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.
teacher profile teaching materials
- Human rights in the philosophical perspective: ontology and epistemology in the theory of human rights
- Problems and relativity of the concept of "human rights"
- Human Rights as Fundamental Conditions for a Good Life
- Freedom, justice as fairness and the ethics of democratic discourse: Rawls, Habermas and the challenges of libertarianism and the postmodern feminist 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). This article is available at the section FILES of the Team THEORY OF HUMAN RIGHTS 2025/2026 on the platform MICROSOFT TEAMS. In the case of difficulties in accessing the platform Teams please promptly contact the teacher.
3) LIAO, Matthew S., "Human Rights as Fundamental Conditions for a Good Life" (2015). This article is available at the section FILES of the Team THEORY OF HUMAN RIGHTS 2025/2026 on the platform MICROSOFT TEAMS. In the case of difficulties in accessing the platform Teams please promptly contact the teacher.
4) GRIFFIN, James, "The Relativity and Ethno-centricity of Human Rights" (2008). This article is available at the section FILES of the Team THEORY OF HUMAN RIGHTS 2025/2026 on the platform MICROSOFT TEAMS. In the case of difficulties in accessing the platform Teams please promptly contact the teacher.
N.B. Extra-reading materials will be supplemented in class for students whose attendance is mandatory. These materials are available at the section FILES of the Team THEORY OF HUMAN RIGHTS 2025/2026 on the platform MICROSOFT TEAMS. In the case of difficulties in accessing the platform Teams please promptly contact the teacher.
EXAM PROGRAMME FOR ERASMUS STUDENTS -
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)[from page 1 to 255]
2) HONNETH, Axel, ANDERSON, Joel., "Autonomy, Vulnerability, Recognition and Justice" (2005). This article is available at the section FILES of the Team THEORY OF HUMAN RIGHTS 2025/2026 on the platform MICROSOFT TEAMS. In the case of difficulties in accessing the platform Teams please promptly contact the teacher.
3) LIAO, Matthew S., "Human Rights as Fundamental Conditions for a Good Life" (2015). This article is available at the section FILES of the Team THEORY OF HUMAN RIGHTS 2025/2026 on the platform MICROSOFT TEAMS. In the case of difficulties in accessing the platform Teams please promptly contact the teacher.
4) GRIFFIN, James, "The Relativity and Ethno-centricity of Human Rights" (2008). This article is available at the section FILES of the Team THEORY OF HUMAN RIGHTS 2025/2026 on the platform MICROSOFT TEAMS. In the case of difficulties in accessing the platform Teams please promptly contact the teacher.
Programme
CONTENT OF THE PROGRAMME- Human rights in the philosophical perspective: ontology and epistemology in the theory of human rights
- Problems and relativity of the concept of "human rights"
- Human Rights as Fundamental Conditions for a Good Life
- Freedom, justice as fairness and the ethics of democratic discourse: Rawls, Habermas and the challenges of libertarianism and the postmodern feminist 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
Core Documentation
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). This article is available at the section FILES of the Team THEORY OF HUMAN RIGHTS 2025/2026 on the platform MICROSOFT TEAMS. In the case of difficulties in accessing the platform Teams please promptly contact the teacher.
3) LIAO, Matthew S., "Human Rights as Fundamental Conditions for a Good Life" (2015). This article is available at the section FILES of the Team THEORY OF HUMAN RIGHTS 2025/2026 on the platform MICROSOFT TEAMS. In the case of difficulties in accessing the platform Teams please promptly contact the teacher.
4) GRIFFIN, James, "The Relativity and Ethno-centricity of Human Rights" (2008). This article is available at the section FILES of the Team THEORY OF HUMAN RIGHTS 2025/2026 on the platform MICROSOFT TEAMS. In the case of difficulties in accessing the platform Teams please promptly contact the teacher.
N.B. Extra-reading materials will be supplemented in class for students whose attendance is mandatory. These materials are available at the section FILES of the Team THEORY OF HUMAN RIGHTS 2025/2026 on the platform MICROSOFT TEAMS. In the case of difficulties in accessing the platform Teams please promptly contact the teacher.
EXAM PROGRAMME FOR ERASMUS STUDENTS -
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)[from page 1 to 255]
2) HONNETH, Axel, ANDERSON, Joel., "Autonomy, Vulnerability, Recognition and Justice" (2005). This article is available at the section FILES of the Team THEORY OF HUMAN RIGHTS 2025/2026 on the platform MICROSOFT TEAMS. In the case of difficulties in accessing the platform Teams please promptly contact the teacher.
3) LIAO, Matthew S., "Human Rights as Fundamental Conditions for a Good Life" (2015). This article is available at the section FILES of the Team THEORY OF HUMAN RIGHTS 2025/2026 on the platform MICROSOFT TEAMS. In the case of difficulties in accessing the platform Teams please promptly contact the teacher.
4) GRIFFIN, James, "The Relativity and Ethno-centricity of Human Rights" (2008). This article is available at the section FILES of the Team THEORY OF HUMAN RIGHTS 2025/2026 on the platform MICROSOFT TEAMS. In the case of difficulties in accessing the platform Teams please promptly contact the teacher.
Attendance
Class-attendance is mandatory.Type of evaluation
The course comprises three tests in total: two written and one oral. The two written tests will take place in class during the first half of the course. The first written test (30% of the final grade) consists in answering two essay-questions based on reading two articles assigned in advance. The second written test (30% of the final grade) consists in answering two essay-questions based on reading one article assigned in advance. The third test consists in an oral exam (40% of the final grade). Students will have to sign up for one of the two exam sessions available in June. The criteria on the basis of which all three tests will be evaluated are: 1) descriptive and defining ability; 2) argumentative ability; 3) critical and evaluative ability.