Introduction to Political Philosophy

Who should rule? Should it be the best few or the numerous many? This is, in a way, the fundamental question that has been animating political philosophy to this day, leading to a 2500 year-old battle of ideas between the advocates of aristocracy on the one hand and advocates of democracy on the other.

In the course of considering this fundamental question, we will come upon others:  How should one live as an individual, as a citizen, as a statesman? Is politics a science? Can it be taught? Where does the legitimacy of states and laws come from? What goals should rulers pursue? Can the tyranny of the majority be worse than the tyranny of the minority? Is liberal, representative democracy the end of history?

This course is intended as a (non-exhaustive) introduction to political philosophy as seen through an examination of some of the major texts and thinkers of the Western political tradition. We will go in chronological order from the age of “democracy before liberalism” (Socrates, Plato, Aristotle) to modernity and the age of monarchies (Machiavelli, Hobbes, Rousseau) to liberal democracy and its challenges (the Federalists and Anti-Federalists, Tocqueville, W.E.B. Du Bois). We will conclude with a brief sequence on “Politics Beyond the State” (Marx and Engels, Arendt). Come ready to think!

Books

Please purchase or borrow these books and bring them to lecture and to section; we will be looking closely at certain passages together. The books are available at the Yale Bookstore as well as through online booksellers. Copies have also been placed on reserve in the library.

• Plato and Aristophanes, Four Texts on Socrates, trans. West (Cornell University Press)

• Plato, Republic, trans. Reeve (Basic Books)

• Aristotle, Politics, trans. Reeve (Hackett)

• Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince, trans. George Bull (Penguin) 

• Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan, ed. Edwin Curley (Hackett Publishers)

• Publius, The Federalist Papers (Penguin)

• Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Social Contract trans. Donald Cress (Hackett)

• Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, trans. Harvey Mansfield and Delba Winthrop (University of Chicago Press)

• W.E.B Du Bois, Black Reconstruction in America 1860-1880 (Free Press)

• Karl Marx and F. Engels, The Communist Manifesto, ed. Gareth Stedman Jones (Penguin)

The total cost if you buy all the books new should be under $130. It could be considerably less if you buy the books second-hand.

All other texts will be made available in pdf format on the class website on Canvas.

Discussion Sections

Participation in a section is required. Please be sure to sign up for a writing-intensive section if you seek WR credit.

Head TF: Vatsal Naresh: vatsal.naresh@yale.edu

Lecture objectives

The lecture objectives are three-fold. It is first to introduce you to some of the greatest texts in the Western canon, as read in the particular light of the question “Who should rule?”. It is, second, to help you develop your analytical, interpretive, and writing skills by reading and critically engaging the arguments of some of the best minds from the past. It is, finally, to prepare you to become engaged citizens of your respective countries and the world by allowing you to think about the foundations of our political systems and their claims to our obedience.

Requirements

Regular Requirements:

• Paper 1 (5 pages): 15% - DUE FRIDAY, OCTOBER 11 5PM

• Paper 2 (5 pages): 25% - DUE TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3 5PM

• Section Participation: 20%

• Final Exam: 40%

WI Requirements:

• Paper 1: 25% (~3000 words)

• Paper 2: 25% (~3000 words)

• Section Participation: 20%

• Final Exam: 30%

Paper 1:

• Rough Draft: TUESDAY OCT 1 5PM    

• Final Draft: TUESDAY OCT 15 5PM

Paper 2:

• Rough Draft: TUESDAY NOV 12  5PM    

• Final Draft: TUESDAY DEC 3 5PM

Academic honesty

You will find a great deal of material online about the books and topics that we cover in this course. Read some of it, if you like, but trust none of it. You will derive the most benefit from this course if you spend most of your time reading the books listed above, not articles written about them.

If you do consult any source other than the books listed above, you must list it in a bibliography to the relevant writing assignment. If you use a particular idea from your extra reading, you must cite your source. Sometimes this is worth doing. There is no shame in admitting that a secondary reading sparked or helped your thinking. A paper that is thoroughly but confessedly unoriginal is much better than a stolen one.

If you do not follow a sentence or paragraph with a footnote, you are implicitly claiming that it is your own thought. If that claim is untrue, you commit academic dishonesty. Don’t do it! When in doubt, cite. Don’t hesitate to approach your professor or teaching fellow with any questions.

Laptop Policy

The constant availability of online distractions is a problem for everyone, including me. In a spirit of trust, I will not ban laptops for this lecture. However, please ask yourself whether you absolutely need your laptop for this class. 

Try just bringing the relevant book for the week, a notepad, and a pen. You might be surprised by how freeing the experience is!

Schedule of lectures topics and reading assignments

• August 28: Course Introduction: What is Political Philosophy?

I. Democracy Before Liberalism and the Birth of Political Philosophy

What was the biggest problem with democracy for the ancient philosophers? What version of the rule of the few did they favor instead? 

• August 30: Cancelled

• September 4: Plato,The Apology of Socrates

Martin Luther King, "Letter from Birmingham Jail" [pdf]

[Recommended as well, though optional: Crito ] 

[Sections start next week]  

• September 9: Plato, The Republic The Republic, I, II                  

• September 11: The Republic III, IV (427c-434c) 

• September 16: Plato, The Republic V, VI (up to 502c)

• September 18: Plato, The Republic VII (514a-521b), VIII

• September 23:  Aristotle, Politics, I

• September 25: Aristotle Politics, III, IV

II. Modernity and the Idea of Popular Sovereignty

What does modernity change to the question of the best regime? Does individual virtue matter? Does the size of the polity matter? 

• September 30: Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince, Chapters 1-14

• October 2: Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince, Chapters 15-26

• October 7: Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan, Letter Dedicatory, Introduction, ch. 5, 6,11           

• October 9: Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan chs 13-19, 21, 24, 29-30, “Review and conclusion”

• October 14: Mini Guest Lectures

•  October Recess

• October 21: Rousseau, Social Contract, Book I and II 

• October 23: Rousseau, Social Contract, Book III and IV (1-3 and 8-9)

III. The Age of Liberal Democracy and Its Challenges

Liberal democracy was designed to correct for some of the deficiencies of ancient democracy. What new problems does it run into? How does the tension between the few and the many play out for us moderns?                   

• October 28: Publius, The Federalist Papers #1, 9, 10, 49-51, 57

•  October 30: The Anti-Federalist, A Farmer, “V, 25 March 1788” and “28 March 1788” [pdf]. Melancton Smith, New York ratifying convention speech (June 1788) available here: http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/documents/v1ch13s37.html         

•  November 4:  Tocqueville, Democracy in America, Volume I: Part I, Intro, Ch. 2,3,4; Part II: 1-9 

• November 6: Tocqueville, Democracy in America, Volume I: Part II, chapter 10 (302-348); Volume II, Part III, ch. 1, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13; Part IV: 6, 7

IV. Conclusion: Politics Beyond the State

• November 11: Marx and Engels, The Communist Manifesto, Preface, Preamble, Chapters I and II

• November 13: Marx and Engels, The Communist Manifesto, Chapters III and IV

• November 18: W.E.B. Du Bois, “The Black Worker,” “The White Worker,” “The Planter.” From Black Reconstruction in America  

• November 20: W.E.B. Du Bois, “Of the Ruling of Men” and "The Damnation of Women" from Darkwater: Voices from Within the Veil [pdf]

• Thanksgiving Break  (Nov 22-Dec 1)

• December 2: Hannah Arendt, “Ideology and Terror" from The Origins of Totalitarianism [pdf]

• December 4: Hannah Arendt (continued) and conclusion

Final Exam Options: TBA