Political Theory

The paper for this class is supposed to be an interpretation of the relevant text(s) based on your careful reading of those texts. You defend your interpretation by providing the relevant textual evidence and analyzing it in order to build up a logical case for your interpretation. You should not use secondary sources (i.e. sources other than the philosophical text we are reading), and the papers must not have any extraneous material in them, for example, praise of the author and his importance to western philosophy, or historical examples that buttress the argument. Your papers are not supposed to be opinion pieces or personal philosophical statements. The goal of paper assignments is for you to think critically about the arguments of the author in question based on your own reading of the text.

Assignment: Write a paper on one of the following topics:

1. In what manner and to what extent is Machiavelli’s conception of The Prince consistent with his desire to avoid “imagined republics and principalities that have never been seen or known to be in truth”? (XV.1) What does he see as his contribution or novelty? How does he differ from those who came before, and what are the implications for his political theory?

2. Hobbes claims that there is no real justice without law. In your paper you should explore Hobbes’ conception of law. How does he define law, how is its meaning determined, and what is his point when he says that the laws of nature are not, strictly speaking, really laws? What is required for something to truly be a law? What are the implications for his political theory?

3. Explore sovereignty in Hobbes. What, according to Hobbes, are the basic functions of sovereignty, that is, what is it that a sovereign does; and what are the ways that sovereignty is created? Can sovereignty ever be divided? What are the implications of his views on sovereignty for his political theory?