...Concepts and Theories in Politics Welcome to Introduction to Politics! This lecture will supplement what you will hear in class. I’m going to discuss some important methodological and substantive issues having to do with political science, including the role of concepts and theories, human nature and politics, and ideologies. If you need more background, I suggest taking a look at Sheldon Wolin, Politics and Vision; C.B. Macpherson, The Real World of Democracy; or Robert Dahl, A Preface to Democratic Theory. To begin with, in some ways it is a misnomer to speak of political “science.” One crucial difference between political science and the natural sciences is that in the latter there is normally only one dominant paradigm at a time, while in the former there are what might be called competing paradigms. As T.S. Kuhn establishes in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, there was a paradigm shift from the Ptolemaic to the Copernican universe; in other words, from the idea that the Earth is the center of the universe we move to the idea that the Earth in fact goes around the sun, a radical conception when it was first put forward in 16th-century Europe but one that is now universally accepted. In the social sciences, however, there is no overriding consensus on how to analyze reality (or even on what counts as reality). In political science, for example, three major views may be distinguished on power and authority in the United States: (a) the pluralist model, in which...
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...also covered in the readings, sometimes in more than one chapter. Lec. 1-2 What is Politics? Concepts from the Lecture: Politics ‘Polis’ Plato Machiavelli Modern Age Thomas Hobbes Leviathan Concepts from the Texts: ‘Simile of the Cave’ ‘fortuna’ philosopher-king Behavioural Approach Class Analysis Elite theory Pluralism Institutionalism ‘Power to’ vs. ‘Power over’ Lec. 3 What is the State? Concepts from the Lecture: Treaty of Westphalia Social Contract Legal-institutionalism Branches of State Levels of State Elitism Pluralism Additional Concepts from the Texts: Night Watchman State Neo-liberal state Welfare State Liberal Democracy Lec. 4 The State: Power, Authority, and Sovereignty Concepts from the Lectures and Readings: Power Authority Sovereignty Weber’s Typology of Authority Concepts from Readings: See Lec. 3 concepts Lec. 5 Political Ideologies: Liberalism Concepts from the Lecture Ideology Left vs. Right ideologies John Locke/ Two Treatises of Government J.S. Mill/ On Liberty Tenets of Liberalism Welfare Liberalism vs. Libertarianism Concepts from Readings The Republic State of nature Tyranny of the majority Harm Principle ‘Politics as a Vocation’ Equality Rights Lec. 6 Republicanism, Conservatism and Socialism Concepts from the Lecture Republicanism Roman ‘Res publica’ Jean Jacques Rousseau Edmund Burke / Reflections on...
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...Platón - el bien del hombre y su felicidad se alcanza por la practoca de la virtud - quienes actuan mal lo hacen pensando que eligen bien, pero en realidad es por ignorancia= falta de virtud - virtud= conocimiento de la verdad, del BIEN - el ser humano debe trascender la apriencia y buscar mas alla. - la virtud mas importante es la prudencia: la capacidad de reconocer a traves de la razon, lo que verdaderamente es bueno pra el hombre y los medios que dispone para alcanzarlo. - otras virtudes importantes para Platón: *fortaleza: fuerza de voluntad para hacer la cosas *templanza: control de los intintos *justicia: armonía y equilibrio de todas las otras virtudes - crítica a la teoría de Platón (por Aristóteles) *identificar "conocer" la virtud con ser "virtuoso". La ética no es saber lo que es el bien, si no hacernos buenos atraves de los hábitos *Justificar las vitudes a partir de realidades ideales *Las ideas no existen por si solas, sino en objetos concretos. Materia y forma. Aristóteles - Por naturaleza el hombre busca el bien: el objeto de nuestras aspiraciones, aquellos a los que todos tienden. - el problema es que aveces se elige lo que parece bueno y no lo que realmente es bueno - A diferencia de Platón, Aristóteles cree que no hay un bien en sí mismo, "ideal". Mas bien cree que hay muchos tipos de bien. - Los bienes se eligen, siempre se eligen con vista a un fin último. - El fin último que buscan todos es la "FELICIDAD". - La felicidad no esta...
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...Why was Socrates regarded as a man of virtue? Why was Socrates regarded as a man of virtue? Socrates: Man of Virtue (470-399 B.C.E.) Socrates proposed the theory of value in which there are two sorts of good: virtue and happiness. Both are unconditional goods. But happiness is a "self-generated" good in that it "derives its value strictly from its inherent properties;" whereas virtue is an "other-generated" good in that it derives its value from happiness, precisely from its conduciveness to happiness. Virtue is an instinct in all humanity which can be aroused through self-examination. This universal truth is accessible to everyone who thinks and question. Socrates assumes that any person with whom he talks has the resource to answer his question correctly, that is, that no specialist knowledge is required. Socrates thought that knowledge is virtue, and virtue leads to happiness. It makes sense to think that moral people know what morality is. If you know right from wrong, then you might be able to choose to do what you know to be right. It also makes some sense to suspect that our beliefs about right and wrong influence our decisions. If we believe its right to help a drowning child, then it would be fairly shocking to decide not to do so—and it would less surprising when we decide to help the child. It is quite a shocking statement to say that virtue always leads to happiness. Criminals commit crimes that hurt others to help themselves. To think that their crimes would...
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...IV: Rise * 2 Interviewees * 3 Award * 4 Reception * 5 See also * 6 References * 7 External links Content The film is arranged into four parts. Each part is an amalgam of interviews, narration and animated sequences.[3] Part I: Human Nature The film begins with an animated sequence narrated by Jacque Fresco. He describes his adolescent life and his discontinuation of public education at the age of 14 and describes his early life influences. Human behavior and the nature vs. nurture debate is discussed. Robert Sapolsky sums up his opinion of the nature vs. nurture debate in which he refers to it as a "false dichotomy." The film then says that it is neither nature nor nurture that solely shapes human behavior, but the combination of both. Disease, criminal activity and addictions are also discussed. The overall conclusion of Part I is that social environment and cultural conditioning play a large part in shaping human behavior.[citation needed] Part II: Social Pathology John Locke and Adam Smith are discussed in regard to modern economics. In Two...
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...Nietzsche: His philosophy and “Beyond Good and Evil” And Marxists vs. Mill’s view of socialism 1- Describe Nietzsche’s basic philosophy and his “New Morality” as revealed in his “Gay Science”, “Twilight of the Idol’s” books. Then choose one of his writings in his book “Beyond Good and Evil” and describe the philosophy he attempts to reveal. Conclude with your opinion on his philosophy of religion and his view of the Cosmos. Born on October 15, 1844 in the small town of Röcken, near Leipzig, Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a German poet and philosopher, a classical philologist and a professor of Greek at the University of Basle. He was the author of many works that talked about religion, morality, culture, philosophy, science using a unique style and radical questioning of the value and objectivity of truth. In his writings, Nietzsche called for revision of all values; he rejected organized religion attacking Christianity and other religious institutions as contributors to what he called “slave morality”. He was, also, equally critical of democratic institutions whose singular vision and courage, according to him, produce a “master morality” and he called the rule by mass mediocrity. Nietzsche also believed that European materialism have led to decadence and decline. He died on August 25, 1900. In his works, he voiced the sentiments of radical moralists. He was deeply critical of his own times and he called for a revision of all values. The major...
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...Ethical Issues in Business Thomas Donaldson and Patricia Werhane Some definitions: Ethics – the study of whatever is right and good for humans Business ethics – business actions etc in light of some aspect of human value. - it requires the evaluation of business practices. - Goes beyond facts to include the “ought to” of a situation. The two traditional issues involved with ethics: 1. Ethical Relativism – are there universal values that apply to everyone or is everything relative to individual, country, company etc. a. Relates to cultural relativism. This presumes that different peoples reason about morality varies by culture, education and religious traditions. b. Arguments for ER are: i. Empirical evidence of cultural relativism. ii. There is no viable universal standard that can be applied to everyone. c. Arguments against ER are: i. Just because finding universals is hard – that does not imply that ER is correct. ii. Just because a particular issues is not resolved does not imply that it is, in principle, not ever resolvable. iii. Taking ER to its full extent means that you can’t justify any moral judgements at all. d. The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (1977) attempted to legislate that what we say is moral is how we should behave. This Act was driven by the issue that you are being inconsistent with yourself if you say something is immoral yet do it anyway just because you are in a foreign country. 2. Truth telling – can you ever justify...
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...INTRODUCTION LAW FOUNDATION LAW AND … 1. LOGIC 2. SCIENCE 3. THEORY 4. SOCIAL PROBLEMS LAW FOUNDATION Critical = informed and logical Responsible = social equity Creative = independent and considered Interrelations -- with other disciplines and institutions Historical, philosophical, economic, political and social context == acquaintance with historical development of theory Contemporary social issues: · Terrorism · Refugees · Crime and punishment Historical context John Locke? Karl Marx? LOGIC What is wrong with this statement? In the war on terror, you are either with us or against us Which of the following is sound? All men have hair I have hair Therefore I am a man All men have hair I am a man Therefore I have hair Logic definitions Logic = science that evaluates arguments Argument = group of statements, with premises claimed to support conclusions [also inference] Statement = sentence that is either true or false [also proposition] Premise = statement setting forth reasons or evidence Conclusion = statement that the evidence is claimed to support or imply Arguments and non-arguments Arguments must have a factual claim and an inferential claim. The following are not arguments: · warnings or advice · belief or opinion · loosely associated statements · factual reports · explanations · illustrations · conditional statements Deduction and induction ...
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...recognition of humanity should be the central focus of human existence. • Within a historical context both humanization and dehumanization are possible realities. • The very attempt to deny our humanity, through the process of dehumanization, reaffirms our humanity. • Humanization is characterized in terms of: o Yearning for freedom and justice o Struggle to recover humanity o Emancipation of labor o Overcoming of alienation o Affirmation of the individual • Dehumanization is characterized in terms of: o Injustice o Exploitation o Oppression o Violence o Those robbed of their humanity o Those who have robbed others of their humanity • Struggle: is defined in terms of one’s attempt to overcome one’s oppression. o Limitation of Struggle: 1 Cannot seek to oppress the oppressor as a consequence of one’s attempt at liberation. 1 • Task of the Oppressed: o Liberate themselves o Liberate the oppressor • Liberation: o Both the oppressed and the oppressor require liberation 1 The assumption that only the oppressed require liberation is incorrect. 2 o Only arises from the those oppressed 3 o Cannot be attained by chance or circumstance 4 o Can only be attained through a fight for liberation. 5 The fight is actually an act of love. 6 • False Generosity: only meaningful insofar as injustice is still perpetrated. AKA “lovelessness”. 7 o False Charity: seek...
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...The Novel Project Your name: Giselle Gonzalez Your Novel: 1984 – George Orwell 1. Explain how the novel represents two or more concerns of its historical time period; these concerns may be economic, political, cultural, social, or moral concerns. Clarify the author’s view on one of the following as s/he presents the concerns: right vs wrong; conservative vs radical, or elite vs commonplace. Orwell published “1984” in 1948 just after the end of World War II. Although at this time, Hitler’s reign was brought to an end, Joseph Stalin, another ruthless leader was still in power. Though they were adversaries during WW II, both men shared acute similarities in their success towards creating a totalitarian government much like the one seen in “Nineteen Eighty-Four.” The ghastly, but impressive ease with which each ruler rose and remained in power is possibly what caused Orwell to focus so heavily on political concerns in his novel. While there are no direct allusions to the Adolf Hitler or Stalin, the political devices used by the Party to control Party members in Oceania are undeniably parallel to the manipulation and brutality that each ruler used to control government. Big Brother for instance, is a fearless leader who is loved by all of the Party members. Though it is never confirmed whether or not he is a real person or just an idea, citizens praise him almost instinctively, posters of him are found in every building, and badmouthing him is not only an act of audacity, but punishable...
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...THE PROBLEM WITH WORK A JOHN HOPE FRANKLIN CENTER BOOK THE PROBLEM WITH WORK Feminism, Marxism, Antiwork Politics, and Postwork Imaginaries KATHI WEEKS Duke University Press Durham and London 2011 © 2011 Duke University Press All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper co Designed by Heather Hensley Typeset in Minion Pro by Keystone Typesetting, Inc. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data appear on the last printed page of this book. THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED WITH LOVE TO JulieWalwick (1959-2010) Contents ix Acknowledgments INTRODUCTION i The Problem with Work i CHAPTF1 37 Mapping the Work Ethic CHAPTER 2 79 Marxism, Productivism, and the Refusal of Work CHAPTER 3 113 Working Demands: From Wages for Housework to Basic Income CHAPTER 4 151 "Hours for What We Will": Work, Family, and the Demand for Shorter Hours 5 CHAPTER 175 The Future Is Now: Utopian Demands and the Temporalities of Hope EPILOGUE 227 A Life beyond Work 235 255 Notes References 275 Index Acknowledgments thank the following friends and colleagues for their helpful feedback on versions of these arguments and portions of the manuscript: Anne Allison, Courtney Berger, Tina Campt, ChristineDiStefano, Greg Grandin, Judith Grant, Michael Hardt, Stefano Harney, Rebecca I would like to Karl, Ranji Khanna, Corey Robin...
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...Annu. Rev. Anthropol. 1999. 28:i–xxiii Copyright © 1999 by Annual Reviews. All rights reserved WHAT IS ANTHROPOLOGICAL ENLIGHTENMENT? Some Lessons of the Twentieth Century Annu. Rev. Anthropol. 1999.28:i-xxiii. Downloaded from www.annualreviews.org by 197.179.183.136 on 11/03/13. For personal use only. Marshall Sahlins Department of Anthropology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637; e-mail: m-sahlins@uchicago.edu Key Words: modernity, indigenization, translocality, culture, development n Abstract A broad reflection on some of the major surprises to anthropological theory occasioned by the history, and in a number of instances the tenacity, of indigenous cultures in the twentieth century. We are not leaving the century with the same ideas that got us there. Contrary to the inherited notions of progressive development, whether of the political left or right, the surviving victims of imperial capitalism neither became all alike nor just like us. Contrary to the “despondency theory” of mid-century, the logical and historical precursor of dependency theory, surviving indigenous peoples aim to take cultural responsibility for what has been done to them. Across large parts of northern North America, even hunters and gatherers live, largely by hunting and gathering. The Eskimo are still there, and they are still Eskimo. Around the world the peoples give the lie to received theoretical oppositions between tradition and change, indigenous culture and modernity,...
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...Literary Theory and Schools of Criticism Introduction A very basic way of thinking about literary theory is that these ideas act as different lenses critics use to view and talk about art, literature, and even culture. These different lenses allow critics to consider works of art based on certain assumptions within that school of theory. The different lenses also allow critics to focus on particular aspects of a work they consider important. For example, if a critic is working with certain Marxist theories, s/he might focus on how the characters in a story interact based on their economic situation. If a critic is working with post-colonial theories, s/he might consider the same story but look at how characters from colonial powers (Britain, France, and even America) treat characters from, say, Africa or the Caribbean. Hopefully, after reading through and working with the resources in this area of the OWL, literary theory will become a little easier to understand and use. Disclaimer Please note that the schools of literary criticism and their explanations included here are by no means the only ways of distinguishing these separate areas of theory. Indeed, many critics use tools from two or more schools in their work. Some would define differently or greatly expand the (very) general statements given here. Our explanations are meant only as starting places for your own investigation into literary theory. We encourage you to use the list of scholars and works provided for each...
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...,Introduction * Anthropology -The study of the lives and cultures of human beings, alive or dead. -They also study the evolution of these cultures over time as well as significant changes. * Sociology -Sociology is the study of human social life, groups, and societies. -They also study the interactions among these groups and the individuals within them. * Psychology -The scientific study of behavior and mental processes. -Psychologists look at how the brain functions and what is the result on peoples personalities, behaviors, and attitudes. <Introduction to Sociology> * What is sociology? - The social science discipline that looks at the development and structure of human society (institutions) and how it works - Sociology is the study of social life, social change, and the social causes and consequences of human behavior * Sociology subjects matter - Sociologists investigate the structure of groups, organizations, and societies, and how people interact within these contexts * Hierarchy - Hierarchy is the ranking system used in any particular environment based on authority or power - Each position or role requires a certain type of expertise which is valued by society - In order to distinguish between these roles people are expected to dress and act in a certain way - On any given day we can play many different roles in society – eg. A parent can drive their kids to school and then go to work and teach their students * The roles...
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...Narrative A narrative is a sequence of events that a narrator tells in story form. A narrator is a storyteller of any kind, whether the authorial voice in a novel or a friend telling you about last night’s party. Point of View The point of view is the perspective that a narrative takes toward the events it describes. First-person narration: A narrative in which the narrator tells the story from his/her own point of view and refers to him/herself as “I.” The narrator may be an active participant in the story or just an observer. When the point of view represented is specifically the author’s, and not a fictional narrator’s, the story is autobiographical and may be nonfictional (see Common Literary Forms and Genres below). Third-person narration: The narrator remains outside the story and describes the characters in the story using proper names and the third-person pronouns “he,” “she,” “it,” and “they.” • Omniscient narration: The narrator knows all of the actions, feelings, and motivations of all of the characters. For example, the narrator of Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina seems to know everything about all the characters and events in the story. • Limited omniscient narration: The narrator knows the actions, feelings, and motivations of only one or a handful of characters. For example, the narrator of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland has full knowledge of only Alice. • Free indirect discourse: The narrator conveys a character’s inner thoughts...
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