Download Political Philosophy

Political Philosophy
Why is everybody fighting?
Political Philosophy vs. Political Science
• Political Philosophy
An attempt to answer the question of “what is the
best way to organize our society?”
WHAT IS THE PROBLEM WITH THIS?
Political Philosophy vs. Political Science
• Political Science
Began as a reaction to political philosophy
- Focused on questions that can be answered using
observable data.
- Based on scientific method.
- Not a “hard” science
- Avoids normative or “value” judgments
The Entire* History Of
Political Philosophy
In about 80 minutes or so….
* Entire may be overstating it just a little bit
Ancient Political Philosophy
Ancient does not just refer to the time period but
to the central question they attempted to
answer.
“What is the IDEAL form of government?”
Socrates (470-399 B.C.)
• Considered the “father” of
philosophy
• His teachings contradicted the
Sophists
• Used the “Socratic Method”
– Questioning others, rather than lecture or
essay
– Questions are designed to lead to
understanding
• Using this method he believed that
he could prove there was a
“universal law”
Plato (427-346 B.C.)
Student of Socrates
Plato’s Theory Of Duality
• Close your eyes and imagine a horse.
Theory of Duality
• The Idea
– What you pictured in your mind
– That was your “perfect” and “ideal” horse
• The Form
– What you experience with your senses
– The pictures you saw on the next screen
• We are able to recognize things because their
forms are CLOSE enough to your ideas.
• However the IDEA does not exist in reality.
It kind of works like this
The Form
The Ideal
So what is the Ideal Government?
Aristotle (384-322)
• Stated that man was a “political animal.”
– By our nature human beings like to organize
themselves into larger groups
• Set out to classify all of the different
types of government
Aristotle’s Classification of Government
One
Good
Bad
Monarchy
Tyranny
Ideal
Few
Aristocracy
Oligarchy
Best Possible
Many
Polity
Democracy
St. Augustine (354-430 A.D.)
WARNING: THE FOLLOWING VIEWS DO NOT
NECCESARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF DON
BOSCO TECH, THE SALESIAN SOCIETY, THE
CATHOLIC CHURCH, OR ANY GOD FEARING
MEMBER OF MODERN SOCIETY. THEY ARE
ONLY THE VIEWS OF THE TEACHER AND ARE
NOT SHARED BY ANY OFFICIAL INSTITUTION.
St. Augustine ruined a lot of things…
St. Augustine’s Two Cities
St. Augustine said that there existed two cities…
The City of God
The City of Man
The Two Cities
The City Of Man
Things that take you away
from the City of God
• Literature
• Poetry
• Drama
• Philosophy
• Art
• POLITICS!!!!
•
•
•
•
The City of God
Things that glorify God
and bring his grace
upon you to prepare
you for Heaven…
Bible Study
Church
Discussion of Scripture
Good deeds to others
So let’s follow this logically
What time period follows the life of Augustine?
The Dark Ages.
Why was it called the Dark Ages?
Because it lacked Western advancement in learning,
science, and arts
Did we suddenly not have government?
No, we had monarchy.
What gave the King the right to rule?
God did through the divine right of Kings.
So by following Augustine’s practices an absolute form
of government is established and to question it is to
question God!
St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274 A.D.)
Or why I haven’t been ex-communicated
• Aquinas spent many years of study in Muslim
controlled lands. There he re-discovered the
works of the Ancient Greeks.
• Aquinas was intrigued by the idea of using reason
to understand natural law
However….
• Given Augustine’s position of importance in the
Church he couldn’t just completely disagree with
him
• So there is only one thing to do……
The Two Cities (St. Tommy Remix)
•
•
•
•
•
•
The City Of Man
Literature
Poetry
Drama
Philosophy
Art
POLITICS!!!!
•
•
•
•
The City of God
Bible Study
Church
Discussion of Scripture
Good deeds to others
Although humans can never fully understand God… they could use reason
to understand him better. The ultimate goal is to move the City of Man
closer to the City of God. In essence to “do on earth as it is in Heaven.
Modern Political Philosophy
Modern does not just refer to the time in which they lived
but to the fundamental question they tried to answer….
“What is the best possible form of Government we can
have given human nature?”
Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679 A.D.)
Began by theorizing about what life would be life without
a government.
He called this the STATE OF NATURE….
In the State of Nature Man would be 100% free to
whatever they wished….
But they would also be 0% secure from outside threats.
Hobbes
Therefore Governments were created with the
goal of providing SECURITY of an individuals
life and property…
And the best form of Government to do so was..
AN ABSOLUTE MONARCHY!!!
John Locke (1632-1704)
John Locke agreed with
Hobbes on the idea of the
State of Nature…
HOWEVER……
He did not think man would
give up all of their freedom
just for security.
He believed men still wanted
Liberty as well
The Social Contract
According to Locke, Government was a contract
between the people and the institution.
And like in all contracts there is an exchange
made
Give Up
Receive
The People
Total Freedom
Protection of Life, Liberty,
and Property
The Government
Total Control
Support
What if the Contract is broken?
If a person breaks the contract, then they don’t receive what
they get in return…
So they lose protection of..
Property (A Fine)
Liberty (Probation or Jail)
Life (Texas)
But if government (as a whole) breaks the contract, then they
also don’t receive what they get in return….
Support.
In essence the people are entitled to revolt and replace the
government.
Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)
• Kant spent little time on politics, however his philosophy
was used to justify future political movements.
• Kant’s major contribution was his idea of the Categorical
Imperative. A way that should guide how people act in our
lives.
The Categorical Imperative
“People should act on the basis of universal laws
and what is good for all, rather than their own
individual needs and desires”
Which is funny because this brings us full circle..
HOW DO WE KNOW WHAT IS GOOD FOR ALL?