POL 100 Midterm: Chapter 3 combined: Political thought, philosophy, and ideology

• School: Simon Fraser University
• Department: Political Science
• Course: POL 100
• Professor: Loganathan Masilamani

Document Summary

All of our major approaches, concepts, and ideas in politics are based in the development of political thought. Thought extends from philosophy (greek: philosophia), meaning love of knowledge. Philosophy: study of questions about existence and knowledge, ethics, justice, and morality based on logical reasoning rather than empirical methods. Quest for knowledge within the society"s moralities, and the reasoning behind the morals that exists within society. Greeks = explorers of philosophical understanding of the world. Investigations into nature, the divine and the human action. Political philosophy is about the ideas behind politics, rather than the mechanics" that drives it. Package of interrelated ideas and belies about the government, society, the economy, and human nature that inspire and affect political action. Each ideology provides a different perspective that is used to understand and evaluate how the world actually works. Most ideologies provide a vision of what the world should be like and propose a means of political action to achieve their objectives.