First Exam - POLISCI 2400

“Nature makes nothing pointlessly”

Aristotle, Politics; Aristotle argues that everything in nature has a purpose or function. Humans therefore have a natural purpose that is connected to their ability to reason and participate in political community. This supports his argument that the city-state is natural rather than artificial. It also connects politics to the idea of living well and developing human virtue.

“The many can be better than the few collectively”

Aristotle, Politics; Aristotle argues that ordinary people can collectively make better judgments than a small group of excellent individuals. Each person contributes a different perspective, allowing the group to combine many partial judgments. This does not mean every individual in the many is excellent. It shows why including many citizens in political judgment can have value.

“Rule of a statesman is rule over people who are free and equal”

Aristotle, Politics; Aristotle distinguishes political rule from household or master-slave rule. A statesman rules citizens who are considered free and equal rather than naturally subordinate. Political rule therefore involves governing people who can themselves participate in political life. This connects citizenship to virtue, equality, and participation in the city.

“Studying from the margins can inform you of the margins, the center, and their relationality”

“Robbie Shilliam, decolonizing politics; Shilliam argues that studying politics only from the dominant center can leave important perspectives out. Looking at marginalized groups can reveal information about both the center and the margins. This challenges the assumption that Western political thought should automatically be treated as the universal center. The quote therefore supports a broader and more inclusive way of studying political activity.”

“The multifariousness and complexity of a city government demand the help of minds accustomed to detail and variety of work”

Jane Addams, Woman and Public Housekeeping”; Addams argues that women's experiences with everyday community problems can provide valuable political knowledge. City government involves issues such as childcare, health, cleanliness, and public welfare. These issues were traditionally associated with women's domestic responsibilities rather than politics. Addams uses this argument to show why women's experiences could contribute meaningfully to political government.

“Hence it was necessary for the salvation of man that certain truths which exceed human reason should be made known to him by divine revelation”

Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae; Aquinas argues that human reason alone cannot discover every truth necessary for salvation. Some truths exceed what human beings can understand through reason, so God must reveal them. Revelation therefore complements rather than simply replaces reason. This is important to Aquinas's attempt to connect Christian theology with Aristotelian philosophy.

“Human laws aim to induce human beings to virtue little by little, not all at once”

Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae; Aquinas argues that human beings are imperfect and cannot immediately become fully virtuous. Laws should therefore gradually encourage better behavior instead of trying to prohibit every vice at once. If laws were too strict, imperfect citizens might resist them and create even greater disorder. This shows that Aquinas views law as something that must account for human limitations.

“A man who wants to make a profession of good in all regards must come to ruin among so many who are not good”

Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince; Machiavelli argues that a prince cannot always follow ordinary moral standards and still successfully maintain political power. A ruler must learn to act badly when necessity requires it. This reflects Machiavelli's political realism because he focuses on how politics actually works rather than how rulers ideally should behave. The important distinction is between being capable of evil and using evil unnecessarily.

“He who comes to the principality with the aid of the great maintains himself with more difficulty than one who becomes prince with the aid of the people”

Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince; Machiavelli distinguishes between the people and the great, who have different political interests. The great generally want to command and oppress, while the people mainly want not to be oppressed. A prince supported by the people therefore has a more stable relationship with his subjects. This explains why Machiavelli repeatedly emphasizes maintaining popular support and avoiding hatred.

“One cannot call it virtue to kill one's citizens, betray one's friends, to be without faith, without mercy, without religion; these modes can enable one to acquire empire, but not glory”

Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince; Machiavelli discusses Agathocles, who gained political power through murder and betrayal. These actions were effective in helping him acquire an empire, but Machiavelli refuses to call them virtue or glory. This creates a distinction between political success and moral or honorable achievement. A person can successfully gain power without earning genuine glory.

“In the nature of man, we find three principal causes of quarrel: competition, diffidence, and glory”

Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan; Hobbes argues that humans naturally have three major reasons to conflict with one another. Competition causes people to fight for gain, diffidence causes them to fight for safety, and glory causes them to fight for reputation. These causes help explain why the state of nature becomes a condition of insecurity and war. Government is therefore necessary to restrain these sources of conflict.

“The skill of making and maintaining commonwealths consisteth in certain rules, as doth arithmetic and geometry, not on practice only”

Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan; Hobbes argues that political order can be understood through reason and systematic rules. Politics is not simply an art that depends on experience or practice. Like mathematics, it can be analyzed through principles that explain how a stable commonwealth is created and maintained. This reflects Hobbes's broader attempt to create a scientific and systematic theory of politics.

“Whether a commonwealth be monarchical or popular, the freedom is still the same”

Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan; Hobbes defines liberty as the absence of external obstacles rather than participation in government. Therefore, people can have the same basic freedom under a monarchy or a popular government. This contrasts with Aristotle, who connects political freedom more closely to participating in rule. Hobbes's definition makes political liberty much narrower than democratic participation.

Why does Aristotle believe young people are not suitable for politics?

Aristotle believes young people lack enough life experience and practical wisdom to make sound political judgments. Good political decision-making requires experience with human behavior, consequences, and practical situations.

Difference between the household and city-state according to Aristotle

The household exists primarily to meet basic everyday needs, while the city-state is the highest political community and exists so people can live well and achieve the good life.

Which is not a characteristic of humans as political animals according to Aristotle?

Humans do not form political communities simply because they are forced to do so. Aristotle argues that political community is natural because humans possess speech and reason and can understand justice and injustice.

Which is a deviant constitution according to Aristotle?

Tyranny, oligarchy, and democracy are Aristotle's deviant constitutions. The correct constitutions are monarchy, aristocracy, and polity.

What makes a vulgar craftsman not suited for citizenship according to Aristotle?

A vulgar craftsman's occupation leaves little leisure or opportunity to develop the virtue and qualities necessary for active citizenship.

What factor makes democracies more stable than oligarchies according to Aristotle?

The larger number of people in a democracy can make it more difficult for a small group to dominate political life. Aristotle also emphasizes the stabilizing role of a broad middle class.

Which is not one of Robbie Shilliam's three maneuvers for decolonizing politics?

The incorrect answer would be a maneuver that simply treats Western political thought as the universal center. Shilliam's method instead emphasizes questioning the center and studying politics from the margins.

What habits of mind do men tend to bring to politics according to Jane Addams?

Addams argues that men often bring habits of competition, individualism, and abstract thinking to politics. She contrasts this with women's experience with everyday social and community problems.

Why do working men understand peace better than other classes according to Jane Addams?

Working men directly experience many of the economic and human costs of war. Because war affects their work, families, and communities, they have a practical understanding of the importance of peace.

Why does natural law need to be supplemented by human law according to Aquinas?

Natural law provides broad and general principles, but human law is needed to apply those principles to specific situations. Human law determines particular rules about property, punishment, and social behavior.

How would Aquinas reason about the starving person and the pie?

Aquinas would reason that extreme necessity can change the moral situation. If a person is genuinely facing starvation and has no other way to survive, taking another person's food can be justified because preserving human life takes priority in extreme necessity.

How would Aquinas reason about unjust laws under a secular king?

Aquinas would distinguish between a law that is technically enforced and a law that is a law in the fullest sense. A human law that contradicts natural or divine law is a perversion of law. However, people may sometimes obey unjust laws to avoid greater disorder, danger, or scandal.

Why can Machiavelli, a common man, give advice about princes?

Machiavelli argues that someone who lives among ordinary people can understand rulers from below, just as a prince can understand ordinary people from above. His experience in politics and study of ancient rulers also gives him knowledge of political affairs.

What are the two primary means by which a private person can become a prince according to Machiavelli?

Virtù and fortune

Which historical figure does Machiavelli classify as an unarmed prophet?

Savonarola

What distinguishes cruelties well used from cruelties badly used according to Machiavelli?

Cruelties are well used when they are committed all at once and then stopped. They are badly used when they continue and grow over time.

What makes humans naturally equal according to Hobbes?

Even the weakest person can potentially kill the strongest, and humans are similar enough in physical and mental abilities that they have roughly equal hopes of achieving what they desire.

Why does Hobbes argue that humans are not political animals in Aristotle's sense?

Humans naturally compete for resources and reputation, distrust one another, and disagree about their own abilities. Political society therefore requires an artificial agreement or covenant rather than arising naturally.

Who enforces the laws of nature in the absence of government according to Hobbes?

No one reliably enforces them because there is no common power or sovereign capable of making people follow them.

What action would count as the sovereign breaching his covenant with the people according to Hobbes?

None. Hobbes argues that the sovereign cannot breach the covenant because the covenant is made among the subjects with one another rather than between the subjects and the sovereign.

Which author or work has been most helpful for understanding politics?

Hobbes's Leviathan can be especially useful for understanding politics because he clearly explains why people create governments. His state of nature shows what happens when there is no common authority to provide security. His focus on fear, conflict, and self-preservation explains why people might accept political authority. His theory also provides a useful contrast with Aristotle because Aristotle sees political community as natural while Hobbes sees it as artificial. Hobbes helps explain politics in terms of security and order rather than simply virtue or living well.