POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY II

The course is consistent with the goals of the degree program because it introduces students to the fundamental problems and concepts of political philosophy, with particular focus on the main theoretical and hermeneutic traditions.

Upon completion of the course, the students will have developed the ability to: understand the meaning of the texts and topics discussed in class; recognize their implications for the contemporary scientific and civil debate; communicate in a more appropriate and informed way.

A good level of general education is required.

Course title: Utopianism and realism in contemporary political thought

The course offers a comparison with a number of texts that are fundamental to the utopian and antiutopian tradition - The Evolution of Socialism from Utopia to Science (1882) by Friedrich Engels; 1984 (1949) by George Orwell; Retrotopia (2017) by Zygmunt Bauman - and with other cornerstones of the realist tradition - Politics as a Profession (1919) by Max Weber; Politics among Nations (1948) by Hans J. Morgenthau; Capitalist Realism (2009) by Mark Fisher. After an introduction to the classical and Renaissance models of Thucydides and Plato, Machiavelli and More, the course takes the nineteenth century as a turning point, with the shift from utopias to utopianism, the polemical object of Realpolitik, and then analyzes the different ways in which issues such as the politicization of the masses, totalitarianism, world war, constitutional democracy and, finally, the globalization of "liquid" or "neoliberal" modernity have been historically addressed. Starting from the texts, some of the main concepts and problems of political philosophy as it develops in the contemporary age will be critically investigated.

Textbooks:
Gerhard Ritter, Il volto demoniaco del potere (1940), trad. it. di E. Melandri, il Mulino, Bologna 1958, pp. 9-96, 179-194;
Friedrich Engels, L’evoluzione del socialismo dall’utopia alla scienza (1882), a cura di G. Prestipino, Editori Riuniti, Roma 1970 (prefazione alla prima ed. tedesca + capp. 1, 2, 3);
Max Weber, La politica come professione (1919), trad. it di F. Tuccari, in Id., Il lavoro intellettuale come professione, a cura di M. Cacciari, Mondadori, Milano 2018, pp. 49-135;
George Orwell, 1984 (1949), trad. it. di L.M. Sponzilli, Chiarelettere, Milano 2021 (parte I, cap. 1; parte II, cap. 9; parte III, capp. 2, 3, 6; appendice);
Hans J. Morgenthau, Una teoria realista della politica internazionale (1954), trad. it. di P. Poggi, in Id., Politica tra le nazioni (1948), a cura di L. Bonanate, Bologna, Il Mulino, 1997, pp. 5-25;
Mark Fisher, Realismo capitalista (2009), trad. it. di V. Mattioli, NERO, Roma 2018 o, in alternativa, Zygmunt Bauman, Retrotopia (2017), trad. it. di M. Cupellaro, Laterza, Roma-Bari 2020.

For any further information on the course topics, please refer to:
Vittor Ivo Comparato, Utopia, il Mulino, 2005;
Fredric Jameson, Il desiderio chiamato utopia (2005), a cura di G. Carlotti, Feltrinelli, Milano 2007;
Massimo Cacciari e Paolo Prodi, Occidente senza utopie, il Mulino, Bologna 2016;
Pier Paolo Portinaro, Il realismo politico, Laterza, Roma-Bari 1999;
Federico Trocini, L'invenzione della «Realpolitik» e la scoperta della «legge del potere». August Ludwig von Rochau tra radicalismo e nazional-liberalismo, il Mulino, Bologna 2009;
Alessandro Campi e Stefano De Luca (a cura di), Il realismo politico. Figure, concetti, prospettive di ricerca, Rubbettino, Soveria Mannelli 2014.

For any further information on the nature of political philosophy, please refer to:
Leo Strauss, Che cos’è la filosofia politica? (1959), (ed. by D. Cadeddu), Nuovo Melangolo, Genova 2011;
Quentin Skinner, Significato e comprensione nella storia delle idee (1969), in Id., Dell’interpretazione, il Mulino, Bologna 2001, pp. 11-57;
Alessandro Passerin d’Entrèves, La filosofia della politica, in Storia delle idee politiche, economiche e sociali, (ed. by L. Firpo), Utet, Torino 1972, vol. VI, pp. 587-608;
Norberto Bobbio, Dei possibili rapporti tra filosofia politica e scienza politica (1971), Per una mappa della filosofia politica (1990), Ragioni della filosofia politica (1990), in Id., Teoria generale della politica, (ed. by M. Bovero), Einaudi, Torino 1999, pp. 5-39;
John Rawls, Quattro ruoli della filosofia politica, in Id., Giustizia come equità. Una riformulazione (2001), Feltrinelli, Milano 2002, pp. 3-7.

The final exam will be oral and will be related to the texts and to contents the discussed throughout the course and to the topics addressed within the textbooks.

The teaching style will be traditional. Students’ participation will be encouraged.

Italian

oral