Political Philosophy and Public Ethics

Can we disobey democratic laws? Is freedom of speech unlimited? What is wrong with corruption? Can you kill one person to save five others? These are just some of the diverse questions posed by political philosophy and public ethics, to which this course offers a basic introduction. In the sense favored by this course, political philosophy carries out conceptual and normative analyses of values, institutions, and political practices that shape collective life, while public ethics focuses on the justifiability of policies and actions, as well as rights, and duties that citizens and political actors have, especially in democratic contexts.
Alongside an overview of the main theoretical and methodological approaches, the course will show how these perspectives can be applied to current dilemmas in public debate (e.g., the democratic value of elections, the defensibility of civil disobedience, the permissibility of hate speech). The aim is not only to develop students' theoretical knowledge, but also to stimulate their critical and argumentative skills, which are useful both in their studies and in their future careers.

1.
Ability to use technical language accurately and to understand and distinguish the main theoretical and methodological paradigms of political philosophy and public ethics (deontological vs. consequentialist approach, liberal, realist, and neo-republican paradigms)
2.
Ability to apply these skills appropriately, critically, and independently to the analysis and discussion of controversies at the centre of public debate
3.
Ability to formulate judgments and defend arguments in an informed, comprehensible, and convincing manner.