Political Thought A Guide to the Classics

, and by appointment Catalog Description A survey of political thought from the ancient world to the modern day. Includes examination of Plato, Machiavelli, Locke, and Marx. About the Course Political philosophy explores the nature and justification of government. It includes considerations of forms of political systems, the relationship between the individual and society, and ideals such as liberty, equality, justice, and individual rights. This course provides an introduction to some major political philosophers from various traditions of political thought. Much of the course will focus on the liberal political tradition of Western thought along with its significant critics (note that the use of liberalism here refers to a broad philosophical philosophy grounded in the ideals of liberty and equality. This usage is distinct from the meaning the term "liberal" has acquired in contemporary American politics). We will begin with examination of the historical development of Western political thought and roots of liberal theory. We will then turn to contemporary discussions of liberalism before examining some recent challenges to it and alternative theoretical approaches. We will encounter a number recurring themes, including the limits and justification of political authority, the role of private property, the permissibility of political resistance or revolution, limits on individual liberty, the scope of pluralism, tolerance of religion, and the significance of morality in the political system.

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to a variety of approaches and issues in political philosophy. Half of the class will be devoted to reading and commenting on primary texts such as: Plato’s Republic, Aristotle’s Politics, Machiavelli’s The Prince, Hobbes’s Leviathan, Rousseau’s The Social Contract, and Tocqueville’s Democracy in America. The other half focuses on the secondary literature. After examining in detail each of these classic texts, we shall explore various ways in which they have been interpreted by several main schools: contextualist (Quentin Skinner and his disciples), post-modern (Sheldon Wolin and his disciples), Straussian (Leo Strauss and his disciples), feminist (Susan M. Okin, etc.), and intellectual history (Isaiah Berlin etc.), and conceptual history (Koselleck). On a general level, this course has several pedagogical aims. First, it seeks to provide an overview of a few canonical texts and authors. Second, the course seeks to help students develop the capacity to engage in advanced textual exegesis and to critically evaluate alternative approaches and interpretive methods.

Introductory lectures on Plato, Aristotle, Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau.

2020

A seminar on modern political philosophy for the University of Chicago's Core Curriculum.

Course Description The political theory canon is often divided into three eras, each separated by deep ideological and political crises. The Modern period, which we will be studying this semester, stretches from the seventeenth century to the twentieth century, and sets itself off from what came before in that the Aristotelian Scholasticism of the Middle Ages, among other things, could no longer withstand the scientific, political, and economic changes sweeping through Europe. The moderns were, in this context, striving to build political institutions and construct worldviews that corresponded to their own times. The contemporary period, beginning roughly at the turn of the twentieth century, also experienced an array of ideological and political crises that likewise cannot be explained or resolved by the theoretical apparatuses of the modern period. We, too, only a century into this new era, are grappling with how best to construct our world. Over the course of the semester, we will gain a working knowledge of modern political theory and its debates by interrogating the ways in which theorists attempted to grapple with a series of crises, both ideological and political. In doing so, we will ask how past theories failed to address the severity or novelty of these crises, as well as how these crises prompted innovative ways of imagining a new future, one unencumbered by the past.

Political Philosophy

The most recent addition to the Fundamentals of Philosophy Series, Political Philosophy is a concise yet thorough and highly engaging introduction to the essential problems of the discipline. Organized topically and presented in a straightforward manner by an eminent political philosopher, A. John Simmons, it investigates the nature and basis of political authority and the structure and organization of political life. Each chapter focuses on a central problem, considers how it could be addressed, and outlines the various philosophical positions surrounding it. Covering both historical and contemporary work, this unique text offers a survey of major concepts and debates while also reflecting the author's views and contributions. Accessible to novices yet also useful for advanced students, Political Philosophy presents a unified and accessible portrait of the issues that have been puzzling political philosophers for years. La más reciente adición a la serie Fundamentos de Filosofía, Filosofía Política es una introducción concisa pero completa y muy atractiva a los problemas esenciales de la disciplina. Organizado por temas y presentado de forma directa por un eminente filósofo político, A. John Simmons, investiga la naturaleza y el fundamento de la autoridad política y la estructura y organización de la vida política. Cada capítulo se centra en un problema central, considera cómo podría abordarse y esboza las diversas posturas filosóficas que lo rodean. Abarcando tanto trabajos históricos como contemporáneos, este texto único ofrece una panorámica de los principales conceptos y debates, al tiempo que refleja las opiniones y aportaciones del autor. Accesible para los principiantes, pero también útil para los estudiantes avanzados, Filosofía política presenta un retrato unificado y accesible de las cuestiones que llevan años desconcertando a los filósofos políticos.

Spring 2019 University of Colorado Denver

I. COURSE DETAILS: Course Description: The Second World War brought about nothing short of an intellectual crisis. The occurrence of mass genocide and the use of atomic weapons threw almost everything into question. How could modern, educated, 'civilized' societies commit such atrocities? And more importantly: Could it happen again? This is not a course on political ideologies, but rather, a course on the various theoretical approaches to the problem of ideology-a problem that continues to shape the world we live in. A general consensus emerged in the postwar period that the unchecked proliferation of imperial, authoritarian, and fascist ideologies was responsible for plunging the world into violence. From this perspective, peaceful societies are those which successfully constrain the influence of ideologues and ideologies that designate some group of human beings as unworthy of subordinate. Whereas the driving problems of pre-20th century modern political theory centred on how regimes of democracy, rights, and individual freedom could be justified, these new contemporary approaches to political theory were concerned with how liberal democratic regimes collapsed into, or perhaps even facilitated, their antithesis. Still, many abandoned altogether what they felt to be an intractable study of value judgements, choosing to develop a more scientific value-free approach to issues of governance. In light of this shift to positivism in politics, a famous historian of political thought declared that normative political philosophy was dead. But the assessment was inaccurate. Many political theorists took up the challenge of examining the conditions under which citizens became susceptible to the power of harmful ideologies (ie, authoritarianism, colonialism, and empire), in order to determine how societies can be alerted to their promulgation and how political life can be insulated against their influence. Some declared victory in the postwar reformation of liberal theory; some pressed for greater democratic inclusion; some embraced ideology as inevitable; while others cast a suspicious eye on both the relativists and the positivists. In this course, we will become familiar with the great declarations and debates that shape the contemporary political landscape.

DESCRIPTION This graduate seminar will give a philosophical grounding in the normative concepts that guide political theory. We will examine the origin and justification of basic concepts such as freedom and autonomy, equality and social justice, crime and punishment, coercion and authority of the state. We will look for the origins of concepts and principles in two sources: Nature and right (and law). Part I will be devoted to political theorists who ground their political concepts in nature, naturalized norms, and power: Machiavelli, Hobbes, Rousseau, and Nietzsche. We begin with the pessimistic moral psychology lying at the basis of Machiavelli and Hobbes's political writings on power and sovereignty. Among the topics we will examine: What motivates people? Do people naturally tend toward doing evil? Are they unavoidably and inherently selfish and self-interested? Other topics will include autonomy and expressive unity with nature in Rousseau; Rousseau's account of natural inequalities in a state of nature; and his account of how our psychologies in a pre-political state of nature underwent development in the political sphere. Problems arise, however, from placing natural norms at the basis of political theory. If people are inherently and unavoidably self-interested, as these political theorists think, this will effect the kinds of safeguards and checks that need to be in place to protect people from each other. Their pessimism about human nature results making political life essentially coercive. This paradox that people need to be " forced " to be free will be a continuing theme throughout our discussions. Does the state the right have to coerce humans to do what is right, in accordance with universal principles of right and freedom? Or do these unwanted implications mean we have the wrong psychological profile of human nature? Next, we look to ways that philosophers have sought to remedy problems arising on the natural approach. By contrast, Part II looks to a rational origin for political principles. We'll examine how Kant, Hegel, and Marx derive their norms out of considerations about right and law. Some basic questions will arise in connection with concerns about freedom, individual freedom, and coercion: What is a person? Does a concept of a person limit what you can do to them? Do persons have intrinsic rights, like dignity, or is this something acquired (earned)? Is their right to live free something they can lose or give up? The transition to right and law raises problems of its own, such as: Is a bias toward rationality detrimental to individualistic self-realization and self-expression? Are authoritative models of the state detrimental to individual freedom?