What Is Political Philosophy?
Summary
TLDRThis script explores the essence of political philosophy, distinguishing it from political science by focusing on the deeper meanings behind political actions, structures, and motivations. It delves into the origins of politics from ancient Greek thought and connects it to modern concepts of justice, rights, and liberty. The discussion references key philosophers like Plato, Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau, emphasizing the ethical pursuit of 'the good' and how political structures evolve. The script underscores the ongoing philosophical debate about knowledge, societal change, and the pursuit of understanding in an ever-changing world.
Takeaways
- ๐๏ธ The word 'political' originates from the Greek word 'polis,' meaning city, and refers to matters related to society and government.
- ๐ง Political philosophy explores deeper issues behind human social interactions, unlike political science, which focuses on the structure of government and elections.
- โ๏ธ Political philosophy addresses concepts such as justice, rights, liberty, and the good, which transcend specific political movements or ideologies.
- ๐ Political actions, according to philosopher Leo Strauss, aim to either preserve or change the existing political order, with motivations rooted in what is considered ethically good.
- ๐ค Political philosophy examines the motivations and principles guiding individuals and groups in their desire to preserve or change the status quo.
- ๐ Plato, Aristotle, and other philosophers laid the foundation for debates about justice, rights, and liberty, which continue to be relevant today.
- ๐ The mid-17th to 18th century saw significant changes in political structures, shifting the understanding of how power could transform, as explored by thinkers like Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau.
- โก Political philosophy reacts to changes in the world, helping to explain and understand shifts in political and social values.
- ๐ Philosophers continue to argue about these concepts because knowledge is not static; it evolves with changing reality.
- ๐ The quest for knowledge in political philosophy is ongoing, reflecting humanity's continuous debate over political, ethical, and social issues.
Q & A
What is the origin of the word 'political'?
-The word 'political' originates from the ancient Greek word 'polis,' which means city. In Greek civilization, the city-state was the primary social and political structure.
How does political philosophy differ from political science?
-Political philosophy looks at the deeper and broader issues behind political phenomena, such as the meaning of political actions and motivations. In contrast, political science focuses on the analysis of government structures, elections, and the practical workings of political power.
What is the main focus of political philosophy according to the script?
-Political philosophy focuses on understanding the meanings behind political actions, motivations, and the ethical principles that guide political behavior. It explores concepts such as justice, rights, liberty, and the good.
What is the key insight provided by Leo Strauss in his work 'What is Political Philosophy?'?
-Leo Strauss highlights that all political actions aim at either preserving or changing political circumstances. He emphasizes the importance of ethical motivations, where both sides in politics believe they are pursuing the 'good.'
How does political philosophy relate to ethics?
-Political philosophy is deeply connected to ethics, as political actions are often motivated by what individuals or groups believe to be ethically 'good.' This moral sense guides their efforts in preserving or changing political structures.
What historical shift affected political philosophy in the 17th and 18th centuries?
-In the 17th and 18th centuries, political power structures began to change significantly, with philosophers like Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau addressing the transformation of political authority and how societies can change politically.
How did ancient philosophers like Plato and Aristotle influence modern political thought?
-Plato and Aristotle laid the groundwork for political concepts such as justice, rights, and liberty, which still influence political discourse today. Their ideas continue to frame modern discussions on political philosophy.
What does Strauss mean when he says that philosophy is a quest for knowledge?
-Strauss argues that philosophy seeks to uncover deeper truths, and the pursuit of knowledge continues because reality keeps changing. Thus, political philosophy evolves as societal structures and political conditions change.
What is the significance of the concepts of 'rights' and 'liberty' in political philosophy?
-Rights and liberty are fundamental concepts in political philosophy, addressing the moral and legal entitlements individuals hold in society. Philosophers explore how these concepts shape the governance and structure of political systems.
How does political philosophy address the idea of change in political structures?
-Political philosophy examines why and how political structures change. It seeks to understand the meaning and implications of changes in political power and social institutions, analyzing both historical and theoretical shifts in governance.
Outlines
๐๏ธ Understanding the Roots of Political Philosophy
This paragraph explores the origin of the term 'political,' tracing it back to the Greek word 'polis,' which means 'city.' It explains how politics relates to the governance of society and its philosophical underpinnings. The distinction between political science and political philosophy is introduced, with political science focusing on the mechanics of political systems (elections, power struggles), while political philosophy delves deeper into the meanings and ethical motivations behind political actions, examining the ideas of preservation and change in political systems. The works of Leo Strauss are mentioned, particularly his essay 'What is Political Philosophy?', which helps frame these complex questions.
๐ค Ethics and the Nature of Political Discourse
This paragraph discusses the contentious nature of political debates, exemplified by the ongoing U.S. election. It highlights how both sides of a political debate believe they are advocating for the ethical 'good,' even as they vilify the opposition. The role of political philosophy is to step back from these debates and reflect on larger concepts such as justice, rights, and liberty, which have been central to political thought since Plato. The paragraph emphasizes that these concepts transcend individual political movements and are timeless, requiring ongoing philosophical inquiry to distinguish between mere opinion and true knowledge.
โ๏ธ The Evolution of Political Power and Structures
This paragraph addresses the changing nature of political power, especially from the 17th century onward. It notes that prior to this period, political power was seen as static and unchanging, but this view was upended as political structures began to evolve. Philosophers like Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau grappled with these changes, each offering different perspectives on rights, liberty, and justice. The idea that political structures themselves can change fundamentally was a new and significant shift in thought during this era, and these philosophers' works continue to influence our understanding of political systems today.
๐ Enduring Philosophical Debates in a Changing World
In this final paragraph, the author reflects on how the questions posed by philosophers like Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau continue to resonate in modern political thought. Each philosopher offers a different approach to understanding political society, and these differences highlight the complexity of political philosophy. The paragraph also emphasizes the ongoing nature of philosophical inquiryโsince knowledge is not easily obtained and reality is always changing, philosophers must continuously adapt their thinking. The quest for understanding in political philosophy is described as a dynamic process that remains central to addressing the core issues that shape human life.
Mindmap
Keywords
๐กPolitical
๐กPolis
๐กPolitical Philosophy
๐กPolitical Science
๐กThe Good
๐กJustice
๐กLiberty
๐กPolitical Structures
๐กChange
๐กEthical Motivations
Highlights
The term 'political' comes from the ancient Greek word 'polis', meaning 'city', reflecting how politics originally concerned life within the city-state.
'Political philosophy' focuses on deeper questions of meaning behind political actions, unlike 'political science', which focuses on the mechanics of politics like elections and party dynamics.
Leo Straussโs 1957 essay 'What is Political Philosophy?' emphasizes the distinction between preserving or changing political circumstances, key themes in political philosophy.
Political philosophy examines core ethical concepts such as justice, rights, liberty, and the good, which have been debated since Platoโs time.
Plato and Aristotle set the framework for modern political debates, introducing core ideas about justice, rights, and governance that persist today.
Both sides in political conflicts typically believe they are pursuing what is 'ethically good', even when they oppose each other fiercely.
Political philosophy seeks to understand the ethical motivations behind political actions, such as why people or groups seek to preserve or change political systems.
Philosophy evolves by reacting to changes in the political and social world, helping to explain and understand these transformations.
The mid-17th century saw a shift in the understanding of political power, with philosophers like Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau exploring how political structures change.
Political philosophers of the Enlightenment, such as Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau, contributed distinct perspectives on concepts like rights, liberty, and justice.
Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau provided three different approaches to thinking about political society, which continue to influence political discourse today.
Philosophy is an ongoing quest for knowledge, constantly adapting as reality and societal structures evolve.
Strauss notes that human beings' search for knowledge, particularly about politics and ethics, is never complete due to the ever-changing nature of reality.
Political philosophy grapples with fundamental questions about the meanings of justice, liberty, and political changeโissues central to the human experience.
As society and political structures continue to change, philosophy must also adapt and refine its understanding of concepts like rights, justice, and governance.
Transcripts
political what it really should mean
is a sense of community of course the
word political is one of the words that
comes from the ancient greek word polis
which simply means the city
and so
polis to political all things political
are related to all things about the city
or society because of course the greek
civilization mostly thought in terms of
the city state
so from polis we get the idea of
politics and we get the idea of police
and we get the idea of the suffix of a
city in metropolis where i'm from
minneapolis is the name of the city of
many waters
so what
polis has come to mean for us today is
anything related to the idea of
government and society
we of course also have the word social
which comes from the latin which
basically has to do with the sense of
community and we can talk about social
philosophy as philosophy of human
interactions
and that's slightly different but
overlapping with political philosophy
which has to do with things about
government
politics itself is about governmental
structure and of course the winning of
elections and gaining power and of
course playing politics which is a whole
other nastiness
but in political philosophy we don't
really deal much if at all with
questions about the actual structure of
a political state
or
how elections are won that is in the
realm of something called political
science political philosophy like all
branches of philosophy is looking at the
deeper broader issues that lie behind
the phenomena that we see in human
social interactions
so the philosophy of the political is
looking at what lies beneath the
political phenomena that we see in
various human societies
so while political science
will ask the question how is it that
certain politicians win elections or how
is it that particular political parties
rest power from other particular
political parties political philosophy
is looking at the questions of what are
the meanings of political actions what
are the meanings of political
motivations what is it that we're really
talking about when we talk about
political action and political
motivations a seminal essay on this
topic was written by philosopher leo
strauss published in 1957
entitled what is political philosophy
and he lays down two very important ways
of looking at what is political and what
is political philosophy when he talks
about how all political actions aim at
either preservation of existing
circumstances or changes to existing
political circumstances and again while
political science may be talking about
the nuts and bolts of analyzing
particular ways in which parties or
groups have
tried to preserve or change political
situations philosophy looks at well what
do we mean when we're talking about this
what does it mean to preserve political
power what does it mean to change
political power what does it mean for
political or social situations to change
for the better or change for the worse
and what are the principles and
motivations that guide human beings both
as groups and as individuals to want to
preserve or change what is the current
status quo within a society
and as strauss very adeptly points out
all of this is dependent on the idea of
the good one of the important thoughts
which is fairly ignored by political
science because they're only interested
in the nuts and bolts issues because
they're a science not a philosophy and
actually lost in politics itself
is the very important reality that
people who are involved in politics
however they are involved are all guided
by an ethical sense of what they believe
is good
ethical
good and that is what motivates their
actions
politics of course has always been
although seemingly especially today
dominated by just yelling at each other
and demonizing your political opponents
the reality is is that both sides of the
people in the shouting match are
believing that what they are trying to
do is good ethically good and ethically
necessary
as i am doing this right now there is a
rather contentious election going on in
the united states
and both sides think that the other side
is completely evil and that they're
completely good
funny how they both believe that with
complete sincerity nevertheless what we
as philosophers can do and need to do is
look at this and say okay well both
sides do believe that
they have the good on their side this is
what human beings do and we have to keep
that in mind as we are talking about
politics and talking about society
so when in politics and in political
philosophy we talk about such concepts
as the good and justice and rights and
liberty
we should be reminded that oh hey yeah
plato talked about these things didn't
he it's so popular to just oh plato he's
a weirdo i don't like him at all
and yet he is framing the debate that
still happens today because he
first identified these very important
concepts
justice rights the good
liberty these are concepts
that transcend any particular
philosopher or transcend any particular
political party or movement
and when strauss mentions how we're
looking here for something that is no
longer opinion but knowledge
there is the sticky wicket of well when
do we really have knowledge as opposed
to simply an opinion of what is good
what is justice what are human rights
these of course are the questions that
political philosophy tries to deal with
and so plato tried to answer these
questions aristotle tried to answer
these questions and now the philosophers
that we're dealing with this week
try to deal with those questions
but we're dealing with this question of
what is political philosophy now as
opposed to when we were talking about
plato and aristotle because there is
some changes going on here in the mid to
late 17th century and into the 18th
century
and that is that the political order has
broken down i mentioned in the videos
and lectures on the medieval period and
the renaissance period that political
power was being transformed by events
going on in the world
philosophy is best when philosophy
reacts to
changes that are going on in the world
philosophy helps us to explain and
understand change
and as political
values and institutions change
philosophy needs to
reflect on that and take these changes
into consideration of the discussion of
what are we talking about when we talk
about justice and rights and liberty and
so on
and one of the chief changes that
philosophy of this period has to deal
with
is this sudden change
that political power changes
not just in terms of who is the king
this year
but in terms of how the structure of
political power can itself change
so when you look at some of these
philosophers in this period of time
keep in mind that one of the things that
they are trying to answer is that
question of what does it mean
for political structures to change
and why and how do political structures
change again as i mentioned in the
lectures on medieval in the renaissance
period
the idea that political power was static
just like the universe itself was static
is a very old and ancient idea
it wasn't just plato it wasn't just
aristotle it was embedded within human
society
not just western civilization either
but in the mid 17th century you could
see these structures which have been
assumed to be inviolate
to be changing and of course that was
nothing compared to what was about to
happen in the
18th century
philosophers like hobbes and locke and
rousseau
were prescient in seeing how these
things can change and why these things
can change
looking at these three philosophers we
see three very interesting and different
approaches to these questions of what is
political power what is political
structure and of course what are we what
are we meaning by rights and liberty and
justice
and their struggles with these questions
still reverberate within our world today
we can still see
a hobbesian a lockheed and russoian
way of thinking about
political society
and acting within political society
and those three different approaches
and thus leading to three different sets
of answers
is something that is very important for
you to keep in mind when you are
thinking about these philosophers and
thinking about philosophy in the rest of
this course and of course thinking about
society and politics in our world today
as strauss also said quite wisely
philosophy is a quest for knowledge
and you may ask yourself constantly
why is it that philosophers are still
arguing about these questions well
that's because humanity is still arguing
about all of these questions not just
about politics but about knowledge about
ethics about ontology about everything
why are we still arguing about
everything because as strauss wisely
points out the quest would not be
necessary if knowledge were immediately
available
and it's not not just in terms of
politics
but in terms of everything
the conversation of philosophy is
continuous because the knowledge is not
that easily obtained
and of course and here's the annoying
thing
the knowledge keeps changing because
reality keeps changing and so therefore
you as a philosopher as someone with a
philosophical mind needs to constantly
adapt and change to the changes in your
world
so then back to the question what is
political philosophy we're trying to
deal with these questions of change in
political and social structures
why they change
how they changed
and what are the meaning of those
changes
and that is central to
the question of just about everything
else that matters that truly matters in
human life
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