PoGo 340

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Political Theory: Ancient and Medieval

This course provides an introduction to some of the major thinkers and ideas in Western political philosophy from the eighth century B.C.E. to about 1500 C.E. We will explore perennial themes in politics: the nature of justice, freedom, and community; the origins of political society and of the will to power; the relationship of God and morality to politics; and the quality of our own knowledge of politics.

The course has two primary objectives. First, the course is designed to acquaint the student with some of the main ideas of a few of the more profound thinkers on politics from the ancient and medieval eras. While this might make you only slightly more interesting at cocktail parties, it can provide a profound insight into the Western social, political, and intellectual history that continues to influence our lives. We live in a nation governed according to a constitution written in large part over two hundred years ago by authors who were steeped in ancient political thinking. The authors of this document were intimately familiar with the writings of Thucydides, Plato, Aristitotle, Cicero, and Machiavelli.

The second objective is even more important than the first. It is a goal of this course to inspire students to challenge their own political beliefs. These philosophers offer powerful arguments about human nature—what kinds of lives and politics people are capable of; the scope of the political realm in human life—what things are of public concern and what should be kept private; and how to discern appropriate political action—how to do the right thing. Reflecting on these and other arguments touching at the foundations of politics, we as individuals might find some of them convincing, some of them ridiculous. But the hope is that the examination of why these arguments are or are not compelling to us will challenge and thus enrich our own nascent ideas about politics.