306-317; 332-342 of this volume are not to be prepared].
1.2. The republican paradigm: Niccolò Machiavelli
Students are required to prepare the following texts:
N. Machiavelli, «Discorsi sopra la prima deca di Tito Livio»,
con introduzione di G. Sasso, premessa la testo e note di G. Inglese, Milano, Rizzoli, 1984, 1996²:
Book one: in full; book two: chapters 1-15; 19-23; 27-29; book three: chapters 1-9; 40 - 41.
Q. Skinner, «Machiavelli», Bologna, Il Mulino, 1999.
2. Second part - Learning Unit B (3 CFUs)
2.1. The contractualist paradigm: Thomas Hobbes
Students are required to prepare the following texts:
T. Hobbes, «De cive. Elementi filosofici sul cittadino»,
a cura di T. Magri, Roma, Editori Riuniti University Press, 2009;
N. Bobbio, «Thomas Hobbes», Torino, Einaudi, 2004
3. Third Part - Learning Unit C (3 CFUs).
Students are required to prepare one of the following texts of their choice:
Stephanus Junius Brutus, «Vindiciae contra tyrannos. Il potere legittimo del principe sul popolo e del popolo sul principe», a cura di Saffo Testoni Binetti, Napoli, Istituto Italiano per gli Studi Filosofici Press, 2021.
J. Milton, «Uccidere il tiranno», con una prefazione di Giulio Giorello, Milano, Raffaello Cortina Editore, 2011.
J. Harrington, «La Repubblica di Oceana», a cura di Giuseppe Schiavone, Torino, Utet Libreria, 2004.
B. Spinoza, «Trattato politico», con testo latino a fronte, a cura di Paolo Cristofolini, Pisa, ETS, 2004.
S. Pufendorf, Il diritto di natura e delle genti, and other texts presented in the following anthology: A.L. Schino, a cura di, «Il pensiero politico di Pufendorf», Roma - Bari, Laterza, 1995.
J. Locke, «Il secondo trattato sul governo», con testo inglese a fronte, e introduzione di Tito Magri, Milano, BUR, 1998, 2001.
E. Nuzzo, «La superiorità degli Stati liberi. I repubblicani inglesi (1649-1722)», Napoli, Edizioni Scientifiche Italiane, 1984 [antologia di testi di John Milton, James Harrington, Henry Neville, Thomas Gordon, John Trenchard, Algernon Sidney, Walter Moyle, available in photocopy on the course's ARIEL site].
J.-J. Rousseau, «Il contratto sociale», in one of the following editions:
J.-J. Rousseau, «Il contratto sociale», a cura di Roberto Gatti, Milano, BUR, 2005;
J.-J. Rousseau, «Il contratto sociale», con testo francese a fronte, a cura di Maria Garin, Introduzione di Tito Magri, Roma - Bari, Laterza, 2019;
I. Kant, «Primi principi metafisici della dottrina del diritto», con testo tedesco a fronte, a cura di Filippo Gonnelli, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2005;
I. Kant, «Per la pace perpetua», in one of the following editions:
I. Kant, «Per la pace perpetua», con una prefazione di Salvatore Veca, Milano, Feltrinelli, 2013;
I. Kant, «Per la pace perpetua», con una prefazione di Norberto Bobbio, Roma, Editori Riuniti University Press, 2020.
General caveats:
(a) The study of prefaces and introductions to the reported editions is an integral part of exam preparation.
b) Non-attending students of the bachelor's degree take the same syllabus as the attending students.
c) Students taking the exam for the second time are required to contact the professor to work out a individualized syllabus.
d) The professor is available to agree on partial modifications of the syllabus at the motivated request of students, made during office hours.
1. First Part - Learning Unit A (3 CFUs)
1.1. Recurrent problems and fundamental concepts of political philosophy
Students are required to prepare the following text:
B. Henry, A. Loretoni, A. Pirni, M. Solinas, eds.,
«Filosofia politica», Milano, Mondadori Università, 2020.
[pp. 186-196; 221-234; 306-317; 332-342 of this volume are not to be prepared].
1.2. The republican paradigm: Niccolò Machiavelli
Students are required to prepare the following texts:
N. Machiavelli, «Discorsi sopra la prima deca di Tito Livio»,
con introduzione di G. Sasso, premessa la testo e note di G. Inglese, Milano, Rizzoli, 1984, 1996²:
Book one: in full; book two: chapters 1-15; 19-23; 27-29; book three: chapters 1-9; 40 - 41.
Q. Skinner, «Machiavelli», Bologna, Il Mulino, 1999.
2. Second part - Learning Unit B (3 CFUs)
2.1. The contractualist paradigm: Thomas Hobbes
Students are required to prepare the following texts:
T. Hobbes, «De cive. Elementi filosofici sul cittadino»,
a cura di T. Magri, Roma, Editori Riuniti University Press, 2009;
N. Bobbio, «Thomas Hobbes», Torino, Einaudi, 2004
3. Third Part - Learning Unit C (3 CFUs).
Students are required to prepare one of the following texts of their choice:
Stephanus Junius Brutus, «Vindiciae contra tyrannos. Il potere legittimo del principe sul popolo e del popolo sul principe», a cura di Saffo Testoni Binetti, Napoli, Istituto Italiano per gli Studi Filosofici Press, 2021.
J. Milton, «Uccidere il tiranno», con una prefazione di Giulio Giorello, Milano, Raffaello Cortina Editore, 2011.
J. Harrington, «La Repubblica di Oceana», a cura di Giuseppe Schiavone, Torino, Utet Libreria, 2004.
B. Spinoza, «Trattato politico», con testo latino a fronte, a cura di Paolo Cristofolini, Pisa, ETS, 2004.
S. Pufendorf, Il diritto di natura e delle genti, and other texts presented in the following anthology: A.L. Schino, a cura di, «Il pensiero politico di Pufendorf», Roma - Bari, Laterza, 1995.
J. Locke, «Il secondo trattato sul governo», con testo inglese a fronte, e introduzione di Tito Magri, Milano, BUR, 1998, 2001.
E. Nuzzo, «La superiorità degli Stati liberi. I repubblicani inglesi (1649-1722)», Napoli, Edizioni Scientifiche Italiane, 1984 [antologia di testi di John Milton, James Harrington, Henry Neville, Thomas Gordon, John Trenchard, Algernon Sidney, Walter Moyle, available in photocopy on the course's ARIEL site].
J.-J. Rousseau, «Il contratto sociale», in one of the following editions:
J.-J. Rousseau, «Il contratto sociale», a cura di Roberto Gatti, Milano, BUR, 2005;
J.-J. Rousseau, «Il contratto sociale», con testo francese a fronte, a cura di Maria Garin, Introduzione di Tito Magri, Roma - Bari, Laterza, 2019;
I. Kant, «Primi principi metafisici della dottrina del diritto», con testo tedesco a fronte, a cura di Filippo Gonnelli, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2005;
I. Kant, «Per la pace perpetua», in one of the following editions:
I. Kant, «Per la pace perpetua», con una prefazione di Salvatore Veca, Milano, Feltrinelli, 2013;
I. Kant, «Per la pace perpetua», con una prefazione di Norberto Bobbio, Roma, Editori Riuniti University Press, 2020.
General caveats:
(a) The study of prefaces and introductions to the reported editions is an integral part of exam preparation.
b) Non-attending students of the bachelor's degree take the same syllabus as the attending students.
c) Students taking the exam for the second time are required to contact the professor to work out a individualized syllabus.
d) The professor is available to agree on partial modifications of the syllabus at the motivated request of students, made during office hours.
Assessment methods and Criteria
At the end of the course, the students will have to pass an oral exam, divided into two parts, to be passed in the same session. In the first part, dedicated to the institutional preparation, knowledge of the basic lines of the history of political philosophy will be verified. In the second part, dedicated to the specific theme of the monographic course, the discussion will be aimed at ascertaining both the precise knowledge of the texts in the program, and the ability to enucleate the main philosophical-political problems addressed in them and to compare alternative philosophical-political theses. The students should be able to reconstruct the conceptual structure of the texts and the argumentative strategies followed in them. The students must bring with them the texts in program at the time of the oral examination: the discussion can start from reading and commenting on some significant passages of a philosophical work that has been analysed in the lectures of the course.
Evaluation criteria:
- knowledge of the history of political philosophy and political theory (exposition);
- ability to exemplify concepts (understanding);
- autonomy of judgement, capacity of use and apply concepts (development);
- communication skills and the adequacy of language.
Please note:
The examination modalities for students with disabilities and/or DSA must be agreed with the teacher, in accord with the competent Office.
Evaluation criteria:
- knowledge of the history of political philosophy and political theory (exposition);
- ability to exemplify concepts (understanding);
- autonomy of judgement, capacity of use and apply concepts (development);
- communication skills and the adequacy of language.
Please note:
The examination modalities for students with disabilities and/or DSA must be agreed with the teacher, in accord with the competent Office.
Professor(s)