Introduction to Political Philosophy

A comprehensive series of classes and an entire course on the evolution of Political Philosophy is available from Yale University's iTunes Collaboration, called Open Yale. You'll find these courses scattered around throughout this blog but if you'd like to take the entire course from beginning to end, click here.

About Professor Steven B. Smith

Setting the Stage for Social & Political Philosophy

The ancient roots of American political and social thinking can be found in Greece. The Greeks created a social order distinctive from all others of its time: Egypt, Mesopotamia, Israel. It is in these places where the myths and foundational stories that drive belief and human behavior began.

Both the Progressive and conservative movements within the American idea consider the greek philosophers as the root of their ideals. Obviously a divergence since then has led to the current chasm that exists between the two.

In a series by renowned Professor Emeritus of Political Science Charles Anderson, iTunes University offers a series of lectures that provide valuable insight into these places and the roles that they played in the development of political thought.

Egypt, Mesopotamia and Ancient Israel: 48:59 Professor Charles W. Anderson Political, Economic and Social Thought

Discovery Channel: Seven Wonders of Ancient Greece
Greece Part 1] [Greece Part 2] [Greece Part 3] [Greece Part 4] [Greece Part 5]

Ancient Greece - Democratic Experiments 41:36 Professor Charles W. Anderson Political, Economic and Social Thought

Ancient Greece, cont. The Pre-Socratics 44:59 Professor Charles W. Anderson Political, Economic and Social Thought

The Republic, Plato's greatest work

Plato 428/427 BC – 348/347 BC), was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens. The prized student of Socrates and the teacher of Atistotle. Plato with Socrates and Aristotle helped to lay the foundations of natural philosophy, science, and Western philosophy.

Resource Links

Ancient Greece

The Social Contract as the Underlying Theme

Three well known philosophers form the core of those who embrace the notion of the Social Contract. Thomas Hobbes (1651), John Locke (1689) and Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1762) are the most famous philosophers of contractarianism. . . the notion that legitimate state authority must be derived from the consent of the governed

All three embrace the idea that there must be a social contract in order for government and society to function in an orderly way. However, the three draw quite different conclusions from this starting-point. Hobbes advocated an authoritarian monarchy, Locke advocated a liberal monarchy, while Rousseau advocated liberal republicanism. Their work provided the theoretical groundwork of constitutional monarchy, liberal democracy and republicanism. The Social Contract was used in the Declaration of Independence as a sign of enforcing Democracy.


The Social Contract: Wikipedia
Rousseau On the Social Contract - Nigel Warburton
The Partially Examined Life - Hobbes

Resources for Further Understanding:
The Social Contract: Rousseau's Book - Text
The Social Contract - Rousseau, Audio

Thomas Hobbes (5 April 1588 – 4 December 1679)

In some older texts known as Thomas Hobbs of Malmsbury, was an English philosopher, remembered today for his work on political philosophy. His 1651 book Leviathan established the foundation for most of Western political philosophy from the perspective of social contract theory.

The notion of the social contract implies that the people relinquish their sovereignty to a government or other authority in order to receive or maintain social order through the rule of law. It can also be thought of as an agreement by the governed on a set of rules by which they are governed. Social contract theory formed a central pillar in the historically important notion that legitimate state authority must be derived from the consent of the governed.

Like many of the philosophers of his time, Hobbes also contributed to a diverse array of fields, including history, geometry, physics of gases, theology, ethics, general philosophy, and political science. His account of human nature as self-interested cooperation has proved to be an enduring theory in the field of philosophical anthropology. He was one of the main philosophers who founded materialism.

The Elements of Law Natural and Politic

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778)

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a major Genevois philosopher, writer, and composer of the 18th-century Enlightenment. His political philosophy influenced the American and French Revolutions and the development of modern political and educational thought.

His novel, Emile: or, On Education, which he considered his most important work, is a seminal treatise on the education of the whole person for citizenship. His sentimental novel, Julie, ou la nouvelle Héloïse, was of great importance to the development of pre-Romanticism and romanticism in fiction.

"The Social Contract"
Rousseau's "Social Contract" explores the foundation of society. Breaking with John Locke's belief in self-evident truths, Rouseau argues that society and law is the product of general will rather than enlightened reason. Listen.

The Wikipedia Conundrum

Many teachers today forbid their students from using Wikipedia, yet it is arguably the richest information resource of all time. An encyclopedia which draws on users to expand the scope and depth of the information contained "within" it.

The arguement of those teachers may be that it is "unreliable" , a lazy man's refuge. Yet in the end, how is that different from any other works of humans? The very act of committing words to paper is an act fraught with the perils associated with the human condition. . . that each of us brings the perspectives and prejudices of his/her own arc of experience to the task of conveying a "truth" or a set of "truths".

The physicist Stephen Hawking, in a speech celebrating the new millenium at the Whitehouse said ". . . common sense is just another name for the prejudices that we have been brought up with."

Wikipedia is no more or less useful than any other resource but it does provide an effective launchpad for exploring almost any idea, event, person or theory.

To deny students access to the rich resources contained within Wikipedia is tantamount to denying them access to the wisdom of their elders or their teachers. Instead they must be taught to appreciate Wikipedia and to be aware of its limitations - as Ronald Reagan put it to "trust but verify". Reagan was speaking of the complexities of the US-Russian relationship, but he could very well have been speaking about the task of researching, or in an even broader sense the process of learning.

A good teacher need not fear Wikipedia, unless the depth of understanding that he or she themselves bring to their discipline and teaching is so shallow as to grant Wikipedia the power of absolute truth. A good teacher will use this resource as a means of stimulating students to seek out pathways to greater understanding, a solitary brainstorming session where ideas, links and resources lead us to drill deeper into the resources that lie beyond the gates of the wiki kingdom.

Wayne D. King
2010

God's Final Touch

Signed image available here
Open edition image available here.

The Second Treatise on Government by John Locke

One of the leading liberal thinkers in 17th century England, Locke's ideas were drawn on heavily by Thomas Jefferson when writing the Declaration of Independence. The Second Treatise is Locke's most famous work.

eJunto has the Second Treatise read by Philip Rose. Click here.



Leaves and Dolly - Open Edition Images and cards