Summary Overview philosophers course History of Political Thought 2022/2023
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Course
History of political thought (73210026FY)
Institution
Universiteit Van Amsterdam (UvA)
This document will provide you with a concise overview of all philosophers mentioned in the course History of Political Thought including their main ideas and the stream of thought they belong to. This overview was made in 2022.
Philosophers & Their ideas
Master Mo Ø Impartial consequentialist
- Consequentialist: justification of the act/institution is produced by the good consequences that follow from it.
- If you act impartially, it will produce great consequences.
- His theory is grounded in an empirical claim: that impartiality has the best consequences.
- Embraces a normative and trickle-down theory: the ruler is a standard-setter and oversees the implementation and
maintenance of impartiality and the benefits it brings from the top down.
- The doctrine of impartial care à form of Confucianism.
The source of chaos: moral disagreement. The solution for solving the conflicts in the state of nature?
The existence of a single ruler to settle moral disagreements.
Thought experiment (see plague):
There are two ideal types of rulers:
1. One sees the world in zero-sum terms: in political power and political hierarchy there are winners and losers; one’s
gain is somebody else’s loss.
(it is rational to prefer such a leader, as he will secure goods needed to survive an emergency)
2. Sees the world as a non-zero-sum game (Master Mo leader): this ruler creates state institutions to solve all the
people’s problems. Sacrifice his own desires for those of others. But he should not serve the people at his own
expense. By taking care of the people in an impartial fashion, he benefits (stable rule, legitimacy, prosperity etc.).
Only such a ruler will prepare for challenges such as a pandemic.
Al-Farabi Ø Religious pluralist:
Different ways to achieve the truth.
- Practices that don’t lead you to the truth, and by definition to human flourishing, are false religions.
- Religion = any opinion and doctrine invented by a political ruler to promote some social consequences.
, What is the best state?
> State aimed at flourishing of all citizens (not just elite)
> Hierarchically ordered unity. It is the job of leadership to organize the classes.
> A multi-national empire
The task of the ruler:
To ensure that all inhabitants of the city work collaboratively to attain the good, according to the ranking the ruler
sets.
Believes in democracy (elective kingship) à leads to much flourishing/liberty/trade.
Ibn Rushd Ø Platonic feminism:
Denies natura land moral equalitu of human beings.
But claims that any privileges and obligations given to leading men must also be offered to leading women.
Society deliberately prevents female political participation (huge loss of economic opportunity).
Machiavelli Ø Instrumental rationality: If you want to achieve X, you ought to do Y (some sort of normativity, but the end result is
in no way moral).
Aristotle’s 4 causes (all presuppose that the world is ordered):
1. The efficient causes: how things are changed or come to rest (motion of billiard balls on another)
2. Material causes: of what things are made (bronze in statue)
3. Final/teleological causes: goal to which things strive *
4. Formal causes: shape of things *
* Presupposes the existence of a planned and structured world (world has plans/goals)
Machiavelli does not believe in all-powerful fortune/chance, and has no interest in final causes.
- In a bad environment you have to also act bad once in a while. Acting morally is self-defeating. But doesn’t mean:
always do bad.
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