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140 141 </head> 142 143<body class="wp-singular page-template-default page page-id-58 wp-theme-thegreatthinkers introduction"> 144 145<div class="off-canvas-wrap" data-offcanvas> 146 <div class="inner-wrap"> 147 148 <nav class="tab-bar hide-for-large-up"> 149 <section class="left-small"> 150 <a class="left-off-canvas-toggle menu-icon"><span></span></a> 151 </section> 152 153 </nav> 154 155 <!-- Off Canvas Menu --> 156 <aside class="left-off-canvas-menu"> 157 <!-- whatever you want goes here --> 158 <ul> 159 <li id="menu-item-245" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-home menu-item-245"><a href="https://thegreatthinkers.org/">Home</a></li> 160<li id="menu-item-64" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page current-menu-item page_item page-item-58 current_page_item menu-item-64"><a href="https://thegreatthinkers.org/introduction/" aria-current="page" title="political philosophy">Introduction</a></li> 161<li id="menu-item-67" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-67"><a href="https://thegreatthinkers.org/thinkers/" title="great political philosophers">Thinkers</a></li> 162<li id="menu-item-65" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-65"><a href="https://thegreatthinkers.org/video/" title="political philosophy lectures">Video</a></li> 163<li id="menu-item-77" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-77"><a href="https://thegreatthinkers.org/about-us/" title="Great Thinkers">About Us</a></li> 164 </ul> 165 </aside> 166 167 <div id="page" class="hfeed site"> 168 <header id="masthead" class="site-header" role="banner"> 169 170 <div class="row"> 171 <div class="column"> 172 <div class="top-header"> 173 <div class="search right"> 174 <form role="search" method="get" class="search-form" action="https://thegreatthinkers.org/"> 175 <label> 176 <span class="screen-reader-text">Search for:</span> 177 <div class="search-field-container"> 178 <img src="https://thegreatthinkers.org/wp-content/themes/thegreatthinkers/images/svg/icon-search.svg" alt="Magnifying glass" class="icon-search"> 179 <input type="search" class="search-field" placeholder="Search" value="" name="s"> 180 </div> 181 </label> 182 <input type="submit" class="search-submit" value="Search"> 183</form> </div> 184 185 <div class="social-icons right"> 186 <a href="http://www.facebook.com/thegreatthinkers" target="_new" 187 class="social-icon-wrap"> 188 <img src="https://thegreatthinkers.org/wp-content/themes/thegreatthinkers/images/svg/icon-facebook.svg" 189 target="_blank"> 190 </a> 191 <a href="http://twitter.com/GreatThinkers14" target="_new" class="social-icon-wrap"> 192 <img src="https://thegreatthinkers.org/wp-content/themes/thegreatthinkers/images/svg/icon-twitter.svg" 193 target="_blank"> 194 </a> 195 </div> 196 </div> 197 </div> 198 199 </div><!-- .row --> 200 201 <div class="row"> 202 203 <div class="site-branding"> 204 <h1 class="site-title"> 205 <a href="https://thegreatthinkers.org/" class="home-title">GREAT 206 THINKERS</a> 207 </h1> 208 </div> 209 210 </div><!-- .row --> 211 212 <div id="nav-top" class="show-for-large-up"> 213 <div class="left"></div> 214 <div class="right"></div> 215 </div> 216 217 <nav class="top-bar show-for-large-up" data-topbar> 218 <ul class="title-area"> 219 <li class="name"></li> 220 <li class="toggle-topbar menu-icon"><a href=""><span>Menu</span></a></li> 221 </ul> 222 <section class="top-bar-section"> 223 <ul> 224 <li class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-home menu-item-245"><a href="https://thegreatthinkers.org/">Home</a></li> 225<li class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page current-menu-item page_item page-item-58 current_page_item menu-item-64"><a href="https://thegreatthinkers.org/introduction/" aria-current="page" title="political philosophy">Introduction</a></li> 226<li class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-67"><a href="https://thegreatthinkers.org/thinkers/" title="great political philosophers">Thinkers</a></li> 227<li class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-65"><a href="https://thegreatthinkers.org/video/" title="political philosophy lectures">Video</a></li> 228<li class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-77"><a href="https://thegreatthinkers.org/about-us/" title="Great Thinkers">About Us</a></li> 229 </ul> 230 </section> 231 </nav> 232 </header><!-- #masthead --> 233
234 <div id="content" class="site-content"> 235 236 <div id="primary" class="content-area"> 237 <main id="main" class="site-main" role="main"> 238 239 240 241<div class="row"> 242 243 <div class="large-12 columns"> 244 245 <article id="post-58" class="article-content post-58 page type-page status-publish has-post-thumbnail hentry"> 246 247 <div class="featured-image"> 248 <img width="1354" height="757" src="https://thegreatthinkers.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/2effect2-1.jpg" class="attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="Good Government in the City" decoding="async" fetchpriority="high" srcset="https://thegreatthinkers.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/2effect2-1.jpg 1354w, https://thegreatthinkers.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/2effect2-1-300x167.jpg 300w, https://thegreatthinkers.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/2effect2-1-1024x572.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 1354px) 100vw, 1354px" /> </div> 249 250 <header class="entry-header"> 251 <h1 class="entry-title">Introduction</h1> 252 </header><!-- .entry-header --> 253 254 <div class="entry-content"> 255 <p>Political philosophy is the study of the fundamental questions of human life generally and political life in particular. Its first basic problem concerns the profound issue of human happiness: how should <em>I</em> live? Is the best way of life one devoted to the satisfaction of desire, the ethical and political virtue of a Lincoln or Washington, the intellectual excellence of a Socrates, religious faith and observance, or the poetry of a Shakespeare? Its second central question is how should <em>we</em> live? What is justice, and what is the most just form of government?</p> 256<p>Political philosophy explores all the central phenomena of human action and political choice in the light of its two central questions.</p> 257<p>This site is devoted to exploring the ideas of the Great Thinkers of Political Philosophy.</p> 258<p>—</p> 259<p>According to <a href="https://harveymansfield.org">Harvey C. Mansfield</a>:</p> 260<p>Political Philosophy is found in great booksâthose by Plato, Aristotle, Locke, Rousseau, and others of the highest rankâand in books by professors. You should spend much more time with the great authors than with the professors, and you should use the professors to help you understand the great authors; you should not allow yourself to be diverted or distracted from the great books by the professors. Why not go for the Gold?…</p> 261<p>There is a long tradition of political philosophy dating from Socrates and consisting of a series of great books, each written to comment favorably or adversely on a contemporary or a preceding philosophy. A scholar can devote his life to this tradition or part of it, and anyone serious about political philosophy will want to acquire some knowledge of the tradition. But one does not have to go to books of political philosophy to find political philosophy. All the books of political philosophy could be lost, if one can imagine such a calamity, and yet the activity could be generated anew directly from political life. The partly rational character of politics calls for completion in political philosophyâeven though it takes a great thinker, to whom we are all greatly indebted, to answer the call.</p> 262<p>Politics always has political philosophy lying within it, waiting to emerge. So far as we know, however, it has emerged just once, with Socratesâbut that event left a lasting impression. It was a âfirst.â I stress the connection between politics and political philosophy because such a connection is not to be found in the kind of political science that tries to ape the natural sciences. That political science, which dominates political science departments today, is a rival to political philosophy. Instead of addressing the partisan issues of citizens and politicians, it avoids them and replaces their words with scientific terms. Rather than good, just, and noble, you hear political scientists of this kind speaking of utility or preferences. These terms are meant to be neutral, abstracted from partisan dispute. Instead of serving as judge of what is good, just, or noble, such political scientists conceive themselves to be disinterested observers, as if they had no stake in the outcomes of politics. As political scientists, they believe they must suppress their opinions as citizens lest they contaminate their scientific selves. The political philosopher, however, takes a stand with <a href="https://thegreatthinkers.org/Tocqueville" target="_blank">Alexis de Tocqueville</a> (1805-59), who said that while he himself was not a partisan, he undertook to see, not differently, but further than the parties.</p> 263<p>–From <a href="https://harveymansfield.org/book/a-students-guide-to-political-philosophy/"><em>A Student’s Guide to Political Philosophy</em></a></p> 264 </div><!-- .entry-content --> 265 </article><!-- #post-## --> 266 267 </div> 268 269</div> 270 271 </main><!-- #main --> 272 </div><!-- #primary --> 273 274 275 </div><!-- #content --> 276 277</div><!-- #page --> 278 279<footer id="colophon" class="site-footer" role="contentinfo"> 280 281 <div class="row"> 282 283 <div class="large-6 columns"> 284 285 286 <div class="site-info"> 287 © 2026 The Foundation for Constitutional Government Inc. All rights reserved. 288 </div><!-- .site-info --> 289 290 291 </div> 292 293 <div class="large-6 columns"> 294 295 <ul> 296 <li><a href="http://constitutionalgovt.org/contact-us/" target="_blank">Contact Us</a></li> 297 <li><a href="http://constitutionalgovt.org/donate/" target="_blank">Donate</a></li> 298 <li><a href="http://thegreatthinkers.org/privacy-policy/">Privacy Policy</a></li> 299 </ul> 300 301 </div> 302 303 </div> 304 305</footer><!-- #colophon --> 306 307 <!-- close the off-canvas menu --> 308 <a class="exit-off-canvas"></a> 309 310 </div> 311</div> 312
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