POL200Y1Y L5101
Political Theory: Visions of the Just/Good Society
Themes
An examination of the enduring problems of political life in light of the broadest and deepest human purposes, including the quest for wisdom, the perfection of the soul, the longing for glory, and the need for security. We take up the problems these purposes pose for politics by studying their treatment in the works of the great political thinkers of classical antiquity and early modern Europe. In our study of these texts, we consider how political order should be configured and evaluated, given the complexity of its relationship to human purposes that may be mutually incompatible.
Texts
Plato, Republic; Aristotle, Politics; Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince and Discourses on Livy; Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan and The Second Treatise of Government
Format and Requirements
Tutorial attendance and participation (10%), first essay of 1800 words (15%), mid-term test (25%), second essay of 2500 words (20%), and a final examination (30%).