POLI 100 Lecture Notes - Political Philosophy, Behaviorism, War Measures Act
Document Summary
Politics: (standard definition) ancient/medieval: art of governing, modern: science of governing (post modern definition) construction of and resistance to power in society as a whole. Plato: serving public good, branch of ethics wrote republic, art of justice, described how politics ought to be, create justice. Just state: philosophers" rule, the good of the people is paramount, revealed in cave analogy. Machiavelli: dirty hands wrote the prince, art of power, analyze politics as they really are (struggle for power) rather than how they ought to be. Purpose of politics is to ensure the power of the prince and maintain order. Modern age: 17th-20th centuries, includes enlightenment (17th-18th century), replaced medieval period. Modern society=governed by reasons and laws, traditional societies=governed by custom/religion. Aspects of modernity: individuals paramount (challenge authority, belief in science (challenge faith, development of market (challenge feudalism, idea of progress (challenge tradition) Politics is a science, discovering laws through reason and progress.
