Project Epistemology

Single discipline educational activity

Course Sheet

Academic Year of enrolment:

2018/2019

Type of Course:

Related/Supplementary

Optional/Mandatory:

Compulsory

Degree:

Bachelor's Degree Programme in URBAN AND LANDASCAPE PLANNING.

Disciplinary Sector:

LOGIC AND PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE

Language:

Italian

Credits:

Programme Year:

Professor and Collaborators:

BACCHINI Fabio

Obligatory attendance:

Yes

Hours of classroom activity:

Prerequisites:

AF code:

A001982

Assessment Methods

Verification of learning:

Written exam. The exam usually consists in 5/6 open questions in English. The accepted languages for answers are: French, English, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese.

Teaching period

First semester

Objectives

• Knowledge and understanding:
By the end of the class the students will possess a basic knowledge of the main approaches currently available in political philosophy, their principles and styles, as well as their strong and weak spots.

• Applying knowledge and understanding:
A basic knowledge of the main approaches currently available in political philosophy will be constructed so as to let the students possess valid argumentative skills and the capacity to apply them to the largest possible number of issues and situations where ethico-political problems rise in the domain of urban studies.

• Making judgements:
By the end of the class the students will be able to develop new arguments within specific debates in political philosophy, and to estimate the strength of one specific argument when it is compared to a rival one.

• Communication skills:
The students will be able to express their own ethico-political intuitions by using the language of professional political philosophy; to build up arguments in favour and against every conceivable position; to engage into an argumentative challenge with one or more than one interlocutors; to correctly evaluate their own and others’ argumentative performances.

• Learning skills:
The class is aimed at letting the students to have the sufficient skills in order to develop higher-level knowledge in political philosophy, and generally speaking in critical thought, over time.

Contents

We will address the main approaches to social justice as an introduction to political philosophy. We will explore how to apply such theories to interesting ethical problems arising in the fields of architecture and of city and territorial planning, through developing arguments for and against the various positions one can take. We will assume, of course, that rational argumentation in practical ethics is not only possible but also desirable. We will give particular attention to the problem of the ethical concerns for future generations in architectural planning, and to the ethical status of NIMBY positions.

Recommended Bibliography

1. personal notes from classes.
2. Michael Sandel, 2009, Justice, Farrar, Straus and Giroux;
3. Robert Nozick, 1974, Anarchy State Utopia, Basic Books: selected passages.
4. Hélène Hermansson, 2007, "The Ethics of NIMBY Conflicts." Ethical Theory and Moral Practice 10.1: 23-34.

Methods of Provision

Conventional

Teaching Methods

Active participation; students will be asked to produce arguments to support or reject theories and points of view. Mode of delivery: lesson; class discussion of cases.

Contacts/More Information

- Readiness to offer individual assistance also in a foreign language to incoming students. Language: English and French.
- Availability of supporting material and bibliographic references also in a foreign language. An alternative program in english or french can be provided.
- Readiness to accept examination of incoming students also in a foreign language. Language: English French and Spanish.

Office hours: at the end of each lecture and by appointment. Please write to bacchini@uniss.it

Project Epistemology

Course year: 1

Course year: 2

Course year: 3

Search form

Project Epistemology