Tips on Learning: An Introduction to Political Philosophy

The central problems involved in political philosophy are known to us through the works of Plato, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Mill, and Marx.

Some questions you musk ask are :

• Why should some have the right to political power?
• What would happen without the government?
• How much power should the state have?

Professor Jonathan Wolff has given here a good introduction to political philosophy, combining clarity and a conversational style with a thought-provoking account of the central questions in political philosophy.

He explores the subject through a series of enduring and timeless questions, jumping centuries, and millennia to explore the most influential answers and demonstrate the relevance of political philosophy for an understanding of contemporary issues.

The new edition has been updated to include the on-going developments in theorizing about race, sexual orientation, disability multiculturalism, and global justice.

There is a pdf version under academia.edu which is downloadable under this link;

https://www.academia.edu/39256730/An_Introduction_to_Political_Philosophy

There is also a summary of Zhong Zhueming on Hobbes, Utilitarianism, Freedom of Speech, etc, that could be useful for readers.

I also found the references for readings on the Open Yale Course by Steven B. Smith to be quite useful.

He mentioned Aristote, Hobbes, Locke, Macchiavelli, Plato, Reasu, Sophocle, and Tocqueville.

As for me, I had listed a number of authors, including Hobbes, Macchiavelli, Rousseau, Montesquieu, and Locke seemed to be the most important to remember. However, J.S Mill and Rawls also retained my attention too.

Later on, reviewing Confucius and his doctrine on the "tam cuong, ngu thuong" that I learned in my younger days still makes sense to me. Indeed, the definition found under wiki gives the following definition :

"The worldly concern of Confucianism rests upon the belief that human beings are fundamentally good, and teachable, improvable, and perfectible through personal and communal endeavor, especially self-cultivation and self-creation. Confucian thought focuses on the cultivation of virtue in a morally organised world." 

Looking further for academic definitions, the entry under "Confucius" supplied by Stanford Encyclopedia gives a more complete definition on the following :

• 1. Confucius as a Chinese Philosopher and Symbol of Traditional Culture
• 2. Sources for Confucius’s Life and Thought
• 3. Ritual Psychology and Social Values
• 4. Virtues and Character Formation
• 5. The Family and the State
• Bibliography
• Academic Tools
• Other Internet Resources
• Related Entries

(Source: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/confucius/ )

Another source that was useful for my understanding was the book (in French) by Felix Heidenreich and Gary Schaal, Introduction à la philosophie politique, Biblis inédit, French translation by CNRS Editions, 2012. 

Authors that are mentioned hereunder include Lock, Walzer, Rousseau, Habermas, Kant, Rorty, and others. Theories covered are on liberalism, republicanism, post-modernism, that discuss the concepts on freedom, democracy, autonomy at the personal level, and social justice. 

For more ideas and readings on this topic in French, you can visit the link to this publisher:

https://www.cnrseditions.fr/catalogue/philosophie-et-histoire-des-idees/introduction-a-la-philosophie-politique/

Well, looks like we still have a long way to learn about political philosophy with the pandemic that triggers reflections on that is the social responsibility of politicians and the role of government in times of turmoil when it comes to making the right decisions to the benefit for the great common good.

That's all for today, see you next time,

Anita H.