NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
POLS 251-1: INTRO TO POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY INSTRUCTOR: NATHAN DINNEEN FALL 2009 OFFICE: DU 476
CLASS MEETS: MWF 12:00-12:50 p.m. OFFICE HRS: W 1:00-4:00 p.m.
ROOM: DU 246 and by appointment
EMAIL: ndinneen1@niu.edu
Philosophy, as understood
by the ancients, is the pursuit of wisdom. The main objective of this course, however, is not to
understand what philosophy in general is but rather to come to an understanding
of what political philosophy is.
In other words, what does it mean to qualify philosophy in terms of Òthe
politicalÓ? Cicero, perhaps, says
it best: ÒWhereas philosophy prior to Socrates was concerned with numbers and
motions and with whence all things came and where they go, Socrates was the
first to call philosophy down from heaven and to place it in cities, and even
to introduce it into the household, and to compel philosophy to inquire about
life and manners and about good and bad.Ó
Political philosophy is thus concerned with human affairs.
One could say that those
who inquire into the nature of human affairs are political philosophers. We
should not fool ourselves into believing, however, that just because political
philosophers have given us an account of human affairs that they speak in
perfect harmony with one another.
Rather, political philosophers differ over what human nature is or even
what nature in general is. Human
activity, as a result, is understood in various ways due to different notions
of human nature. Do human beings
have a purpose other than those that they have willed or created? How do the notions of necessity,
justice, choice, chance, and the divine influence our understanding of human
action? As we consider these
notions, we will be compelled to inquire into the nature and possibility of
political philosophy.
Philosophic inquiry into
political things entails the ability to distinguish the good from the bad and
the noble from the base, which is not always easy since some political events
fall in between. Political
philosophy, then, proceeds by discussing the permanent questions of political
life. During the course of the
semester, we will ask ourselves, ÒWhat is justice?Ó, ÒWhat is the relationship
between the individual and ethics?Ó, and ÒWhat is the relationship between
political theory and political practice?Ó
We will encounter these questions and many more as we examine three prominent quarrels that have occurred in
the history of political philosophy:
the quarrel between philosophy and poetry, the quarrel between the
ancients and the moderns, and the quarrel between biblical religion and
philosophy. The first and third
quarrels as you can plainly see involve philosophy and its confrontations with
points of view that are not essentially philosophic on the surface. The second quarrel is between
philosophers from antiquity and modernity, and it will be the quarrel that is
central for us in this course. The
philosophers that I have chosen to shed light on these quarrels are Plato,
Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes, and Locke.
REQUIRED TEXTS
Plato, The Republic, trans. Allan Bloom, (Basic Books, 1991).
Aristotle, Politics, trans. Carnes Lord, (University of Chicago, 1984).
Machiavelli, The Prince,
trans. Harvey C. Mansfield,
(University of Chicago, 1998).
Hobbes, Leviathan, ed. Edwin Curley, (Hackett Publishing Company, Inc.,
1994).
Locke, Two Treatises of
Government, ed. Peter Laslett,
(Cambridge University Press, 1988).
Please purchase the editions listed above. We will frequently refer to them in
class, and it will be time consuming and confusing if we do not all have the
same editions. You ÒmustÓ bring
the text to class that we will be discussing that day. Failure to comply with this requirement
will hurt your participation grade.
|
|
Monday |
Wednesday |
Friday |
|
Week 1 |
8/24 Introduction |
8/26 Machiavelli, pp. 3-25 |
8/28 Machiavelli, pp. 25-47 |
|
Week 2 |
8/31 Machiavelli, pp. 48-60 |
9/2 Machiavelli, pp. 61-82 |
9/4 Machiavelli, pp. 83-95 |
|
Week 3 |
9/7 No Class; |
9/9 Machiavelli, pp. 98-105 (Quiz #1 and Assign Paper Topic) |
9/11 Machiavelli, Review Day (optional) |
|
Week 4 |
9/14 Plato, pp.
3-34 |
9/16 Plato, pp. 35-61 |
9/18 Plato, pp. 63-96 |
|
Week 5 |
9/21 Plato, pp. 97-125 (First Paper Due) |
9/23 Plato, pp. 127-161 (Quiz #2); |
9/25 Plato, pp. 163-192 |
|
Week 6 |
9/28 Plato, pp. 193-220 |
9/30 Plato, pp. 221-249 |
10/2 Plato, pp. 251-275 |
|
Week 7 |
10/5 Plato, pp. 277-303 |
10/7 Plato (Quiz #3 and Assign Paper Topic) |
10/9 Plato Review Day (optional) |
|
Week 8 |
10/12 Aristotle, pp. 35-44 |
10/14 Aristotle, pp. 44-54 |
10/16 Aristotle, pp. 55-67 |
|
Week 9 |
10/19 Aristotle, pp. 67-85 (Second Paper Due) |
10/21 Aristotle, pp. 94-115 |
10/23 Aristotle pp. 118-139, 186-188 |
|
Week 10 |
10/26 Aristotle, pp. 147-181 |
10/28 Aristotle, pp. 219-223, 226-233 (Quiz #4) |
10/30 Aristotle, Review Day (optional) |
|
Week 11 |
11/2 Hobbes, pp. 6-7, 28-29 [¦7], 41 [¦15-¦16], 96 [¦21], 108-109, 118-119 [¦1-¦2] 214 [¦14], 453-468 |
11/4 Hobbes, p. 1-11, 15-29 |
11/6 Hobbes, pp. 50-51, 57-74 |
|
Week 12 |
11/9 Hobbes, pp. 74-100 |
11/11 Hobbes, pp. 136-138, 172-175, 203-204, 210-19 (Quiz #5 and Assign Paper Topic) |
11/13 Hobbes Review Day (optional) |
|
Week 13 |
11/16 Locke, pp. 267-285 |
11/18 Locke, pp. 285-302 |
11/21 Locke, pp. 303-323 (Third Paper Due) |
|
Week 14 |
11/23 Locke, pp. 323-349 |
11/25 No School |
11/27 No School |
|
Week 15 |
11/30 Locke, pp. 350-384 (Assign
Paper Topic) |
12/2 Locke, pp. 398-428 (Quiz #6) |
12/4 Locke, Review Day (optional) |
|
Week 16 |
12/7 Final (Quiz
#7): Mandatory!!! (Fourth Paper Due) |
|
|
1. Attendance:
attendance at each class is both expected and required. Attendance will be
taken during most classes after the first few days. It will be taken at the beginning of each class. In addition, students who leave class
early will be counted absent, unless an early departure has been discussed with
the instructor. After four
absences, whether excused or unexcused, each absence after it will lower a
studentÕs final course grade by half a letter grade (that is, a Ò5Ó point
deduction). All school events or
religious holidays that will cause someone to miss a class must be discussed
with the instructor during the first week of school. Should a student become gravely ill, then the instructor
reserves the right to alter the attendance policy for the student.
Review days are optional and will
not count against you if you miss them.
They are, however, strongly encouraged if you are having a difficult
time with the material or simply want to discuss the text more.
[Ò10 Minute RuleÓ: In the unforeseeable and unlikely event
that the instructor is later than 10 minutes, the class is canceled.]
2. Class Preparation: The best way to prepare for each class
is to read the entire assigned portion of each book prior to the first day we
discuss that section. Although one may not understand the authorÕs argument
after preparing for class, the lectures and class discussion will be easier to
grasp if you have done at least that much.
3. Class Participation:
The proper kind of participation in the class is expected, required and
rewarded. What is meant by the
proper kind of participation is as follows:
First, participation means being
attentive to the lectures and discussions. Students who sleep, read the newspaper,
play with their cell phones, persistently talk with other students or are
otherwise inattentive to the lectures and discussions will not be
tolerated. At the instructorÕs
discretion, you may be administratively dismissed from the course.
Second, participation requires
that you are prepared to be questioned about each reading. Moreover, the
lectures will presuppose studentsÕ familiarity with the readings. Good students will not only be present
and attentive in class, they will also actively participate by answering the
instructorÕs questions about the reading, by asking intelligent questions and
by making thoughtful observations.
It is important that you
understand the kind of discussion sought.
The purpose of discussion is to enable students to raise questions
concerning the meaning of the lectures or texts and to relate different
arguments, passages and insights to each other. Above all, discussion and the
instructorÕs questioning of your comments are meant to help you learn how to
express your thoughts coherently.
Some classes will be mainly
lectures, while most will involve reading and discussing relevant passages in
the texts. Since classes are
usually conducted by reading and discussing passages from the assigned readings,
it is necessary that you bring the appropriate readings to class.
4. Quizzes and Papers: Quizzes
are given at the beginning of the class.
No make-up quizzes will be given.
The quizzes are true or false, short answers, fill in the blanks, or
multiple choice. They will cover
the assigned readings and what has been discussed in class.
In your papers, you are to respond
as thoughtfully as possible to the topic that the instructor will distribute in
class. The length of each paper is
between 750-1000 words. You must
include a word count at the end of each paper.
An ÒAÓ on a written assignment
requires that you show clarity, economy, and focus. In other words, oneÕs paper must be written in an orderly
and well-reasoned manner as well as argued from the text with proper
citations. A ÒBÓ means that you
displayed most of these requirements, a
ÒCÓ only some, a ÒDÓ perhaps one, and an ÒFÓ none.
To achieve satisfactory results, you must first attempt to understand the
author as he understood himself.
This attempt requires that you cite the passages of the author that are
relevant to answering the paper topic.
When citing, however, it is best if you paraphrase the authorÕs
thoughts, so that the instructor can determine if you know what the author is
saying. In other words, you should
rarely quote from the text.
Instead, paraphrase the thought of the author and then place the page
number of the text you are paraphrasing at the end of the sentence. This way the instructor will know that
you have diligently read the text and will also be able to compare your
paraphrase to the authorÕs own words.
It should be noted that you are not expected to reword common ideas
(e.g., Òstate of natureÓ or Òthe best regimeÓ). In fact, it is best if you stick to the wording or phrasing
of the author while making your argument.
These common ideas will become apparent to you as the class moves
along. What I do not want,
however, is for your paper to be made entirely of quotes that contain sentence
after sentence of the authorÕs own words.
Lastly, there is no need to appeal to the arguments of the scholars of
Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, and Hobbes. In fact, it is best if you do not, for this often gets
students into trouble as regards plagiarism. Stick to the original text and you should be fine, which
means do not quote from the instructorÕs lecture either. You must supply textual evidence for
your argument. That said, your
class notes, however, might help guide your analysis of the original text.
Papers are due on the date specified.
Late papers will be immediately reduced by a letter grade, and then a letter
grade each week it is late.
Plagiarism will result in you
failing, at least, that assignment and, perhaps, the course. In addition, a report documenting your
plagiarism will be filed with the department and possibly, depending on the
circumstances, with Judicial Affairs.
Lastly, if you are caught plagiarizing, then we will have to decide how
to determine your final grade, since the normal procedure for calculating your
final grade will no longer apply.
5. Final Grade:
a. The final grade is based on 5 out of the 7 quizzes, 3 out of the 4 papers, the quality of class participation, and, to a certain degree, on attendance. The lowest quiz grade and paper grade will be dropped. The exception to this rule is that Quiz #7 is mandatory and what you receive on it will be factored into your quiz grade, even if it is your lowest quiz.
b. Final course grade is reduced half a
letter grade for each absence over the 4th one.
c. An ÒIncompleteÓ will only be given in
extreme situations. Students who
request an ÒIÓ but are not passing the course at the time of the request will
not be granted an ÒIÓ.
Statement Concerning Students with
Disabilities: NIU abides by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 that
mandates reasonable accommodations be provided for qualified students with
disabilities. If a student has a disability and may require some type of
instructional and/or examination accommodation, please contact the instructor
early in the semester (preferably within the first two weeks) so that he can
provide or facilitate in providing accommodations the student may need. If a
student has not already done so, he/she will need to register with the Center
for Access-Ability Resources (CAAR), the designated office on campus to provide
services and administer exams with accommodations for students with
disabilities. The CAAR office is located on the 4th floor of the University
Health Services building and its phone number is (815) 753-1303.
Undergraduate Writing Awards: The
Department of Political Science will recognize, on an annual basis, outstanding
undergraduate papers written in conjunction with 300-400 level political
science courses or directed studies. Authors do not have to be political
science majors or have a particular class standing. Winners are expected to
attend the DepartmentÕs spring graduation ceremony where they will receive a
certificate and $50.00. Papers, which can be submitted by students or faculty,
must be supplied in triplicate to a department secretary by February 28th. All
copies should have two cover pages-one with the studentÕs name and one without
the studentÕs name. Only papers written in the previous calendar year can be
considered for the award.
Department of Political Science Web Site: Undergraduates are strongly encouraged to consult the Department of Political Science web site on a regular basis. This up-to-date, central source of information will assist students in contacting faculty and staff, reviewing course requirements and syllabi, exploring graduate study, researching career options, tracking department events, and accessing important details related to undergraduate programs and activities. To reach the site, go to http://www.polisci.niu.edu.