Political Philosophy Questions

Which of these would be acceptable forms of government, according to Locke? Select all that apply.

The only way to erect such a Common Power, as may be able to defend them from . . . the injuries of one another, and thereby to secure them in such sort, as that by their owne industrie, and by the fruites of the Earth, they may nourish themselves and live contentedly; is, to conferre all their power and strength upon one Man, or upon one Assembly of men, that may reduce all their Wills, by plurality of voices, unto one Will.What can you infer is the ideal form of government, according to Hobbes?

Thomas Hobbes was a philosopher from __________________. He was greatly influenced by the events of the ________________ ____________ ________, which began in the 1640s. Hobbes pioneered the idea of a social contract, which was an agreement between _________________ ________ _________ _____________________________.

an intellectual movement in which philosophers changed society's values to include the value of the individual

an agreement to give up some personal freedoms in exchange for protection from a government or ruler

To understand political power, we must consider the condition in which nature puts all men. It is a state of perfect freedom to do as they wish and dispose of themselves and their possessions as they think fit, within the bounds of the laws of nature. They need not ask permission or the consent of any other man.In this passage, Locke is describing the "state of nature." For Locke, this state of nature is one in which people are

The finall Cause, End, or Designe of men, (who naturally love Liberty, and Dominion over others,) in the introduction of that restraint upon themselves, (in which we see them live in Common-wealths,) is . . . getting themselves out from that miserable condition of Warre, which is necessarily consequent (as hath been shewn) to the naturall Passions of men, when there is no visible Power to keep them in awe.According to Hobbes, why do people form social contracts to "live in Common-wealths"?

Enlightenment is man's release from immaturity that we have created for ourselves. Immaturity is the inability to reason for ourselves without the guidance from another. This need for guidance is self-created, not because of our lack of reason, but because of our lack of bravery to use that reason on our own. The motto of the Enlightenment is this: Have courage to use your own understanding!According to Kant, what did the Enlightenment encourage people to do?

philosopher John Locke's belief in each person's right to life, liberty and property

From the perspective of both the Jew and Christians read for this section, what should be the three overriding goals of both political and religious institutions?

According to most post-moderns, what most importantly shapes the truth claims in which one believes? Additionally, in what ways has post-modernity made in-roads into contemporary education, so much so, that it has begun to challenge the dominance or hegemony in high-schools and universities of pre-modern and modern moral, social, political and, even, increasingly scientific thought?

If post-modern views of knowledge are true and those who are politically dominant control a culture's master narrative, then, how can the loss of power of the heretofore ascendant affluent white heterosexual men and still more their contempt of under-class white males be explained? (?)

In Pericles' Funeral Oration, as recounted by Thucydides, with whom does he compare Athenians and for what reason(s), in particular, does he view Athenians superior?

What political/legal punishment in particular does De Coulanges describe that he believes highlights just how limited individual liberty was in the ancient Greek and Roman city-states?

How do the political philosophies described by De Coulanges (a secondary historian) and Thucydides (a primary historian) most importantly differ from our own and, yet, in what ways does one account also differ from the other? With what families of political philosophies -- communalistic or individualistic -- would you most closely associate that which they jointly describe (note the authors are not necessarily adherents)?

What is Madison concerned about in the Federalist Paper #10?

Is "moral agency," especially from the perspective of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Protestants, readily defensible? And, if not, why not for them and, as well, others? (?)

In Plato's Crito, Socrates gives voice to two possibly different perspectives/personas, for example in his discussion with "the laws of Athens." Please describe these possibly divergent perspectives/personas, how they differ, and what his choices demonstrate.

______ plans an essential role n my argument for civil gov and the contract that establishes it

freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from want, freedom from fear