POLS 201 History of Political Thought I - Department of Political ...

POLS 201 History of Political Thought I 

Fall 2012 

SYLLABUS 

Department of Political Science and International Relations 

Bogazici University 

Instructor: Dr. Ayşen Candaş Bilgen 

e-mail: aysen.bilgen@boun.edu.tr 

phone: (212) 359-6514 

Lectures: TTTh 565 

Office hours: by appointment through e-mail 

Course Description 

This course focuses on the seminal texts of the Western Political Thought such as 

Plato’s Republic, Aristotle’s Nicomachaen Ethics and Politics, Augustine’s City of God and 

Aquinas’ Summa Theologica. We will cover the Ancient, Roman and Medieval Ages and 

various schools of thought that have become influential during these periods. The texts 

we will study document the ‘debates’ between their authors who frequently responded 

to each other across centuries in defining “the political,” “political society,” “political 

rule,” “law,” “nomos,” “citizen,” “freedom,” “equality,” “justice,” “democracy,” “rule of 

law” and the like. 

The texts contain the earliest expressions of major political concepts, ideas and 

ideals that are not likely to lose their relevance and validity. They also carry the imprint 

of the historical context in which they were written: these were responses and 

challenges to the prevalent modes of thinking that existed then, in that particular 

moment in history. The texts that explore the meaning of “the political” and “the goals 

of political association” entail and claim to entail new and better ways of perceiving and 

attributing meaning to and transforming the social and political context: they are 

instances of political theory and as such they contain essentially normative and political 

material. They almost always come up with prescriptions for overcoming the critical 

problems and questions that capture that particular time frame in which they came into 

being. Each thinker -and school of thought- we will study has influenced the thoughts of 

the next generation(s) in ways that in turn changed the course of their thinking, and 

their interpretation of their own conditions and problems. Yet the influence exerted 

upon the later generations did not remain confined to the history of political ideas; 

these influences, if and when popularized, were also often capable of changing the very 

course of history. We will do conceptual analysis when we focus on the definitions with 

their components and their substance. We will do historical analysis when we interpret 

the rise of a particular conception in relation to the time frame in which it came into 

being. 

POLS 201 Syllabus Aysen Candas Fall 2012 Page 1

Course Requirements 

Students should attend all sessions. The required readings must be completed 

before classes. Bringing the reading assignment to the class is recommended for it is 

very likely that we would focus on some specific parts of the texts during the lectures. 

Class participation is highly desirable for only further discussion would enable us to 

probe deeper into these interesting texts and debates. Class participation counts for 

10% of your final grade. 

The course pack is available at Gunel Copy. 

I urge you to read the primary texts. It is important that you “hear” the voices of 

the authors instead of reading only the interpretations of their works written by other 

people. Do not read secondary material for this course, it is far more important to read 

Aristotle than reading somebody’s opinions on Aristotle. Dare to read the primary 

sources, dare to think and form your own opinions! 

If you have access to the Internet, I recommend that you have a look at the 

classics and philosophy pages. If you are interested in this option I can consider 

circulating a list of the reliable addresses on the Internet. Yes, there are reliable and 

unreliable sources of information and the Internet sources can be particularly 

vulnerable in terms of their reliability. Therefore exercise caution. A safe bet would be 

to use the Internet for downloading the primary texts (for example, Plato’s Gorgias, 

Cicero’s De Legibus or On Laws) instead of secondary texts (for example, Ralph’s take on 

Plato, Hans’s interpretation of Aristotle’s Politics, an anonymous undergrad’s paper on 

Machiavelli). A starting point would be http://www.philosophypages.com/links.htm 

Downloading parts of a text from the Internet and using it as if it is your own is 

plagiarism. You must cite your sources. Plagiarism, if caught, will lead you to get an F 

from that assignment. Our department has tightened its rules regarding plagiarism, 

hence those who plagiarize, or copy in exams, or download a text and write their name 

on it are sent to the disciplinary committee. If you are ever sent to the disciplinary 

committee, this fact would always be in your record and would prevent you from being 

eligible for certain jobs. 

There are two formal requirements for this class: 

Midterm exam: short essay format. (40%) 

Final exam: short essay format and will cover all that we studied (%50 of your 

grade). 

Class attendance and participation: (10%) 

The exam questions will be similar to the questions that we would discuss during the 

course of the semester. 


PART I Ancient and Medieval Political Thought 

Preliminary Schedule of Topics and Readings 

Week 1 

Introduction 

Social, political and economic context of Ancient Greek city states 

Demos based on exclusion 

Pre-Socratics and Sophists 

Socratic method / Plato’s dialogue form 

Socrates the Mentor of Plato 

Philosopher as social critic and ‘enemy of the public’ 

READ: Plato’s Apology, Crito, Phaedo (Classics book, Morgan ed) 

Recommended: 

Finley, MI. “The Freedom of the Citizen in the Greek World,” in Economy and Society in 

Ancient Greece, 1981. 

Wolin, Sheldon. Politics and Vision, “Political Philosophy and Philosophy,” ch. 1 

Pojman, Louis. Classics of Philosophy, “The Pre-Socratics,” ch. 1 

Recommended literature (summer reading?): 

Henrik Ibsen, An Enemy of the People, online version can be found at: 

http://www.classicreader.com/book/1535/ 

Sophocles, The Theban Plays: King Oedipus; Oedipus at Colonus; Antigone 

Week 2 

READ: Plato, Republic Book 1, 2 (this year I will use Cornford’s translation, in the 

coursepack), pp. 2,7-40, 41-69, 76-118. 

Republic: What justifies the ruler-ruled relationship? What gives legitimacy to political 

rule? 

Plato: Might (power/strength) or Arete? What is the particular kind of knowledge 

relevant to ruling the Republic? 

Thrasymachus vs. Socrates: Might makes right? 

Recommended: 

Dahrendorf, Ralf. 1968 “In Praise of Thrasymachus” in Essays in the Theory of Society 

Week 3 

Republic, Book 3, 4, 5, 6 , pp. 119-157, 175-200, 205-230, 250-259. 

Microcosm / Macrocosm (Organic) analogy 


Duties and education of different classes 

One person one task 

The “noble lie” 

Equality of the sexes, abolition of slavery / Opinion vs. knowledge 

Theory of Forms / Critique of sophists 

Philosopher King / Cave analogy 

Week 4 

Deterioration of regimes / Tyrannical man / Tyrannical City 

“Beneficial” poetry 

Republic, Book 7, 8, 9, 10, pp. 264-297, 301-305, 315-326, 341-359. 

Recommended: 

Arendt, “Truth and Politics,” in Laslett 

George Sabine, A History of Political Theory, ch. 4 

Wolin, “Plato: Political Philosophy versus Politics,” ch.2 

Highly recommended: 

George Orwell, 1984. 

If you cannot find a hardcopy, here is the online version: 

http://www.online-literature.com/orwell/1984 

Week 5 

Aristotle 

Happiness as a universal end-in-itself 

Virtues and the Golden Mean 

Politics as science 

On Property Acquisition vs. Wealth Acquisition 

Political constitution as community-building 

Aristotle’s Critique of Plato (and Socrates) 

Nicomachaen Ethics (David Ross translation, Oxford), pp. 1-63. 

Politics, Book 1, 2 (Ernest Barker translation, Oxford), pp. 7-56 

Week 6 

Definition of “the citizen” 

Private vs. public virtue 

Nature of the “political” rule 

Competency and citizenship 

Kinds of constitutions 

Three “correct” constitutions and three deviations 

Science of statesmanship 

Politics, Book 3, 4, pp. 84-119 

Week 7 


Justice, political justice and proportional justice 

Property and citizenship / Democracy and equality 

Fifth constitution: Politeia (polity): oligarchy +democracy 

Five “devices used in constitutions to deceive the people” (Book 4, ch. 13, 1296b §15, p. 

165) 

Happy citizen / Happy city-state? 

“Nature, habit and reason” and their impact on human excellence or perfectibility 

Politics pp. 135-178, 229-260. 

Week 8 

Self-sufficiency as a Moral Ideal: Epicureans, Skeptics, Cynics and Stoics 

Epicurians: Epicurus: morality vs. politics 

Greek and Roman Stoics: Epictetus, Cicero, Seneca, Diogenes, Marcus Aurelius 

Skeptics 

Recommended: 

George Sabine, A History of Political Theory, ch. 7, 8 

Polybius, Cicero 

Roman Lawyers 

http://oll.libertyfund.org/Home3/Set.php?recordID=0044 

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/cicero-laws1.html 

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/polybius6.html 

Cicero, On the Commonwealth and the Laws, Cambridge edition, Zetzel ed.), pp. 1-7, 18- 

31, 46-49, 51, 56-58, 61-72, 112-118. 

Recommended: 

George Sabine, A History of Political Theory, ch. 9, 10 

Strauss and Cropsey, eds., History of Political Philosophy, “Marcus Tullius Cicero” 

Political Philosophy: The Search for Humanity and Order, “The Hellenistic Age and the 

Roman Lawyers,” ch. 3 

Week 9 

St Augustine 

City of God vs. Babylon 

Free Will vs. Predestination 

The Confessions 

http://www.stoa.org/hippo/comm.html 

Augustine, City of God, (on free will) pp. 152-158, 479-482, 676-683, 693-696. 

Recommended: 

Sabine, A History of Political Theory, ch. 13 

Faith vs. Reason 

Secular authority vs. Papal power 


St. Thomas Aquinas, On Kingship, Summa Theologica 

Aquinas, Political Texts, Cambridge, R. W. Dyson ed. included in the coursepack, pp. 83- 

93, 96-131, 137-164, 168-191. 

Law, varieties of law, Justice and the public good. 

Recommended : 

Maimonides: 

http://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/gfp/index.htm 

Ibn-i Rust or Averroes: 

http://www.muslimphilosophy.com/ir/tt/index.html 

http://www.muslimphilosophy.com/ip/rep/H003.htm 

Week 10 

Dante and the Renaissance 

For Dante’s works, see: 

http://dante.ilt.columbia.edu/new/library/index.html 

http://dante.ilt.columbia.edu/new/comedy/index.html (not in the course pack) 

For Dante’s political ideas, four articles, included in the coursepack: 

ALBERT L. GUERARD (1921) DANTE AND THE RENAISSANCE 

ROBERT G . CALDWELL THE POLITICAL WRITINGS OF DANTE 

Herbert Weisinger (Oct., 1945) Ideas of History During the Renaissance, Journal of the 

History of Ideas, Vol. 6, No. 4 pp. 415-435 

John Canaday, Portfolio II: The Artist as a Social Critic, pp. 7-12. 

Week 11 

Marsilius of Padua and William of Ockham 

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/marsiglio4.html 

http://www.britac.ac.uk/pubs/dialogus/polth.html (both are included in the 

coursepack) 

Recommended: 

Sabine, ch. 15 

Louis Pojman, Classics of Philosophy, “William of Ockham” c. 13 

Wolin, “The Age of Empire: Space and Community,” ch. 3 

Week 12 

Review or the material that we have not yet covered. 

Final Exam

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