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History of political thought summary
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Summary history of political thought! 12 lectures
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Week 1 hoorcollege 1Who should rule?
- The people?
- The Elderly?
- The King/queen?
- The Party?
- Expert rule or epistemocracy
Plato (teached by Socrates)
Athens was a direct/popular democracy
- Limited to male citizens
- Met in a regular assembly (ekklesia) and could vote and speak (isegoria)
- Did not choose representatives
- For urgent matters there was a council chosen by lot, they served one year
- The council was the jury in trials as well (unitary state)
Athenians and spartans defeated persians and stopped expansion of their kingdom.
Athens became leader of Delian league
Thirty tyrans in Athens led by student of Socrates (critias)
Socrates convicted to death after return of democracy
Athens defeated by phillip 1 338 bc.
Value pluralism = existence of conflicting and incompatible values
Plato’s critique on direct democracy
- Relies on empirical facts about how direct democracies behave
- Presupposes normative commitments
- Experts should rule
Problems lottery:
- Inexperienced legislators/judges
- In a growing society, sample size of lottery has to go up
- Vulnerable to lobbying
5 uses of political theory
- Normative guidance
How should we/you behave?
- Explanation
- A tool in empirical research
Helps guide attention to particular phenomena
- Unmasks status quo
- Conceptual clarification
Aristotle positive about Sortition
Hoorcollege 2
,Socrates:
Elements in humans: Rational, desire and spirit
Plato: Justice in a city is the same as justice in individual; macro and micro are
similar and macro composed of micro.
Methodological individualism: explanation of the whole must appeal to the
characteristics in individuals of the population.
They are also normative baselines.
Plato is creates the idea of the best kind of city to judge really existing cities and
ultimately individuals.
City of pigs/ true city (1) (Socrates)
- Based on need
, - Extensive division of labor (specialization)
- Open to internal and external trade
o Famine free
o Surplus -> for population growth
- No philosophy
- Joyful religion
- No luxury
- No unity?
- In the city of pigs, hierarchy is relatively modest
Plato’s theory of human nature
- People are characterized by innate differences
o These differences are heritable
o The division of labor reflects and should reflect these differences
- The differences reflect natural hierarchy
- The hierarchy is present in both sexes, but symmetrical
o Best women are (nearly) as good as best men
Kallipolis= lovely city Soul
Triparte soul:
- Three main classes: (elitist view) - Rational
o Guardians (rulers) - Spirited
o Auxiliaries (soldiers) - Desire
o Workers (economy) Reason should order the other 2
- Natural hierarchy, but ordered form above (hierarchy)
- The division of labour in three classes are functional Causes a functioning organism
Censorship, lies and education more important than force when it comes to hierarchy
A civic religion has the function to create political and social order
- Shared habits, narrative, history, civic festivals etc
Banishment of poets, specific childrens songs, lies so soldiers are willing to die for
the country
Purpose of all of this: survival of the state (the end justifies the means)
Everybody must be educated to their full capacity. (regardless of class, working class
can become ruler)
Law benefits all
Law has an aim (union, harmony, order)
Law is force but also persuasion
Why force philosophers to become rulers:
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