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POLSC201: Introduction to Western Political Thought

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Practical Reason and Politics

Course Introduction

Course Syllabus

Course Terms of Use

Unit 1: The Polis

1.1: The Just and the Unjust

Plato's Republic: Books I and II

Philosophers and Kings: Plato's Republic I-II

1.2: The Ideal City

Plato's Republic: Books III and IV

Philosophers and Kings: Plato's Republic III-IV

Discussion: Plato's Republic

1.3: The Philosopher-King

Plato's Republic: Book V

Philosophers and Kings: Plato's Republic V

Quickfire Quiz: The Republic

1.4: The Socratic Method

Plato's Apology

Socratic Citizenship: Plato's Apology

Plato's Republic: Book X

Poetry and Philosophy

The Socratic Method Discussion

1.5: The Ideal Citizen and the Ideal State

Plato's Crito

The Antagonism between Personal and Public Virtue

Socratic Citizenship: Plato's Crito

Quickfire Quiz: Crito

1.6: The Good Life: Virtue and Happiness

Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics: Book I

The Good Life: Virtue and Well-Being

Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics: Book II

The Doctrine of the Mean

Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics: Book III

The Preconditions of Virtue: Voluntary vs. Involuntary Action

Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics: Books IV-V

Justice as a Virtue

Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics: Book VI

Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics: Book X

Practical Reason and Politics

Discussion: Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics

Quickfire Quiz: Nicomachean Ethics

1.7: Rule of Law

Aristotle's Politics

The Mixed Regime and the Rule of Law: Aristotle's Politics I-III

The Mixed Regime and the Rule of Law: Aristotle's Politics IV

Distributive Justice as the Task of the Polis

The Primacy of Law

Discussion: Aristotle's Politics

Unit 1 Assessment

Unit 1 Assessment

Unit 2: Modern Political Thought

2.1: Timing and Cunning in Politics

Nicolò Machiavelli's The Prince

New Modes and Orders: Machiavelli's The Prince, Chapters 1-12

Discussion: Machiavelli Today

The Significance of Mercenaries

Quickfire Quiz: The Prince

2.2: Sovereignty

Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan

The Sovereign State: Hobbes' Leviathan I

The Sovereign State: Hobbes' Leviathan II-III

Quickfire Quiz: Leviathan

2.3: Constitutional Government

John Locke's Second Treatise of Government

Constitutional Government: Locke's Second Treatise 1-5

Constitutional Government: Locke's Second Treatise 7-12

Constitutional Government: Locke's Second Treatise 13-19

Discussion: Locke's Second Treatise

Essay: Perspectives on the Modern State

Quickfire Quiz: Second Treatise of Civil Government

Unit 2 Assessment

Unit 2 Assessment

Unit 3: Liberal Democracy and Its Critics

3.1: Discourse on Inequality

Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Discourse on Inequality

Democracy and Participation: Rousseau's Discourse I

Democracy and Participation: Rousseau's Discourse II

Discussion: Rousseau Today

Quickfire Quiz: Discourse on Inequality

3.2: Democratic Participation

Jean-Jacques Rousseau's The Social Contract

Essay: The Founding Fathers and Enlightenment Thought

Democracy and Participation: Rousseau's Social Contract I-II

Quickfire Quiz: Approaches to the Social Contract

3.3: Democratic Statecraft

Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America

Democratic Statecraft: Tocqueville's Democracy in America I

Democratic Statecraft: Tocqueville's Democracy in America II

Quickfire Quiz: Democracy in America

3.4: Karl Marx as an Enlightenment Thinker

David Riazanov's Karl Marx and Frederick Engels: An Introduction to Their Lives and Work: Chapter II

Karl Marx (1818–1883)

Karl Marx's On the Jewish Question

Marx and the Enlightenment

Karl Marx's A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy: Preface

Karl Marx's Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy: Part I: The Commodity

Karl Marx's Capital: Chapter 14: Counteracting Influences

Karl Marx's Critique of the Gotha Program

Marxian Exploitation and Distributive Justice

Analytical Marxism: Self-Ownership and Distributive Justice

The Marxian Failure and Legacy

Discussion: Marx and Communism

3.5: The Boundaries of Civil Liberties

John Stuart Mill's Immortal Case for Toleration

Mill: Utilitarianism and Liberty

John Stuart Mill's On Liberty

John Stuart Mill's Utilitarianism

The Neoclassical Synthesis of Rights and Utility

Limits of the Neoclassical Synthesis

Perfectionism in Mill's On Liberty

Quickfire Quiz: Utilitarianism and On Liberty

Unit 3 Assessment

Unit 3 Assessment

Study Guide

POLSC201 Study Guide

Course Feedback Survey

Course Feedback Survey

Certificate Final Exam

POLSC201: Certificate Final Exam

Saylor Direct Credit

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POLSC201: Introduction to Western Political Thought
Unit 1: The Polis
1.6: The Good Life: Virtue and Happiness
Practical Reason and Politics

Practical Reason and Politics

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Saylor Academy © 2010-2025 except as otherwise noted. Excluding course final exams, content authored by Saylor Academy is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license. Third-party materials are the copyright of their respective owners and shared under various licenses. See detailed licensing information. Saylor Academy®, Saylor.org®, and Harnessing Technology to Make Education Free® are trade names of the Constitution Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization through which our educational activities are conducted.