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What are the best Masters in Political Theory or Political Philosophy?
Wiki User
∙ 13y ago
Taking a different route each morning
Wiki User
∙ 13y ago
Some top-ranked programs in Political Theory or Political Philosophy include the University of Oxford, Harvard University, Princeton University, and the London School of Economics. However, the best program for you will depend on your research interests, career goals, and where you want to study. It's important to consider faculty expertise, research opportunities, and resources available at each institution.
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US Political Science What is executive Force Theory?
Executive force theory is a concept in political science that asserts the power of the executive branch to enforce laws and maintain order through the use of force, if necessary. It argues that the government's ability to use coercive measures is essential for ensuring compliance with laws and maintaining social order.
With wich group does aristotle say political power is best located?
Aristotle believed that political power is best located in the hands of the virtuous and educated middle class, whom he referred to as the "people of the middling sort." He believed that these individuals were most likely to govern with the common good in mind rather than pursuing their own self-interest.
Which is the best political party in Punjab?
It is subjective to determine the "best" political party in Punjab as it depends on individual perspectives and priorities. Voters should research each party's stance on policies and track record in order to make an informed decision aligning with their beliefs and values.
What is the cut off mark for political science of uniport?
The cut off mark for Political Science at the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) can vary from year to year depending on the number of applicants and the competitiveness of the program. It is best to check with the university or their official website for the most up-to-date information on the cut off mark for Political Science.
Political science really science or not?
Political science is a social science that studies systems of government, political behavior, and political processes. While it involves the use of scientific methods to analyze political phenomena and develop theories, it differs from natural sciences in its subject matter and methodologies.
What statement best reflects the political philosophy of convervatism?
Conservatism emphasizes traditional values, limited government intervention, and a belief in personal responsibility. It values preserving established institutions and practices, and is cautious about rapid or radical change.
What political philosophy is France?
Its philosophy is best expressed in its motto: Liberty, Equality, Fraternity.
What can be best described as a political philosophy?
Legalism colt york
Presidential candidates who have this political philosophy have the best chance of being elected?
moderate!
Who is Thomas hobbd?
Thomas Hobbes was an English philosopher, best known for his work on political philosophy. His book "Leviathan" was published in 1651 and established the foundation for modern West political philosophy.
Which action best reflects the political philosophy of liberalism?
taking a different route each morning
What statements best describes Herbert Hoovers political philosophy?
Growing old in your childhood home
The world's main political Ideology?
Unfortunately there is no "world" political philosophy. Every country and every person follows what they feel is best for themselves.
What political theory did Baron de Montesquieu promote as the best way to govern?
He promoted the best way to govern
What is significance of political theory?
NATURE AND SIGNIFICANCE distinction between political theory and political thought, political philosophy and political science. As stated above, political theory is the study of the phenomena of the state both from philosophical as well as empirical points of view. In this context, certain similar terms are also used such as political thought, political philosophy, political science. Although all of them are concerned with explaining the political phenomena, yet political theory is distinct from them. The distinction of political theory from other terms is as follows. political theory and political thought It is generally believed that political thought is the general thought comprising of theories and values of all those persons or a section of the community who think and write on the day-do-day activities, policies and decisions of the state, and which has a 4 bearing on our present living. These persons can be philosophers, writers, journalists, poets, political commentators etc. Political thought has no 'fixed' form and can be in the form of treatise, speeches, political commentaries etc. What is important about political thought is that it is 'time bound' since the policies and programmes of the governments change from time to time. Thus we have Greek thought or Roman thought of ancient period or the political thought of the medieval ages.7 Political theory, on the other hand, is the systematic speculation of a particular writer who talks specifically about the phenomena of the state. This speculation is based on certain hypothesis which may or may not be valid and may be open to criticism. Theory provides a model of explanation of political reality as is understood by the writer. As such there can be different political theories of the same period. Also, political theory is based on certain discipline-be it philosophy, history, economics or sociology. And lastly, since the task of theory is not only to explain the political reality but also to change it (or to resist change), political theory can be conservative, critical or revolutionary. According to Barker, while political thought is the immanent philosophy of a whole age, political theory is the speculation of a particular thinker. While political thought is implicit and immersed in the stream of vital action, political theory is explicit and may be detached from the political reality of a particular period.8 Political theory and political philosophy Philosophy is called 'science of wisdom'-wisdom about this world, man or God. This wisdom is all-inclusive and tries to explain everything. When this wisdom is applied to the study of political phenomena or the state, it is called political philosophy. Political philosophy belongs to the category of normative political theory. It is concerned with not only explaining what 'is' but also what 'ought' to be. Political philosophy is not concerned with contemporary issues but with certain universal issues in the political life of man such as nature and purpose of the political organisation, basis of political authority, nature of rights, liberty, equality, justice etc. The distinction between political philosophy and political theory is explained by the fact that whereas a political philosopher is a political theorist, but a political theorist may not necessarily be a political philosopher.9 For example, David Easton is an eminent 5 political theorist but is not considered a political philosopher. Though theory deals with the same issues as political philosophy, it can explain them both from philosophical as well as empirical points of view. In other words, while political philosophy is abstract or speculative, political theory can be both normative and empirical. A political theorist is as much interested in explaining the nature and purpose of the state as in describing the realities of political behaviour, the actual relations between state and citizens, and the role of power in the society. As has been pointed out by Arnold Bretch, philosophical explanations are theories too, but they are nonscientific. 10 Political theory is concerned both with political institutions and the ideas and aspirations that form the basis of those institutions. However, we must not forget that though we can analytically distinguish between philosophy and theory, yet if political theory is separated from political philosophy, its meaning will appear distorted and it will prove barren and irrelevant. Theory must be supplemented by philosophy. political theory and political science As a discipline, political science is much more comprehensive and includes different forms of speculation in politics such as political thought, political theory, political philosophy, political ideology, institutional or structural framework, comparative politics, public administration, international law and organizations etc. With the rise of political science as a separate discipline, political theory was made one of its subfields. However, when used specifically with emphasis on 'science' as distinct from 'theory', political science refers to the study of politics by the use of scientific methods in contrast to political philosophy which is free to follow intuition. 'Political theory when opposed to political philosophy is political science'. Political science is concerned with describing and explaining the realities of political behaviour, generalizations about man and political institutions on empirical evidence, and the role of power in the society. Political theory, on the other hand, is not only concerned about the behavioural study of the political phenomena from empirical point of view but also prescribing the goals which states, governments, societies and citizens ought to pursue. Political theory also aims to generalize about the right conduct in the political life and about the legitimate use of power.11 Thus political theory is neither pure thought, nor philosophy, 6 nor science. While it draws heavily from all of them, yet it is distinct from them. Contemporary political theory is trying to attempt a synthesis between political philosophy and political science. characteristics of political theory Political theory is an intellectual and moral creation of man. Generally it is the speculation of a single individual who is attempting to offer us a theoretical explanation of the political reality i.e. the phenomena of the state. Every theory by its very nature is an explanation, built upon certain hypothesis which may be valid (or not) and which are always open to criticism. So what we find in political theory is a number of attempts made by thinkers from Plato onwards to unravel the mysteries of man's political life. They have given so many modes of explanations which may or may not convince us but to which we cannot pass any final judgement. Political theory is largely an attempt to seek the truth as the thinker sees it and it is usually expressed through a treatise such as Plato's Republic, Aristotle's Politics, Hobb'es' Leviathan, or Rawls' A Theory of Justice. Secondly, political theory contains an explanation of man, society and history. It probes the nature of man and society: how a society is made up and how it works; what are the important elements; what are the sources of conflict in the society and how they can be resolved. Thirdly, political theory is discipline based. It means that though the phenomena which the theorist seeks to explain remains the same i.e. the state, the writer may be a philosopher, historian, economist, theologian or a sociologist. Thus we are confronted by a variety of political theories, each distinguished by a discipline on which it is based. Fourthly, political theory not only comprehends and explains the social and political reality but is also actively engaged in hastening the process of history. The task of political theory is not only to understand and explain but also to device ways and means to change the society. As Laski put it, the task is not merely one of description of what it is but also a prescription of what ought to be.12 Thus political theory recommends agencies of action as well as means of reform, revolution or conservation. It contains programmes that embody both ends and means. Political 7 theory plays a double role: to understand society and to suggest how to remove the imperfections. And lastly, political theory also includes political ideology. Ideology in simple language means 'a system of beliefs, values and ideals by which people allow themselves to be governed'. We find a number of ideologies in the modern world such as liberalism, Marxism, socialism etc. All political theories from Plato to date reflect a distinct ideology of the writer. Political theory in the form of political ideology includes a system of political values, institutions and practices which a society has adopted as its ideal. For example, all political theories adopted by Western Europe and America have been dominated by liberalism and the theories accepted by China and erstwhile USSR were influenced by a particular brand of Marxism. Each brand of theory or ideology in this sense claims for itself the attributes of universality and compels others to accept it, leading to what is generally known as 'ideological conflicts'. In short, political theory is associated with the explanation and evaluation of the political phenomena and this phenomena can be examined as a statement of ideas and ideals, as an agent of socio-economic change, and as an ideology. issues in political theory The nature of political theory can also be understood from the kind of issues it has been grappling with during the long span of more than 2300 years. Different political issues have been dominant in different epochs. Classical political theory was primarily concerned with the search for a perfect political order. As such it analysed the basic issues of political theory such as the nature and purpose of the state, basis of political authority, the problem of political obligation and political disobedience. It was more concerned with what the state ought to be i.e. the ideal state. The rise of modern nation-state and the industrial revolution gave birth to a new kind of society, economy and polity. Modern political theory starts from individualism and made liberty of the individual as the basic issue. Hence it was concerned with issues like rights, liberty, equality, property and justice for the individual, how to create a state based upon individual consent, and a right to change the government. At one time, it also became important to explain the 8 interrelation between one concept and the other such as liberty and equality, justice and liberty, equality and property. The empirical political theory, particularly after the second world war, shifted the emphasis from concepts to the political behaviour of man. It invented a number new issues largely borrowed from other social sciences. Some of the important issue of empirical political theory were authority, legitimacy, elite, party, group, political system, political culture etc. During the last twenty years, quite a number of different issues have come to dominate the scene of political theory. With the resurgence of value-based political theory, there is once again an emphasis on the issues of freedom, equality and justice. Apart from them, some new issues have come to dominate the scene such as feminism, environmentalism, ecology, community, issue concerning development, subalteranism etc. These are the issues which have been engaging the attention of political theorists today. We shall touch upon these issues in the relevant chapters in this book. Moreover traditional picture of studying the issues from a single perspective i.e. either from liberal or Marxist point of view, is also changing. Though the method was not wrong but today it is found inadequate. To give an example, both liberalism and Marxism have viewed justice or freedom in the male dominated sphere of government and economy and ignored the freedom of the traditional female spheres of home and family. An adequate theory of sexual equality will involve considerations that simply are not addressed in the traditional right or left debates. Similarly, communitarians have also exposed the weakness of single perspective approach. Recent political theory is trying to redefine the issues of liberty, equality and justice in the context of ultimate values of common good.15 significance The significance of political theory can be derived from the purpose it serves or supposed to serve and the task performed by it. Political theory is a form of all embracing system of values which a society adopts as its ideal with a view to understand the political reality and, if necessary, to change it. It involves speculation at higher level about the nature of good life, the political institutions appropriate for its realization, to what end the state is directed and how it should be constituted to achieve those ends. The 9 significance of political theory lies in providing the moral criteria that ought to be used to judge the ethical worth of a political state and to propose alternative political arrangements and practices likely to meet the moral standards. The importance of political theory lies in providing i) a description of the political phenomena, ii) a non-scientific (based upon philosophy or religion) or a scientific (based upon empirical studies) explanation, iii) proposals for the selection of political goals and political action, and iv) moral judgement. Examples of such a political theory can be found in Plato's Republic, or Rawls' A Theory of Justice or Nozic's Anarchy, State and Utopia. As mentioned earlier, the fundamental question facing human beings has been 'how to live together'. Politics is an activity engaged with the management of the collective affairs of society. The significance of theory lies in evolving various doctrines and approaches regarding the nature and purpose of the state, the bases of political authority, vision of an ideal state, best form of government, relations between the state and the individual and basic issues such as rights, liberty, equality, property, justice etc. Again what has become important in our times is to explain the inter-relation between one concept and another such as the relationship between liberty and equality, equality and property, justice and property. This is as important as peace, order, harmony-stability and unity in the society. In fact peace and harmony in the society very much depends upon how we interpret and implement the values of liberty, equality and justice etc. Contemporary states face a number of problems such as poverty, over-population, corruption, racial and ethnic tensions, environment pollution etc., conflicts among individuals, groups as well as nations. The task of political theory is to study and analyse more profoundly than others, the immediate and potential problems of political life of the society and to supply the practical politician with an alternative course of action, the consequences of which have been fully thought of. According to David Held, the task of political theorist is really demanding because in the absence of systematic study, there is a danger that politics will be left to the ignorant and self-seeking people who only want to pursue it as 'power.13 In short, the significance of political theory lies in the fact that it provides systematic thinking about the nature and purpose of 10 state and government. It helps us to establish a correlation between ideals and the socio-political phenomena. It makes the individual aware of his rights and duties in the society. It helps us to understand the nature or' the socio-economic system and its problems like poverty, violence, corruption, ethnicity etc. Since the task of political theory is not only to understand and explain the social reality but also to change it, political theory helps us to evolve ways and means to change society either through reform or revolution. When political theory performs its function well, it is one of the most important weapons of struggle for the advancement of humanity. To imbube people with correct theories may make them
What was the legacy of the Greeks to the western civilization?
The most outstanding legacy of the ancient Greeks to modern western civilization was in the area of philosophy and political philosophy. The latter can be best illustrated by the writings of Plato.
Why do you study social and political philosophy?
Studying social and political philosophy helps us understand the underlying principles and values that shape our society and government. It provides insights into how we can create a more just and equitable society through examining concepts like justice, freedom, and power. By studying these philosophies, we can critically engage with issues and policies that affect our lives and work towards positive social change.
