Introduction to Political Theory POLS Y 105

Midterm Review

In order to do well on the exam you will have done the required readings and attended the course lectures. In addition to reviewing you notes on the readings and the lectures you may want to review the outlines of the texts and text questions handed out in class or placed on the course Web page. The exam will consist of multiple choice, identifications and essay questions. Below are some of the topics and questions you will need to know for the test. The list below is not exhaustive as there may be topics not on the list which will appear on the test. 

Presocratics 

PRESOCRATIC PHILOSOPHERS: The nature of the divine-the One behind the

many (nature, Being, Logos) and rejection of the human realm

Thales-Water         Anaximenes-Air           Democritus- Atoms         Anaximander-infinite

Heraclitus- Logos-fire            Anaxagoras-Mind            Xenophanes-The One            Parmenides- Being             Pythagoras- Numbers

Sophists: The human realm and rhetoric. “Man is the measure of all things.”

        Gorgias             Protagoras             Thrasymachus

Lawgivers:    Solon-lawgiver for Athens    Lycurgus- lawgiver of Sparta

Tragic poets

           Aeschylus           Sophocles           Euripides

Historians: Herodotus-History of the Persian War

      Thucydides-History of the Peloponnesian War

Comic poet

    Aristophanes-Socrates cites his Clouds as the source of the serious charges against him

Plato’s Apology

-Why reason does Socrates give for his inability to defend himself in the typical manner of an Athenian trial?

- What are the old charges against Socrates? Who is most responsible for the old charges?

 -What sort of wisdom does Socrates claim to possess? What is the source of his wisdom?

- What are the official charges against Socrates? How does he defend himself against                                                                                               those charges?

 -What is Socrates’ reason for claiming that he is a blessing to the city?

- What is Socrates’ view of death?

- What is philosophy according to Socrates?

- How is his view of death connected to his view of philosophy?

- Is Socrates guilty of the charges against him?

- Is philosophy a threat to the city?

Plato’s Republic (Be certain to review the questions on the outline)

know the main characters of the dialogue

what are the four virtues

myth of Gyges ring

city of pigs

the Good

the simile of the cave

the divided line

the noble lie

the three waves

Socrates rejection of Homer

Socrates’ musical education

the parts of the soul

the parts of the city

1. In the Republic Socrates speaks of an old quarrel between philosophy and poetry? What is this old quarrel? Does Socrates reject poetry in its entirety? 

2. What is the reason for Socrates’ resort to stories and myth in the Republic? Why does the Republic conclude with the Myth of Er? 

3. At the end of Book 9 of the Republic Socrates make the following statement:

Perhaps a pattern laid up for the man who wants to see and found a city within himself on the basis of what he sees. It doesn’t make any difference whether it is or will be somewhere. For he would mind the things of this city alone, and of no other. 

What does this statement mean for the way we are to understand Socrates’ view of the purpose of his "beautiful" city? Why do we need a pattern? Is this pattern possible for humans to achieve?

Aristotle’ Ethics and Politics (Be certain to review the questions on the outline)

justice

equality

friendship

the good

citizenship

man is a political animal

distinction between the good man and the good citizen

classification of regime forms

the best regime

the best possible regime

regime preservation and regime degeneration

understanding of the role of private property in the political order

slavery

happiness

the distinction between household management and business acquisition 

Explain the distinction between just regimes and their perverse forms. 

Why is polity the third best among the three best regime forms while democracy, its perverse form, is the best of the perverse regime forms? 

Aristotle seems to argue, at different points in the text, that kingship, aristocracy and polity are each the best regime forms. Why does Aristotle seem to change his position on the best regime form? 

Why does Aristotle claim that politics is the architectonic or "master" science? 

Explain the following statement: “Man is by nature a political animal.”

In books seven and eight of the Politics Aristotle takes up the issue of education in the best regime. Why is education a critical issue for the best regime? What sort of education is Aristotle concerned with? 

Epicurus

What is Epicurus’ goal?

How does Epicurus’ ideal life challenge the political philosophy of Plato and Aristotle?

What is Epicurus’ view of the gods? The afterlife?

Hebrew Scriptures

The account of Creation

Cain and Abel

The promise of kingship to Abraham and Jacob

Law-Torah

The idea of the stranger

The laws for the establishment of kingship

Be familiar with the argument for the laws concerning the promise of kingship, and the establishment and problem of monarchy in Deuteronomy. What is the purpose and place of law in Hebrew Scriptures? 

Augustine

city of God

city of man

types of happiness: earthly happiness-heavenly happiness

the supreme good

the supreme eivil

why did he write the City of God

the problem of the four virtues

just war

earthly peace heavenly peace

Explain the following: Even the Heavenly City uses the earthly peace on its journey, and it is concerned about the desires the orderly arrangement of human wills concerning the things pertaining to mortal human nature.