Approaches to the Study of Political Philosophy & Problems and Challenges of Interpretation
Approaches to the Study of Political Philosophy & Problems and Challenges of Interpretation
*Notes compiled from David Boucher & Paul Kelly’s ‘Introduction’ in Political Thinkers: From Socrates to the Present, and Terence Ball’s ‘History and the Interpretation of Texts’*
Political thought is thought about the State, its structure, nature and purpose. It is concerned with the moral elements of human behaviour in a society. Differentiating between the purpose of political life and life itself is difficult as it involves considerations of the conceptions of right and wrong, which differ from person to person and time to time. Political thinkers/philosophers have attempted to explain institutions & practices, advise rulers, defend certain values or principles, and criticized the existing world around them. They have focused broadly on the character of society or people and narrowly on institutions of government, law making & the exercise of coercive power. At the most general level, political thought converges with present understandings of ethics & moral philosophy as well as sociology and theological disciplines. The sheer variety of plurality of styles, approaches, and presuppositions has made political thought an exciting intellectual pursuit. Approaches to theorizing politics differ, and so do accounts of how and why political thought should continue to be studied.
When studying political philosophy and the texts of the various historic philosophers, different factors tend to influence one’s understanding. Broadly, there is a text and a context to the text, and the study of classical political philosophy should ideally take into account both, in order to fully understand various nuances of every thinker.
Philosophical Considerations: Political philosophy first began to emerge in histories of philosophy and general literature. By the 19th century, philosophical idealism was taking precedence and emphasis was on the coherence theory of truth. Under this view,
*Notes compiled from David Boucher & Paul Kelly’s ‘Introduction’ in Political Thinkers: From Socrates to the Present, and Terence Ball’s ‘History and the Interpretation of Texts’*
Political thought is thought about the State, its structure, nature and purpose. It is concerned with the moral elements of human behaviour in a society. Differentiating between the purpose of political life and life itself is difficult as it involves considerations of the conceptions of right and wrong, which differ from person to person and time to time. Political thinkers/philosophers have attempted to explain institutions & practices, advise rulers, defend certain values or principles, and criticized the existing world around them. They have focused broadly on the character of society or people and narrowly on institutions of government, law making & the exercise of coercive power. At the most general level, political thought converges with present understandings of ethics & moral philosophy as well as sociology and theological disciplines. The sheer variety of plurality of styles, approaches, and presuppositions has made political thought an exciting intellectual pursuit. Approaches to theorizing politics differ, and so do accounts of how and why political thought should continue to be studied.
When studying political philosophy and the texts of the various historic philosophers, different factors tend to influence one’s understanding. Broadly, there is a text and a context to the text, and the study of classical political philosophy should ideally take into account both, in order to fully understand various nuances of every thinker.
Philosophical Considerations: Political philosophy first began to emerge in histories of philosophy and general literature. By the 19th century, philosophical idealism was taking precedence and emphasis was on the coherence theory of truth. Under this view,