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Socratic Citizenship: Plato, Apology

By Steven B. Smith - Yale
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Lecture Description

The lecture begins with an explanation of why Plato's Apology is the best introductory text to the study of political philosophy. The focus remains on the Apology as a symbol for the violation of free expression, with Socrates justifying his way of life as a philosopher and defending the utility of philosophy for political life.

Course Description

This course is intended as an introduction to political philosophy as seen through an examination of some of the major texts and thinkers of the Western political tradition. Three broad themes that are central to understanding political life are focused upon: the polis experience (Plato, Aristotle), the sovereign state (Machiavelli, Hobbes), constitutional government (Locke), and democracy (Rousseau, Tocqueville). The way in which different political philosophies have given expression to various forms of political institutions and our ways of life are examined throughout the course.

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Lecture Transcript and Reading Assignment

Course Index

  1. Introduction: What is Political Philosophy?
  2. Socratic Citizenship: Plato, Apology
  3. Socratic Citizenship: Plato, Crito
  4. Plato's Republic I-II
  5. Philosophers and Kings: Plato, Republic, III-IV
  6. Philosophers and Kings: Plato, Republic, V
  7. Aristotle's Politics
  8. Aristotle's Politics, part 2
  9. Aristotle's Politics, part 3
  10. Machiavelli, The Prince
  11. Machiavelli, The Prince, cont.
  12. The Sovereign State: Hobbes, Leviathan
  13. The Sovereign State: Hobbes, Leviathan
  14. The Sovereign State: Hobbes, Leviathan
  15. Constitutional Government: Locke, Second Treatise (1-5)
  16. Constitutional Government: Locke, Second Treatise (7-12)
  17. Constitutional Government: Locke, Second Treatise (13-19)
  18. Democracy and Participation: Rousseau, Discourse on Inequality (author's preface, part I)
  19. Democracy and Participation: Rousseau, Discourse on Inequality (part II)
  20. Democracy and Participation: Rousseau, Social Contract, I-II
  21. Democratic Statecraft: Tocqueville, Democracy in America
  22. Democratic Statecraft: Tocqueville, Democracy in America
  23. Democratic Statecraft: Tocqueville, Democracy in America
  24. In Defense of Politics