The political-philosophy tag has no wiki summary.
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Is the perfect competition hypthesis simply the Hobbesian state of nature in the commercial realm?
Hobbes defines the state of nature as war of all against all. Is the perfect competition hypthesis as classically defined presumably by Adam Smith simply this but rather than man against man, ...
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32 views
How has Foucault Philosophy of Surveillance been critiqued?
One of the horrors of the communist police-states of Eastern Europe was the incredible amount of information that the police force kept on the general population. This was often not gathered just by ...
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1answer
23 views
How should the fair distribution of some goods depend on other-regarding preferences?
I am a welfare economist, working in the realm of fairness economics, and I would like your opinion on some distributive dilemma for some of my work. Suppose the following situation:
A country is ...
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1answer
41 views
How do philosophers distinguish between rights that beg legislation vs. those that not?
I have over the years seen podcasts or iTunes lectures from Michael Sandel's justice lectures at Harvard. He asks many profound questions. The problem I have is that most of them seem to be based ...
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1answer
33 views
In Platos taxonomy of governments where does the theocratic state come in?
In the Republic, Plato advocates a taxonomy of five regimes which comprehensively describes all (ideal) forms of government. In descending order of virtue they are Aristocracy, Timocracy, Oligarchy, ...
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10 views
Is it useful to think of social sub-bodies as a microcosm of the social body itself?
For example, can we consider the state itself, or a large corporation or a small office as a microcosm of the larger social body? Can we then consider it to have its own internal polity and discuss ...
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94 views
Is Autocracy superior to Democracy?
Dr. Stockmann in An Enemy of the People said: "...the strongest man in the world is the man who stands most alone." He also said: "A minority may be right; a majority is always wrong."
It seems make ...
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1answer
84 views
What kind of government did Aristotle consider the best?
If Aristotle was opposed to democracy as an ideal form of government, what kind of government did he consider the best?
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57 views
Is work a virtual fable?
Technology is by definition an invention to save time - to accomplish a given task in a smaller period of time.
The growth of technology has been exponential.
However no lessening of the time people ...
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1answer
42 views
Does Chomsky make a good point by promoting anarchy while undermining college education?
I didn't read this in a book by Noam Chomsky but in an interview of his where he talks about being an anarchist and not mentioning anarchy when talking to an anarchist kind of thing but mentions ...
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1answer
206 views
What did Acton mean by saying “absolute power corrupts absolutely”?
John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton said that
"[p]ower tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."
What did he mean by this? How might power compel evil or restrict free will?
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1answer
165 views
Aristotle's arguments pro monarchy
I'm writing an article on what would be the best government type (monarchy, aristocracy, democracy, ...). In this article I'd like to explain the basic arguments pro and contra the different types. I ...
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61 views
Is Nozick's Criticism of Rawls correct?
When Nozick says distributive justice 'marks a shift from the classical liberal notion of self ownership to a notion of property rights in others', is this a fair criticism of Rawls and distributive ...
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3answers
157 views
How can I start learning about political philosophy?
I'm interested in learning about political philosophy. What are the best ways to start? Are there any websites for beginners? Are there any books such as the "For Dummies" series? Are there any audio ...
4
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1answer
90 views
What would constitute a reasonable expectation of privacy?
To some degree this is presumably a legal question, but my question is really trying to ask about the principle here.
I guess the core question is about what expectations a "reasonable" agent might ...
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1answer
122 views
How does Foucault argue that 'scientia sexualis' is utilised to support state racism?
In his History of Sexuality, Part III: Scientia Sexualis Foucault explores the development of the scientific study of sex, the attempt to unearth the "truth" of sex, a phenomenon which he argues is ...
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1answer
37 views
Is the Republic of Thiascala a figment of Rousseaus imagination?
In the notes to Book II of the Social Contract, Rousseau remarks:
"The Republic of Thiascala, enclosed by the Mexican Empire, preferred doing without salt to buying from the Mexicans, or even getting ...
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1answer
44 views
Is it advisable to study political philosophy without having a firm & detailed acquaintance of European history?
As I'm beginning to read the classical texts on political theory - Platos Republic & Rousseaus Social Contract I'm beginning to be aware of just how shaky my knowledge of European History is.
On ...
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1answer
49 views
Does the history of modern Europe bear out Rousseau' assertion that the rule of the many cannot follow that of the few?
Rousseau writes, in Book 3, section 10 of the Contract (The abuse of government and its propensity to degenerate):
There are two general courses by which government degenerates: i.e., when it ...
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2answers
84 views
Is democracy scalable?
In a small tribe, where pretty much everyone knows everyone else (and their ancestors) one could elect one person to rule over all; he is in a simple sense, first amongst equals, for all the members ...
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1answer
61 views
Have social contract theories arisen in predominently mercantile communities?
The only social contract theory I know about, is the one propounded by Hobbes in The Leviathan. Can one chracterise england at that time as a primarily mercantile community. Have other social contract ...
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43 views
Did Kant believe the enlightened and moral republican public could make up for legislative and executive institutions? [closed]
Kant's theoretical work Perpetual Peace could be seen as limited insofar as he didn't really provide any detailed thoughts on the legislative and executive institutions that would make international ...
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1answer
100 views
What are Kant's Permissive Laws?
My new term brings new questions, this time concerning Kant's "Perpetual Peace" (you can read most of it here).
The preliminary articles can be differentiated: All of them are prohibitive rules, but ...
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2answers
142 views
Philosophic Puzzle: How to be Non-Hypocratic AND Non-Anarchistic?
Is it possible to always act according to ones moral standards while tolerating hierarchy in society?
In other words: If you leave to somebody else the act of making the rules, including immoral ...
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3answers
149 views
Agamben and grammatical shifters
While this collapse of metaphysics into ethics is increasingly evident as nihilism, contemporary thought has yet to escape from this condition. Agamben seeks to understand and ultimately escape ...
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4answers
183 views
Is “Don't blame me; I voted for ___” a bad argument?
Is there a fallacy in the argument, "Don't blame me; I voted for ..."? Or is a voter's entire responsibility for their contribution to whatever current state of political affairs they experience ...
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1answer
242 views
What are the most significant contributions Slavoj Žižek has made to the field of philosophy?
What are the most significant contributions Slavoj Žižek has made to the field of philosophy, perhaps in particular to political philosophy?
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3answers
180 views
To what extent can one influence the actions of others without using coercion?
This question is inspired from news that several Lukoil franchisees in New Jersey had radically increased prices in protest of unfair pricing practices, in order to gain the attention of customers and ...
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350 views
Hobbes, a natural law theorist?
I would like to hear some opinions on a question I am asking myself due to contradictions in the references of my term paper.
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy states:
"Aquinas was not the ...
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3answers
296 views
Was the Republic a meritocracy?
One direct way of stating the heart of the question might be: is there sufficient textual evidence and support for the assertion that Plato's Republic contains meritocratic elements?
A second and ...
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2answers
141 views
How to explain that democracy isn't totality?
I was discussing with my friend about Star Wars. He told me that the emperor just wanted to create new political system and democracy, that was there, was totality, because it was only existing ...
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3answers
113 views
The intersection of philosophy and commerce [closed]
One of the things that seems the most bizarre about philosophy as discipline is its horrible record at producing an income. As people deeply knowledgable and interested in the big problems surrounding ...
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3answers
98 views
Fanons 'Concerning Violence' makes the point that Nazism was the culminating point of the project of European Colonialism, how valid is that?
He writes 'Not long ago Nazism transformed the whole of Europe into a veritable colony', meaning that the techniques pioneered in the colonies of Europe were turned upon Europe itself, culminating in ...
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1answer
79 views
Alternative to Illegalisation
The problem of illegalisation is that crimes have to be controlled and prevented by the state (police) and this assignment can never be concluded (of course crime will still happen and not every ...
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1answer
275 views
How did Mill resolve tensions in Utilitarianism and Liberalism concerning the public/private distinction?
J. S. Mill is well known as an intellectual father of both Utilitarianism and Liberalism, but I was thinking recently about a tension between these lines of thought and wondered if he ever addressed ...
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1answer
100 views
Citizenship from birth vs contract with the state
In most systems of government one has various "duties and discretions" in relation to the state he was born to even though he did not signed any agreement with the state - nor was he asked whether he ...
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1answer
104 views
What forms of democracy allocate variable numbers of votes to their citizens?
Some are pointing out that democracy with equal vote is not optimal and they propose that people should have variable numbers of votes based on their education, usefulness or other social factors.
...
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1answer
526 views
What does Marxism envision as the role of the state in the economy?
According to Marx, in capitalism, what role does the state play? Is it independent of the economy? Also, does the exploitation of the proletariat by the bourgeoisie, have anything to do with the state ...
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1answer
316 views
Does Plato see the tyranny as final?
Plato's Republic famously describes the decay of the regimes, a process by which a society decays from the best regime, that of aristocracy, to the lowest, that of tyranny. However, the purpose of ...
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3answers
901 views
How much ethics did Machiavelli convey in The Prince?
My philosophy teacher and I are having a little disagreement regarding The Prince:
He argues that although the book's context is a letter to Lorenzo de' Medici advising him and recommending a course ...
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1answer
170 views
What is the origin of love, in Hobbesian philosophy?
According to Hobbes, Passions are identified as those interior beginnings of motion, by which the imagination eventually motivates us to action. He then describes various emotions such as glory, ...
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1answer
100 views
What is the difference between patriarchial right and the paternal right?
I am reading a paper on Hobbes interpretation of patriarchy, which says hobbes patriarchy is non paternal, i.e. he proposes a patriarchal right that is different from paternal right? What is the exact ...
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1answer
5k views
Accepted Interpretation of Machiavelli's “the ends justify the means.”?
Prior to reading The Prince, I had heard of the aphorism:
The ends justify the means
This was Machiavelli's identifying line to many people, and in my conversations with them, I got the ...
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5answers
438 views
Can conscription be morally justified during a time of war?
Consider military conscription, which is where a government forces its own citizens to join the army and fight in foreign wars.
As I understand it, the typical argument is that freedom is not free, ...
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1answer
110 views
Would adopting the veil and Rawls' two principles bring about the result Rawls' desires? [closed]
What problem(s) is Rawls' veil of ignorance meant to fix? Do you think the problem is a real one in contemporary America? Would adopting the veil and Rawls' two principles bring about the result ...
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2answers
1k views
What is the difference between Functionalism and Structural-Functionalism?
I don't know if I should ask this here because the question is more like a sociology one.
Anyway, I will give it a try, since most of the sociologists are also philosophers, so maybe I'll be lucky ...
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0answers
97 views
How to earn the title of Philosopher? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Is everyone considered a “philosopher”?
I commonly hear politicians say that they are philosophers. And a favorite degree offered by diploma mills is ...
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1answer
229 views
What consequences has Locke's theory of knowledge had on modern political thought?
According to John Locke's notion of tabula rasa, there are no innate ideas in the mind. All human knowledge comes from sensible experience. Assuming this principle, it follows that there is no innate ...
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515 views
Why would Aristotle argue that “a mechanic or a mercantile life” is “ignoble and inimical to virtue”?
All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind. (Aristotle)
UPDATE: As Michael notes below, a better translation of the above is in Rackham (reproduced from Michael's citation):
But at present we ...
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45 views
Is political philosophy a good subject that is compatible with both history and math [closed]
I'm asking this because I'm curious what it would be like to study "Political Philosophy" in the same semester as "Nationalism and Imperialism in the Middle East" , "International European History: ...
