pol111 sa final

Why did Aristotle believe that man was a political animal

Have logos and reasoned speech
We live together in pol society because we are rational
All other creatures are irrational
We need to live in a political association to reach our telos and the good life

What is the defining principle of a good regime, and what regimes are good and bad/deviant for Aristotle

How did Caesare Borgia use Remirro de Orco to strengthen his rule

Caesare Borgia had Remirro de Orco purge the lords in Romangia – people now do not like de Orco
Caesare then killed de Orco and left his body in the plaza split in two
made people believe de Orco was mild BUT
he CAN be harsh and cruel → he is CHOOSING not to be
Example of using cruelty well-used
This won the favor of the people

According to Machiavelli, what causes the people to rebel against the prince

Hatred
Taking property and women
Being cruel repeatedly over prolonged periods of time

What role does Machiavelli say fortune plays in the success or failure of a prince

While fortune may govern half of man’s actions, the rest is up to men’s actions
Prudence and virtue should be used to resist fortune
Fortune = is like a woman to be beaten into submission
If you place impediments in the path of fortune → it will work to your will
“Fortune, at best, is half the arbitrator”
The best men channel and control fortune through passion
Essentially, account for bad fortune and even manipulate it a little

What does Locke mean by the law of nature, and how does it regulate human conduct

“a set of moral rules that govern human conduct (even in the SON)
 it is discoverable by reason (accessible to any rational being)
Life, liberty, and property protected
Preservation of mankind (self and others)

We are all rational beings
Reason allows us to govern our souls and overcome the passionate part of the soul that wants us to do bad things to other ppl for material reasons
Given by God
It also exists within the SON and limits what we can do
We are all our own executioners within the SON and execute the LONs before entering a social contract
Give this up when we enter the contract for the sovereign to do

How are labor and property intertwined for Locke

By mixing labor with an object, it is your property, and you have a moral tie to it
We have a moral claim to that property
If someone tries to take it → you are in SON
You own yourself, mixing labor (yourself) w/ an object makes that object an extension of yourself
God created the world and gave it to humans in common
Can use well the gifts God has given (the land) by making items shared in common more productive/useful
Clauses: spoilage, enough and is good, charity

According to Locke, what justifies a revolution

If the govt is not ruling in respect to natural laws
Govt becomes corrupt and does not do core funcitons
Becomes tyrannical
Long train of abuses and usurpations
Society as a whole has to agree that the govt is not protecting ppl’s rights

Why does Rousseau believe other state of nature thinkers “have not reached it

”
Other philosophers add societal notions to SON
because greed, power, private property etc, only exist AFTER the development of pretty sophisticated social institutions
Rousseau says that that Im going to tell you what humans are actually like the SON
Locke and Hobbes say the SON is static rather than progressive

Why does Rousseau think political life is bad for human beings

People lose freedom
Distorted self-love
In the natural state, humans would not compare to others, and now we do
Used to be content → but now we have entered society we have excessive needs
Things we used to perceive as wants, we now perceive as needs
“One of the most important and often overlooked aspects of Rousseau's view is that he does not think we can simply return to nature. The process of corruption is irreversible. Natural man is gone. We are already social, already dependent, already driven by amour propre.”