Political philosophy

SamenvattingThis 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 PHILOSOPHYThis 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 1LECTURE 1 Plato - The beginnings: justice and the philosopher kingsLECTURE 2 Aristotle - Happiness, politics and the telos of mankindLECTURE 3 St Augustine - The State as a necessary evilCD 2LECTURE 4 St Thomas - A rational Christian philosophyLECTURE 5 Machiavelli - Behind the scenes of the political gameLECTURE 6 Thomas Hobbes - Why we need a Leviathan to rule over usCD 3LECTURE 7 John Locke - Life, liberty and estateLECTURE 8 Jean-Jacques Rousseau -The general will: a critique of representative governmentLECTURE 9 Alexis de Tocqueville - America and democracy: an aristocratic point of viewCD 4LECTURE 10 Karl Marx - Class struggle and historyLECTURE 11 Sigmund Freud - Why the masses love their leadersLECTURE 12 The present day - Contractualism, individualism and the dogma of our times.InhoudsopgaveCD 1Chapter 1: Plato - The beginnings: justice and the philosopher kingsChapter 2: Aristotle - Happiness, politics and the telos of mankindChapter 3: St Augustine - The State as a necessary evilCD 2Chapter 4: St Thomas - A rational Christian philosophyChapter 5: Machiavelli - Behind the scenes of the political gameChapter 6: Thomas Hobbes - Why we need a Leviathan to rule over usCD 3Chapter 7: John Locke - Life, liberty and estateChapter 8: Jean-Jacques Rousseau - The general will: a critique of representative governmentChapter 9: Alexis de Tocqueville - America and democracy: an aristocratic point of view CD 4Chapter 10: Karl Marx - Class struggle and historyChapter 11: Sigmund Freud - Why the masses love their leadersChapter 12: The present day - Contractualism, individualism and the dogma of our timesOver de sprekerProf. 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.