POLI 100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Simile, Sea Monster, Body Politic
Document Summary
Polis: word for city-state in ancient greek, politics was revolved around cities, saw politics as a branch of ethics. The good of the people is paramount. Revealed in cave analogy": argued that democracy basically amounted to mob rule and was an aberrant form of government. Fortuna" (chaos/fortune) of politics: virtu will overcome fortuna (virtu vs fortuna) Idea of women as fortuna control her chaotic force. If you control too much create hatred. Maintain fear and respect: similarities between plato and machiavelli. Politics is an art or craft (not science) Politics is elitist (anti-democratic: differences between plato and machiavelli. Justice/goodness (plato) vs. power (machiavelli: politics is a branch of ethics and concerned with serving the public good (plato, politics is about power and requires dirty hands" (machiavelli) I think therefore i am": begins with i" the individual is central to modern thinking. Think" reason is the key to truth or knowledge (over faith or revelation)
