Not without difficulties, various attempts are made to turn human rights into an indispensable point of reference for the evaluation of both the moral and the juridical legitimacy of the global political and economic order. However, unresolved theoretical issues regarding the justification and conceptualization of human rights challenge our comprehension of the matter. The course belongs to the disciplinary domain of political philosophy. Its general purpose is twofold: on the one hand, it sheds light on the ongoing philosophical debates on the unresolved theoretical issues surrounding the notion of human rights; on the other hand, it provides knowledge of how contemporary political philosophy deals with human rights. In particular, the course seeks to secure understanding of the ties between human rights, social justice, and liberal-democracy through the “theory of recognition” by Axel Honneth and the critical revision of “political liberalism” by Alessandro Ferrara. During the course, students will be required to read texts, discuss their content, and develop personal opinions as a means to critically exercise their learning and communication skills.
scheda docente
materiale didattico
- Human rights in the philosophical perspective: ontology and epistemology in the theory of human rights
- Freedom, justice as fairness and the ethics of democratic discourse: Rawls, Habermas and the challenges of postmodern critique
- Conceptions of autonomy and vulnerability in Honneth
- The psychological foundation of fundamental rights' fruition
– The Hegelian roots of the struggles for recognition: the social "fabric of justice" and the moral grammar of social conflicts
- The right to freedom and the social foundation of democratic ethical life
- The reasons for the existence of legal and moral freedom and their pathologies respectively
- Social freedom and the three registers of the ‘We’ of personal relationships
- Recognition and and free market: the sphere of consumption, the labour market and environmental sustainability
- Democracy and fundamental rights: the open society and pluralism
2) HONNETH, Axel, ANDERSON, Joel., "Autonomy, Vulnerability, Recognition and Justice" (2005) (the article in question is available at the section FILES of the Team THEORY OF HUMAN RIGHTS 2024/2025 on the platform MICROSOFT TEAMS). In the case of difficulties in accessing the platform Teams please promptly contact the teacher.
3) Extra-reading materials will be supplemented in class for students whose attendance is mandatory.
Programma
CONTENT OF THE PROGRAMME -- Human rights in the philosophical perspective: ontology and epistemology in the theory of human rights
- Freedom, justice as fairness and the ethics of democratic discourse: Rawls, Habermas and the challenges of postmodern critique
- Conceptions of autonomy and vulnerability in Honneth
- The psychological foundation of fundamental rights' fruition
– The Hegelian roots of the struggles for recognition: the social "fabric of justice" and the moral grammar of social conflicts
- The right to freedom and the social foundation of democratic ethical life
- The reasons for the existence of legal and moral freedom and their pathologies respectively
- Social freedom and the three registers of the ‘We’ of personal relationships
- Recognition and and free market: the sphere of consumption, the labour market and environmental sustainability
- Democracy and fundamental rights: the open society and pluralism
Testi Adottati
1) HONNETH, Axel, "Freedom’s Right. The Social Foundations of Democratic Life", translated by J. Ganahl, Polity Press, Cambridge 2014 (ISBN-13: 978-0-7456-6943-4)2) HONNETH, Axel, ANDERSON, Joel., "Autonomy, Vulnerability, Recognition and Justice" (2005) (the article in question is available at the section FILES of the Team THEORY OF HUMAN RIGHTS 2024/2025 on the platform MICROSOFT TEAMS). In the case of difficulties in accessing the platform Teams please promptly contact the teacher.
3) Extra-reading materials will be supplemented in class for students whose attendance is mandatory.
Modalità Valutazione
The oral final exam amounts to 50% of the final grade. Two take-home papers (1000 words) are due throughout the course, which amount to 25% of the final grade respectively.