Political Philosophy: An Introduction

Description

Political philosophy is a branch of philosophy that studies essential questions about various political issues, concepts and problems that are important to any human society. Based on concepts such as state, justice, liberty, rights, government and authority, political philosophy can be regarded as the primal ethics applied to a group of people, geared towards the setting up of a political society, the maintenance of a stable society and the best possible way for citizens to act.

In the first section, the overview of politics, political philosophy and the political concept of liberalism are presented.

The second and third sections present a general historical evolution of political philosophy by briefly discussing the key political thought of certain political philosophers from Plato to contemporary times. 

The fourth section focuses on religion and state, one of the essential themes in political philosophy.

The fifth section takes the theme of religion and state further by discussing actual sample cases. 

Outcomes

After studying this course, you should be able to: 

1. understand the meaning of politics, political philosophy and liberalism
2. understand the scope of political philosophy and its importance as a branch of knowledge;
3. understand the origins of political philosophy, and the positions held by some of the great political philosophers since the dawn of political thought;
4. have a better sense of the major issues such as religious freedom surrounding the theme of religion and politics;
5. be aware of certain actual sample cases concerning religion and politics, with the ability to take a position in such cases;
6. understand and be able to express certain political philosophical issues taking a position in the debates over the issues mentioned in this course.

Table of Contents

1. Politics, Political Philosophy and Liberalism: Overview
2. Political Philosophers I – From Plato to Niccolò Machiavelli
3. Political Philosophers II – From Thomas Hobbes to John Rawls
4. Politics, Religion and State
5. Politics, Religion and State - Case Studies