This course aims at making students able to grasp the main concepts and theories of public and applied ethics, and of using them in their further studies. In particular, we want to promote argumentative skills, precise language and grasping of conceptual distinctions. A focus will be given to skills in discussion and project works. The topic of corruption will be a specific focus of some classes, where testimonials will be hosted.

A minimal familiarity with political philosophy and pubic law.

The course will cover public ethics between political theory and public law. It will be diveded into the following main modules : i. the general conception of public ethics, at the intersection between ethics, philosophy, law and political theory; ii. the historical formation and conceptual assumptions of the various models of public ethics; iii. applied issues: a. corruption, b. conflicts of interest, c. codes of conduct, d. ethics of public officials, e. transparency of public institutions. A main theme of the whole course will be the notion of 'public interest' and its declinations in various theoretical models and various articulations of administrative law.

A. G. Pellegrino, Public Ethics. A Short Introduction, Luiss University Press, Rome, 2015 C.A. Viano, Public Ethics, Laterza, Rome-Bari, 2002 (additional reading for exempted students) B B.G. Mattarella, The Rules of Honesty. Ethics, Politics, Administration, il Mulino, Bologna, 2007 Id., “The Prevention of Corruption in Italy (Commentary on Law No. 190 of November 6, 2012)”, in Giornale di diritto amministrativo, 2013 (additional reading for exempted students) E. D’Alterio, “Administrative Transparency”, in The Reform of Public Administration. Commentary on Law 124/2015 (Madia) and Implementing Decrees, edited by B.G. Mattarella and E. D’Alterio, Il Sole 24 Ore, Milan, 2017 (additional reading for exempted students)

In the course there are both ex cathedra and face-to-face lessons.

Learning assessment and evaluation will take place in two stages: Midterm Evaluation (worth one third of the final grade), consisting of an exam on the material covered up to the time of Professor Mattarella’s test. The exam will be a written test, composed of: a multiple-choice quiz with 15 questions (each correct answer is worth 1/30 of a point; incorrect answers are worth 0/30), and one open-ended question (worth 15/30). The test will last 45 minutes (30 minutes for the multiple-choice quiz and 15 minutes for the open-ended question). The open-ended question will be graded on a scale from 0 to 15, based on the level of knowledge demonstrated in the response, according to the following criteria: Insufficient: 0 Sufficient: 7 Good: 9 Very good: 12 Excellent: 15 For rounding purposes toward the final grade: values up to 0.5 will be rounded down, while values above 0.5 will be rounded up. Final Oral Examination (worth two thirds of the final grade), covering the entire syllabus. Exempted students exempt must take the final oral exam and include the additional readings indicated in the list of exam texts.

Personal interest.