STUDY GUIDE - assesment 1 POLI 107

According to Sabine, what are the six characteristics of political theory?

• Not fundamentally empirical

• Transcendent (cannot be indifferent or disinterested)

• Logical but also psychological

• Of the now but also forward/backward looking

• Status quo but also radical

• Practical, reactionary, and philosophical

Does Sabine believe that political theories are every disinterested?

No, George Sabine did not believe that political theories are ever entirely disinterested.

Two key characteristics of Greek city states

small in area and small in population

What does the common good embody?

Outcomes of governance beneficial to all members of community 

The Greek view of the “common good” is both a __________ and a __________.

The Greek view of the “common good” is both a the goal of the governemnt and_a basis for evaluating the effectiveness of the government _.

What does it mean when we describe the common good as an ‘abstract idea’? Does this mean that the idea of the common good is of no use to us?

It is one thing to think about the common good and imagine it and another to apply it practically. It does not mean it is no good, it just must be applied to certain circumstances of the city state.

What are the two institutions that the Greeks believe help us achieve the common good?

Democracy and Civic Participation

Define Democracy and Civic Participation

Creates input opportunities for citizens and constructive roles in governance 

Can you explain how, ideally, Democracy and Civic Participation contribute to achieving the common good?

creating a self-governing society where policies and actions are directed toward the shared well-being of all members, rather than just privileged interests

If a society has these institutions, does this mean that there will not be any problems and things will work perfectly? If not, what is the benefit of having these institutions?

Does not mean bad things won’t happen, just lessens the severity of of these problems

The __________ determines who can exercise legitimate political power.

The logic of power determines who can exercise legitimate political power. (Greeks said only citizens could hold power)

What are the two characteristics of the Greek concept of citizen?

They need to know what the city needs and how to fulfill those needs

What are the three ideals of citizenship?

 1. An obligation to serve. 2. It is a duty and privilege to be a citizen. 3. Citizens are responsible for the wellbeing of the whole

How did Pericles feel about Athens compared to other city-states?

 Believed Athens to be superior to others and that others should emulate Athens

According to Pericles, who can play a part in public life? What is the justification for their role – is it money? Family connections?

Power is shared by the many, anyone can play a part regardless of status

How did Pericles feel about people who take no part in public affairs?

Those who do not take part are useless

What is an inherent part of ‘wise action’? Can you explain why this might be important to a democracy that aims to achieve the common good?

Free discussion is an inherent part of wise action.

What does it mean when a citizen is ‘versatile’?

They serve many roles in society

What happens when people live in harmony with each other? What did early Greek political theory believe is required to achieve harmony?

Life in Common is civic harmony, the happiness of one depends on the happiness of all. Achieving this aim involved ethics, sociology, economics, as well as politcs. The approach was comprehensive, and it relied upon talents and sense of duty of the citizenry.

Define freedom and law.

Freedom means that your pursuits will not impede upon others and vice versa. Law codifies understanding of rights and wrongs

What makes laws legitimate? Try to explain why.

Sound and good laws create optimal conditions for the exercise of ones freedoms, the process that creates these laws (open and rational discussion) makes them legitimate

________ and ________ flourished in the city-state.

Reason and Freedom flourished in the city-state.

Who were the Sophists?

 Scholars for Hire, met a demand for education in logic and ethics rather than the physical sciences in greek though and education, these changes diminished the importance of customs

True or false: over time, custom became more and more important to good governance in Greek political thought.

FALSE

What was Socrates’ “chief legacy”? Did it mean that goodness could be studied with precision and that goodness could be taught?

His chief legacy is “virtue is knowledge” (This means goodness can be studied with precision and thought)

Socrates believed true wisdom had one source. What was it? How did this differ from the norm in Athens?

 God is true wisdomes one source, it is perfect in ways humans are not. For humans to possess wisdom they need to acknowledge their limits (of themselves and others)

What was Socrates’ social contribution (according to Socrates)? Did he have a high opinion of people? What was their weakness?

He believes he helps people see their limits so that they do not harm themselves or others by thinking they are wise when they are not

Socrates believed people need ________ and ________. What, then, is the contribution of his criticism?

Socrates believed people need knowledge and virtue. What, then, is the contribution of his criticism?

Socrates argues: without _______, power is _______.

Socrates argues: without wisdom, power is dangerous.

Socrates is not anti-_______. Rather, he is anti-_______.

Socrates is not anti-democratic_. Rather, he is anti-_IGNORANCE_.

Socrates hopes his children will grow up to be just people. If his children do grow up to be just, then what has happened to Athens? Would this validate his efforts to contribute to society?

If Athens can truly instruct his children on being good, then this is a just outcome he can celebrate. Why? 

1. His children will grow up to be good people without his moral guidance

2. This means Socrates’ efforts to make society better have had an effect, despite the outcome of his trial

Plato’s personal experiences in politics shaped his views about the practical role of philosophers. Should they participate in politics? If not, then what should they do?

He concluded that politics was no place for a philosopher. Rather than directly participate, philosophers should instead train leading citizens so they would rule for the sake of the common good. A Philosopher King.

Explain why Plato believes the state is essential to living the Good Life. Why do we need it? Why can’t we be virtuous without it? Are we likely to ‘buy in’ to his vision of the state? Why or why not?

• Socrates also inspired Plato’s belief that individual morality is inherently linked to the proper functioning of the state. The state is essential to living the Good Life.

• Therefore, to Plato, the fundamental tasks of Political Theory involve determining 

1. What the ideal city is;

2. How to bring it about

We do not need to possess knowledge of the Good to perform our proper functions as long as we have the right sort of guidance. This proposition is the reasoning behind the state and its role in society:

• When we cannot recognize the Good, the city may designate roles and coerce us to fulfill them.

• The city can only do this if the rules actually know the good themselves. Then, they must have decisive power.

• Without the state, humans cannot be moral and will remain unfulfilled

What are Plato’s five ‘core beliefs’?

1. Knowledge of the good is learnable, and it is natural for humans to pursue this knowledge (However, only a few can achieve this knowledge)

2. Knowledge of the Good is objective, universal, and absolute

3. Without the state, humans cannot be moral and will remain unfulfilled

4. Your moral worth is defined by your role as a citizen

5. Political Theory that is informed by the Good can salvage Athenian politics and restore the virtue of the city

Government is an art depending on _______. What ability is needed to govern excellently, which is the aim of any art? Is simply possessing this ability enough? What more is needed?

Exact Knowledge

Government is an art depending on exact knowledge:

• An art aims at excellence, so an art of politics aims to govern excellently

• Governing excellently depends upon one's ability to reason

• The ability to reason must be cultivated, just as one would hone skills in other fields

• Ability to reasons+cultivtion= knowledge necessary to govern excellently

• Cultivation cannot make up for lack of ability

We watched a series of commercials in class. What were they about? Better: what was the slogan? Then, explain how did they relate to Plato.

• Cultivation cannot make up for lack of ability

• Key implication: Not everyone should govern because not everyone can reason excellently

• To Plato, so much hinges on the quality of government. If we want to be the best versions of ourselves, then we need excellent government.

• “Just okay is not okay” nor should it ever be for something as important as the Good Life.

Harmony is a life of _______ and _______. To achieve harmony, the state must _______ human capacity and enable our _______ through _______.

Harmony is a life of mutual satisfaction of reciprocal needs and cultivation of our virtues. To achieve harmony the state must maximize human capacity and enable our virtues and develop the citizenry through education

Among ‘earthly’ forms: a mixture of democracy and monarchy is best to achieve order and harmony

What is Plato’s logic of power? Who, then, should ideally lead and why?

• Legitimate authority comes from knowing what is good for society

• the most virtuous (truly knowledgeable) people must rule to promote virtue among those who would never achieve virtue on their own. Power should only ever be exercised for Goodness’ sake

Does Plato believe we can choose our virtues?

Unfortunately, Plato argues that people struggle to understand the answer to this question. What are the social consequences of this lack of understanding?

The ‘sacrifices’ of Plato’s system are not really sacrifices; If we cannot be excellent at everything, then why build society around that belief? We are better off committing to our virtues so that we are happy and our contributions to society are truly meaningful

You can strengthen your virtues through knowledge. If people struggle to understand the question, they’ll struggle to understand the answer

According to Laws, what is the value of custom?

He argues that there is value in custom after all (Custom may anchor a political system). Yes, people (and leaders) are prone to error, but good laws can help mitigate the impact of error. Plus, over time we can work to improve our laws, making them better at serving our interest in Good Life. 

Similarly, in Statesman, Plato argues that law can do what for the city?

Law might serve to sustain the city whenever a philosopher-king(the enlightened despot) is absent from government 

When discussing Plato’s Republic, we observed that Socrates’ companions gave him a hard time in part because he would not provide real world examples of things they did not understand. Why did Socrates refuse to provide real world examples?

Socrates do not believe you need real-world examples to show the merits of the argument. Socrates does not believe empirical evidence is necessary if one can understand the pure idea of something.

Cities arise for reasons of _______.

Cities arise for reasons of self-sufficiency.

Plato argues that people are not truly versatile, at least when it comes to the things we do excellently (that is, when it comes to our virtues). Why does this observation about our natures matter?

• People are NOT versatile after all. Our natures predispose us to do only one thing really well.

• Civic roles are functional for this reason, and exclusive to particular tasks

• One’s social contribution is defined by one's nature. 

• Doing what comes naturally to us makes us HAPPY

What does Aristotle’s doctrine of substance mean for how we acquire knowledge?

• Like Plato, Aristotle believed that knowledge was virtue

• However, Aristotle contested Plato’s notion of the ideal as the source of knowledge. Instead, we acquire knowledge through what we encounter in the world around us. This reflects Aristotle’s doctrine of substance. Knowledge of the good is not simply academic but also derived from experience. Experience is the primary source of the most valuable knowledge one can achieve: Practical knowledge. Because it is in the material realm that we make morally meaningful choices. 

To Aristotle, knowledge of the good is not simply _______ but also derived from _______.

Without this, will we be happy?

To Aristotle, knowledge of the good is not simply academic but also derived from experience.

Without this, will we be happy? Ideas without action and experience will NOT make us happy or fulfilled

Explain the concept of teleology and how it applies to the human soul.

• Teleology refers to an explanation of something based upon the ends it serves

• Aristotle derives his teleology from nature: all living things progress through stages, including the human soul.

Why is political science important to Aristotle? What is his science of the Polis?

• Political Science=Understanding our natural development into the highest form of human association: the polis (city)

• The application of political science will help us build better cities and achieve our natural ends (and be happy, complete people). If there is a means (political science) by which we can achieve our goals (the building of human association, the city), shouldn’t we apply it? When we have these things, we can be happy, self-sufficient, and Good.

What is the difference between a true and perverted constitution? What is the best of the pure

forms? What is the most practicable constitution, and why?

• Aristotle does not seek a universal definition of the polis. Instead, he observes patterns and identifies types. Two general types and six subtypes of constitution…

• True (pure):

1. Monarchy

2. Aristocracy

3. Moderate democracy (polity)

• Perverted (despotic):

4. Tyranny

5. Oligarchy

6. Extreme democracy (mob rule)

• The true constitutions adhere to the law, allow it to function, and thereby enable citizens to live better lives. The perverted constitutions subordinate law to the regime

• Monarchies are the best of the pure form (but also a bit unreliable)

• The best practicable constitution is the mixed form combining elements of democracy and oligarchy.

• Mixed constitution brings together superior administration and popular power

• Mixed constitution works best with a large middle class, balancing the interests of the poor and the rich. They are unstable if wealth is unevenly distributed

• Wealth, then, is the most important factor behind how well (or poorly) a political system functions.

What are the five reasons why law is important to Aristotle?

• Law is a necessary component of sound, effective government because it:

1. Prevents arbitrary rule

2. A highly effective means to communicate a society’s good practices

3. Represents the accumulated wisdom of a people

4. Helps prevent individual choices from creating social problems that make us all worse off

5. Helps translate our potential excellence into actual excellence (laws play an important role in helping individuals into those stages of excellence)

According to Aristotle, what are the two common interests people share that lead them to create cities?

• Individually, citizens aim to be excellent at whatever function they perform for the city

• The common objective is to make the entire city excellent and happy

• People share common interests in 

(A) living well 

(B) survival

The prospect of “sweetness and happiness” drives us to “cling to life” and city-states reflect this drive to live