POL S 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Topographic Map, Comparative Politics, Ancient Greek Philosophy
10 Oct 2016
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Without the comparative method, political science is not scientific at all, it is ideology. Politi(cid:272)al s(cid:272)ie(cid:374)(cid:272)e disti(cid:374)guishes fa(cid:272)ts f(cid:396)o(cid:373) (cid:448)alues, the o(cid:271)je(cid:272)ti(cid:448)e (cid:862)is(cid:863) f(cid:396)o(cid:373) the (cid:374)o(cid:396)(cid:373)ati(cid:448)e (cid:862)ought(cid:863) Good political science uses history, economics, sociology, anthropology, psychology, etc. Comparative political science depends upon the ability to generate hypotheses, which can then be tested. This is a question that albert einstein asked in his writings on science. Hypotheses about politics emerge from our theories about how politics works. We use theo(cid:396)y all the ti(cid:373)e, do(cid:374)"t (cid:271)e i(cid:374)ti(cid:373)idated. A theory gives us a roadmap, a guide to what features we can use to help us understand where to go: many types of maps for different purposes: a hiker needs a topographical map, not others. It selects out certain types of information and identifies them as a priority: different theories highlight different features and may completely ignore others. It postulates certain relationships between these features of reality, usually in a cause & effect form.
