PL 115
ASSIGNMENT Q. 2
The aim of this essay is to discuss “Can the study of politics be scientific or not?” and I will give reasons for my arguments. It will be divided into three parts: the first part is the introduction, the second part discusses politics and science then the last part concludes the essay.
Keywords: Politics and Scientific
DEFINITIONS
Politics: There are various definitions of politics. i. Politics is the art of managing conflicts. Conflicts occur at different levels for example between two or more people, between communities and between countries that is when people compete for different positions and when we go to vote. ii. Politics can be understood as power and influence; that is it involves power,
…show more content…
Refuting the Scientific character of Political Science Maitland: an eminent English writer- observes “when I see asset of examination questions headed by the words Political Science I regret the question but the title” F.W Maitland: collected paper volume 11. Buckle another famous author also observes that “In the present state of knowledge, politics so far from being a Science is the most backward of all the arts.” (Buckle: History of Civilization Vol. 1 pg. 361). While analysis this statement of buckle the following comment of Dr. Garner on this statement is worth noting to his book “Political Science and Government,” Dr. Garner writes, “Buckle, however, did not deny a possibility of a political Science what he lamented was that so little attention had been given to the study of the state that as a systematic branch of knowledge it was to crude and undeveloped to be considered a Science.” Dr. Garner: “Political Science and Government,” pg. 13. Of the same opinion is J.S mill who wrote in 1843, “it is accordingly but of yesterday that a concept of political Science has existed anywhere but in the mind of, here and there, an isolated thinker, generally very ill-prepared of the realization.” J. S Mill: “System of logic,” pg. 547. The German scholars have gone to the extent of adopting analytical methods in order to give this subject the
Political science is known to be one of the most ignored sciences there are. Over the years, there has not been a demand for everyone to pay attention to politics because people always have their own opinion anyways. Ten Things Political Scientists Know that You Don’t was an article written by Hans Noel. His main objective to writing this was to inform readers of the reasons why politics is something that is important to understand. Many journalists and bloggers became more aware of politics and want to know more about what political scientists actually know. This article also wants to inform many people that political science is something that you can study over a period of time, which is the real reason to pay attention to elections. Hans Noel came up with 10 different things that political scientists know but American citizens do not.
In addition to the difference of purpose between arts and sciences, which we have discussed above, a further distinction is offered by Lasswell (1958) that may be considered by some as somewhat biased: “The science of politics states conditions; the philosophy of politics justifies preferences.” He distinguishes between “the science of politics” and “the philosophy of politics” on the same grounds as the fact-value dichotomy of logical positivism. He appears to be implying that political philosophy (which, for the purpose of this essay, would fall under the jurisdiction of art) “justifies preferences” in the sense that it provides rationalizations for the personal preferences of the theorist of political philosophy (Horwitz, 1962). Science, on the other hand, uses only facts and empirical data as its tools of analysis. This overt process of analysis minimizes the scope for bias by the researcher (Pierce, 2008). Moreover it promises an impartial and reliable means of distinguishing ‘truth’ from ‘falsehood’ and gives us access to objective knowledge about the political world (Heywood, 2002). However the fact/value dichotomy is not as clearly defined as is assumed here. Values are deeply involved in the identification of facts as well as their description and examination since all political scientists enter research with at least some presumptions about their
“Political Activity is alive and well in organisations. Critically discuss this statement. What factors result in Organisational Politics and what is the role of such behaviour on other people at work?”
Political Philosophy is typically a study of a wide range of topics such as, justice, liberty, equality, rights, law, politics and the application of a codified law. Depending on what the philosophy is, it usually tends to be a very sensitive and a personal ideology that an individual holds within the reality of their existence. Several of the fundamental topics of political philosophy shape up the society that we live in as these specific topics and their implementation by the state ensures a legitimate government. In Political Philosophy, the aforesaid concepts or topics are evaluated and analyzed with tremendous depth in context to their history and intent. Furthermore, in a rather colloquial sense, political
Political theory emerged as a separate science and way of thinking in the last half of the
Our text mentions that Political Science “seeks to study human behavior through the use of a scientific method that,
The Oxford Dictionary defines politics as the activities associated with the governance of a country or area, especially the debate between parties having power. Comparative politics is the interdisciplinary study of how power is organized across time and space. It connects the operation of power across multiple time and spatial scales and identifies the similarities and differences of how power operates across space and time.
Politics in itself is a means to an end, in which case the end is the formation of a public policy. It is the process of trying to influence the decision makers in order to implement changes that will improve the lives of communities, populations and clients (Godfrey 84). In short, politics refers to
Political science is a broad topic that covers the history, political and geographical aspect of the world. The course started with a revision on the basics of the constitution, types of power and the political scene that happens around us. My first year at the University, one of the compulsory subject that is required for arts taking students is Political Science 1101. After several years of taking social or political course, taking this course opened my knowledge towards politics and the political scene in Canada. It also taught me about how different ways of information taking could lead to one learning differently from others. For example this class gave us the opportunity to use our laptops as a source of note taking, this helped me learn in which whenever a new vocabulary comes up during the class discussions i could search it up. Through “The Road to Patriation” and Kim Campbell “Through the Looking Glass” i would further emphasize my ideas on what i have learnt throughout the course semester.
So which is it? Politics is the institutional framework where mankind's capacity to reason reconciles itself with its desires. This process that naturally goes on inside man's head is also a dialogue between men as soon as the capacity to communicate ideas is explored. Admitting that politics is natural however is merely a descriptive statement. The question I would bring up as I do in "Enchiridion" is what we should make of this nature. Saying that man is naturally political does not tell us whether
Politics is about the distribution of power. In the Introduction to Social Science course guide it is stated that, “politics can be anywhere”. Therefore, politics is in the language we speak. Power is the “ ability to
People's soul are made up of several parts, as will be shown along the way, each man's main concern and occupation in life should be to build harmony and unity. Politics is the way a person expresses how his or her order in life can be used for everyone, the image of their own inner order or disorder reflected in his social life. A person cannot live alone, because one is a social animal, one must act; politics becomes an important part of the mind. Politics are simply the means of bringing order into the world of men through laws that are the product of rational nature. It is the ultimate concern of the philosopher, the one of wisdom, to bring this order forward.
Political science is the study of people’s behavior as it relates to control the public organizations. The concept is normally divided into six subcategories: Political philosophy- which deals with
The study of politics had its roots in philosophy and while there has been a drive to steer the study of politics towards a more scientific approach, many scholars like Max Weber believe that social sciences cannot simply imitate the natural sciences. This essay will examine the various approaches to applying scientific methodology to the study of politics and it will specifically explore Behaviorism, Positivism and Interpretivism and by looking at each methodology briefly explore the advantages and disadvantages of each method.
Political philosophy is the study of basic questions about the state, government, politics, liberty, justice etc. political philosophy is concerned with the concepts and arguments involves in political opinion. It is ethics applied to a group of people, discusses about societies set up.In political philosophy it is important to know what ought to be a person’s relationship in a society. This seeks application of ethical concepts to social sphere. It is a standard which help to analyze and judge existing institutions and relationships. According to Bernard Williams “political philosophy is not just applied moral philosophy, which is what in our culture it is often taken to be….political philosophy must use distinctively political concepts, such as power, and its normative relative, legitimation.” Leo Strauss has said “Philosophy is the quest for wisdom and political philosophyis the attempt truly to know about the nature of political things and the right or the good political order.” In the history of political philosophy, many philosophers have born and influence the era with their theory. There some renowned philosopher from ancient time to modern are Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau etc.They gave theory on state, Justice, government, education. In western political history Plato is a legend philosopher whose thought considered wealth of the century and till influence the people’s thinking world.The Republic is his famous book where he