This course examines the fundamental questions of Western political philosophy. In order to better understand why these problems are of vital relevance to contemporary civilization in the late modern West, students consider six themes: the nature of politics and how theorists, citizens, and statesmen have understood political things; the nature of freedom and the conditions necessary for its establishment, maintenance, preservation, and improvement; republicanism in antiquity and modernity; liberal democracy and constitutional order; the relationship between religion and politics; and, the fundamental presuppositions of traditional, modern, and contemporary social science.
This course allows students to achieve critical understanding of the ancient and modern founda-tions of Western political thought and how these ideas have contributed to American republicanism, lib-eral democracy, and representative government; to clarify a range of modern political problems at home and abroad that challenge civilization; to acquire a competence reading, writing about, and discussing classic works of political philosophy, fostering life-long learning on masterpieces of human reflection; to develop cross-disciplinary capacity to study politics by (a) integrating basic chronological knowledge of what has happened in Western intellectual life, (b) understanding how to study ideas as vital compo-nents of traditional liberal education and officer development, (c) writing a Seminar Essay that synthe-sizes course learning, (d) making use of language study, grammar, etymology, and philology, and (e) keeping a Commonplace Book; to apply political thought to contemporary circumstances; and, to con-trast Western principles with a major non-Western tradition of political thought.
Lessons
30 @ 75 min (2.000 Att/wk)
Labs
0 @ 0 min
Special requirements
Colloquium and seminar essays, participation in the Discussion Leader Model, and Commonplace Book.
This course introduces students to the fundamental questions of political life, as expressed in classic works of political philosophy. The course presents the history of political thought as a series of debates over the meaning of justice, man's place in nature, and the human good. Students explore three main approaches to these questions - ancient, medieval, and modern - and they compare and contrast Western ways of wrestling with fundamental questions to others that have arisen outside the West. The course culminates in a consideration of the place of the American regime in the history of political thought.
Lessons
40 @ 55 min (2.500 Att/wk)
Labs
0 @ 0 min
Special requirements
Colloquium and seminar essays, participation in the Discussion Leader Model, and Commonplace Book.
This course examines the fundamental questions of Western political philosophy. In order to better understand why these problems are of vital relevance to contemporary civilization in the late modern West, students consider six themes: the nature of politics and how theorists, citizens, and statesmen have understood political things; the nature of freedom and the conditions necessary for its establishment, maintenance, preservation, and improvement; republicanism in antiquity and modernity; liberal democracy and constitutional order; the relationship between religion and politics; and, the fundamental presuppositions of traditional, modern, and contemporary social science.
This course allows students to achieve critical understanding of the ancient and modern founda-tions of Western political thought and how these ideas have contributed to American republicanism, lib-eral democracy, and representative government; to clarify a range of modern political problems at home and abroad that challenge civilization; to acquire a competence reading, writing about, and discussing classic works of political philosophy, fostering life-long learning on masterpieces of human reflection; to develop cross-disciplinary capacity to study politics by (a) integrating basic chronological knowledge of what has happened in Western intellectual life, (b) understanding how to study ideas as vital compo-nents of traditional liberal education and officer development, (c) writing a Seminar Essay that synthe-sizes course learning, (d) making use of language study, grammar, etymology, and philology, and (e) keeping a Commonplace Book; to apply political thought to contemporary circumstances; and, to con-trast Western principles with a major non-Western tradition of political thought.
Lessons
40 @ 55 min (2.500 Att/wk)
Labs
0 @ 0 min
Special requirements
Colloquium and seminar essays, participation in the Discussion Leader Model, and Commonplace Book.
Students will read critically the original works of major political thinkers, with the goal of examining different perspectives on the principal questions of political thought. Among these are: "Is government based on the consent of the citizenry?", "What constitutes a just society?", "What is the purpose of government?", "Are freedom and equality reconcilable?" As a result of taking this course, the student will not only understand these central questions, but also be able to apply the theoretical prescriptions offered by thinkers to contemporary political issues currently debated throughout the world.
This course examines the philosophical foundations of both Western liberal democracy and political Islam, and associated policy implications. In the context of the relationship between justice, political philosophy, public policy and political conflict, cadets will critically engage the works of Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Aquinas, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rawls, Nozick, Sandel, and others for Western liberalism. For political Islam, cadets will examine the life of Muhammad, the first four caliphs, the Umayyad and Abbasid dynasties, the ideas of Ibn Taymiyya, Al-Afghani, Al-Banna, Al-Wahhab, Abduh, Ridha, Mawdudi, Qutb, Khomeni, bin Laden and others, as well as contemporary writings on both 'radical' and 'liberal' Islam. These respective examinations are followed by a third block of lessons analyzing the competing narratives and their relevant foreign and domestic policy implications. Important questions include: How does political philosophy impact public policy, beliefs about legitimacy, political conflict, even public violence and war? Is liberalism a 'universal value' essential to human flourishing? How does the West's view of liberal democracy impact its engagement with the non-Western world? How do founding figures of political Islam define political legitimacy? Does Islam as a theological-political philosophy tend toward radicalism? What is liberal Islam? Cadets will not only understand these important questions, but will also be able to apply the theoretical prescriptions offered by these thinkers to issues currently debated in the American body politic.
This course examines major normative questions in political thought, structured around the central theme of the changing relationship between ethics and politics. Beginning with a model for reading and understanding normative theory, students will read critically the original works of such major political thinkers as Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Marx, and Nietzsche with the goal of investigating the principal questions of political thought in Western civilization. Among these are: "Is government based on the consent of the citizenry?", "What constitutes a just society?", "What is the purpose of government?" , and "Are freedom and equality reconcilable?" As a result of taking this course, the student will not only understand these central questions, but also be able to apply the theoretical prescriptions offered by thinkers to contemporary political issues currently debated in the American body politic.
This course examines major normative questions in political thought, structured around the central theme of the changing relationship between ethics and politics. Beginning with a model for reading and understanding normative theory, students will read critically the original works of such major political thinkers as Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, and Marx, with the goal of investigating the principal questions of political thought in Western civilization. Among these are: "Is government based on the consent of the citizenry?", "What constitutes a just society?", "What is the purpose of government?" "Are freedom and equality reconcilable?" As a result of taking this course, the student will not only understand these central questions, but also be able to apply the theoretical prescriptions offered by thinkers to contemporary political issues currently debated in the American body politic.
