Political philosophy

Samenvatting This audio course examines the major periods in the history of Western political thought and questions the political and social order. It considers the ways in which thinkers have responded to the particular political problems of their day, and the ways in which they contribute to a broader conversation about human goods and needs, justice, democracy, and the proper relationship of the individual to the state. One aim will be to understand the strengths and weaknesses of various regimes and philosophical approaches in order to gain a critical perspective on our own. Professor Grahame Lock teaches political philosophy at Nijmegen and Leiden Universities and lectures in European philosophy at Oxford University. Among his publications are works on political theory and on general philosophy, including textbooks on the history of political ideas and a monograph on Wittgenstein. POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY This audio course examines the major periods in the history of Western political thought and deals with the questions about the design of the political and social order. It considers the ways in which thinkers have responded to the political problems of their day. In particular the ways in which they contribute to a broader conversation about human goods and needs, justice, democracy and the proper relationship of the individual to the state. CD 1 LECTURE 1 Plato - The beginnings: justice and the philosopher kings LECTURE 2 Aristotle - Happiness, politics and the telos of mankind LECTURE 3 St Augustine - The State as a necessary evil CD 2 LECTURE 4 St Thomas - A rational Christian philosophy LECTURE 5 Machiavelli - Behind the scenes of the political game LECTURE 6 Thomas Hobbes - Why we need a Leviathan to rule over us CD 3 LECTURE 7 John Locke - Life, liberty and estate LECTURE 8 Jean-Jacques Rousseau -The general will: a critique of representative government LECTURE 9 Alexis de Tocqueville - America and democracy: an aristocratic point of view CD 4 LECTURE 10 Karl Marx - Class struggle and history LECTURE 11 Sigmund Freud - Why the masses love their leaders LECTURE 12 The present day - Contractualism, individualism and the dogma of our times. Inhoudsopgave CD 1 Chapter 1: Plato - The beginnings: justice and the philosopher kings Chapter 2: Aristotle - Happiness, politics and the telos of mankind Chapter 3: St Augustine - The State as a necessary evil CD 2 Chapter 4: St Thomas - A rational Christian philosophy Chapter 5: Machiavelli - Behind the scenes of the political game Chapter 6: Thomas Hobbes - Why we need a Leviathan to rule over us CD 3 Chapter 7: John Locke - Life, liberty and estate Chapter 8: Jean-Jacques Rousseau - The general will: a critique of representative government Chapter 9: Alexis de Tocqueville - America and democracy: an aristocratic point of view CD 4 Chapter 10: Karl Marx - Class struggle and history Chapter 11: Sigmund Freud - Why the masses love their leaders Chapter 12: The present day - Contractualism, individualism and the dogma of our times Over de spreker Prof. Grahame Lock (1946) studied at University College London, King's College Cambridge, and the Ecole Normale Supérieure, rue d'Ulm, Paris. He took his PhD at Cambridge with the philosopher Bernard Williams. He teaches political philosophy at Nijmegen and Leiden Universities, and also lectures in European philosophy at Oxford University. He was a member of the Council of the Collège International de Philosophie in Paris and is an honorary professor at the Universidade Lusófona in Lisbon. Among his publications are works on political theory and on general philosophy, including textbooks on the history of political ideas (with Herman van Gunsteren and Etienne Balibar) and a monograph on Wittgenstein.