...Political Thinkers: Thomas Hobbes and John Locke Abstract The Social Contract theory which dominated the European political thought in the eighteen century has played a very important part in the development of the modern political theory and practice. Being the most important of all the speculative theories, it came into being as a result of reaction against the theory of the Divine Origin. This theory was the first to denounce the influence of the church in the state affairs, provided an explanation for the origin of the state and shows the relationship between those who governs and those who are governed. Thomas Hobbes and John Locke are the chief exponents of the Contract Theory. Both of them have established their thesis from the beginning of human habitation, though their ideas and opinions are quite distinct. Hobbes in his theory has only described one contract where Locke has described two. Thomas Hobbes’ “Leviathan” and John Locke’s “Two Treaties on Civil Government” these books are considered as bibles in the evolution of modern states system. Though there are criticisms and debates regarding the social contract theory, but the modern political theories today have evolved from these contract theories which has no doubt. The aim of this assignment is to compare and contrast between Thomas Hobbes and John Locke and explore their contribution in the development of international relations according to the analysis of their works. Introduction Thomas Hobbes’s Leviathan...
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...War of Independence or a Revolution? It should be understood that without understanding the causes, course, and consequences of the American Revolution, one cannot grasp the history of the United State. The American Revolution was the political commotion during the end of the eighteenth century. The thirteen North American colonies united to break free of the British Empire and become a new nation; The United State of America. A revolution can be defined as, the change in power or the constitution stirring in a relatively short period of time. Aristotle described revolution as complete change from one constitution to another (Sinclair 190). And this is precisely what happened two centuries ago in the United State. But the question needed to be answered is, was the American War of Independence really a war for independence or a revolution? The American War of Independence (1775–1783) was a climax in the political American Revolution rather than just a war for independence, ideologically influenced by the Enlightenment philosophers and writers of the Great Britain. Benjamin Rush remarked in 1787, "The American war is over, but this is far from being the case with the American Revolution. On the contrary, nothing but the first act of the great drama is closed." 2 This drama staged in the Pennsylvania State House in summer of 1776 remains the only most important chapter in the archives of American Revolution. Although, the political atmosphere in France...
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...ularism Modern Myths, Locked Minds by T. N. Madan Introduction: Scope, methods and Concepts 1. Secularization, secularism, Christian tradition and the Enlightenment: a brief history T. N. Madan differentiates between secularism, secularization and secularity. 1) Secularization refers to socio cultural processes in which the role of the sacred is progressively limited; 2) Secularism is the ideology that argues for the historical inevitability and progressive nature of secularization everywhere and 3) Secularity is the resultant state of society. The term "secularism" was first used by the British writer Holyoake in 1851 to describe his views of promoting a social order separate from religion. The English word ‘secular’ comes from the Latin ‘saeculum’, which means ‘an age’ or ‘the spirit of an age’ and has the same meaning as the Greek ‘aeon’. In general terms, secularism means “belonging to this age, or worldly” along with a denial of other worldly realities (i.e. religious). The Bible introduces the idea of divine creation in the book of Genesis. God speaks directly to Man in Genesis: “Be fertile and increase, fill the earth and master it”. As Peter Berger, a social theorist notes that in this the idea of a secular world is sown as a God who stands outside of the Cosmos which is his creation. This opens the way for self making activity which Berger calls ‘historization’. Caesar was the emperor of Rome. In a famous passage Jesus said, "Render to Caesar the things...
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...Yaw Ankobiah Essay Assignment 4/17/15 POLS 251 Professor Clarke Word Count: 1,597 The Ideals of Commerce of Aristotle vs. John Locke Aristotle and John Locke are two of the more prominent philosophers of their respective time periods when historically analyzing political philosophy. Each philosopher has many written sources of their beliefs and ideals, many of which go against the ‘norms’ of the societies of their time period. Second Treatise of Government, by John Locke, and Aristotle’s Politics, written by Aristotle, both outline each philosopher’s ideal political regime in which each political system described is tailored to each individual’s self-thinking. Past experiences as well as prior knowledge is used by both Aristotle and Locke to formulate their political regimes. When comparing the two previously mentioned books and analyzing the regimes proposed by both novels it is evident that both Aristotle and Locke differed in their respective evaluation of commercial or economic life. The biggest point of difference between the two had to do with humanity as Aristotle believed acquisition of necessities to be a natural process whereas Locke believed the onus was on human beings to go out and acquire which would naturally bring about commerce into existence. This essay will examine the reasons why they differed in this aspect of politics with further detail provided as well. When highlighting these reasons it will be very clear as to why their ideas of economic and commercial...
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...John Stuart Mill On Liberty Chapter IV: Of the Limits to the Authority of Society over the Individual 1. OBJECTIVE PART J.S. Mill, in his extended essay On Liberty, more specifically in Chapter 4, discusses the appropriate level of authority that society should have over the individual. He starts by rejecting the idea of social contract previously founded by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Thomas Hobbes and John Locke, yet acknowledges “the rights and duties” concept by stating that “Though society is not founded on a contract, […]every one who receives the protection of society owes a return for the benefit […] In each person's bearing his share (to be fixed on some equitable principle) of the labours and sacrifices incurred for defending the society or its members from injury and molestation. These conditions society is justified in enforcing at all costs to those who endeavour to withhold fulfilment.” (parag 3) Mill also offers a distinction between punishment by law and punishment by opinion. He admits that some acts are hurtful to others, but not to an extent as to justify government intervention. In these cases, public opinion may be punishment enough: “The acts of an individual may be hurtful to others, or wanting in due consideration for their welfare, without going the length of violating any of their constituted rights. The offender may then be justly punished by opinion, though not by law. (parag 3) Mill then clarifies that he believes in the virtues of goodwill and...
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...tried to commit suicide many times in the past, including after being raped by her father when she was a girl. That situation led to her becoming pregnant and suffering a miscarriage months later. When she was under evaluation her doctor by the name of Dr. Alberto Choy concluded that Allison “saw [her children] as an extension of herself, of her own life, so killing Connor, two, and Jayden, 10 months, was an extension of her own suicide.” (CBC News, 2012). Therefore this becomes a situation where the ideals of Suicide come to the table and because she saw the children as part of herself, as well as being under the influence of alcohol and sleeping pills, can it be seen ethical in any way that the deaths of her children were ethical? This paper will look at this situation in numerous ways and discuss it through the use of material learned in the course JRSB 311 Ethics and Society. The ethical theories that will be used are the divine command theory,...
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...Introduction Social orientation is the recognition of human psychology and behavior. The emphasis on human thought, emotion, and behavior was to represent the thought, emotion, and behavior of members of a social group. Thomas Hobbes declared that the social groups are nothing more than a collection of individuals and that of social thought, emotion, and behavior, governed by the pursuit of pleasure and avoidance of pain (Greenwood, 2009). Cognitive psychology represents the distinction amongst the human mind and a computer that suggest that humans have the ability to process information from around the world just as computer. Cognitive psychology is not old but the newest part of psychology where the information we receive through our senses is then administered through the brain. Cognitive psychologists try to develop explanations of cognitive development, memory, attention, artificial intelligence, perception, and social cognition. The laboratory methods used to determine the outcome of a controlled circumstance are memory test and research studies. During the early 21st century, it appears that experimental psychology is healthy and growing; likewise the crisis in theories and progress is of discern. At this time there is not a crisis in psychology, nevertheless psychology can be described as an interregnum period, with much activity and no major leading directions or theoretical commitments (Mandler, 2011). The first crisis shown in psychology was seen in 1899. There...
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...R outledge Revision: Questions & Answers Jurisprudence 2011–2012 Each Routledge Q&A contains approximately 50 questions on topics commonly found on exam papers, with answer plans and comprehensive suggested answers. Each book also offers valuable advice as to how to approach and tackle exam questions and how to focus your revision effectively. New Aim Higher and Common Pitfalls boxes will also help you to identify how to go that little bit further in order to get the very best marks and highlight areas of confusion. And now there are further opportunities to hone and perfect your exam technique online. New editions publishing in 2011: Civil Liberties & Human Rights Commercial Law Company Law Constitutional & Administrative Law Contract Law Criminal Law Employment Law English Legal System Routledge Q&A series Equity & Trusts European Union Law Evidence Family Law Jurisprudence Land Law Medical Law Torts For a full listing, visit http://www.routledge.com/textbooks/revision R outledge Revision: Questions & Answers Jurisprudence 2011–2012 David Brooke Senior Lecturer in Law and Module Leader in Jurisprudence at Leeds Metropolitan University Fifth edition published 2011 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the U S A and Canada by Routledge 270 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2011...
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...The Ride of Power: Mamata Banerjee from being an Opponent party leader to a State leader Nature of Power- Power in the most general sense may refer to any kind of influence exercised by objects, individuals or groups upon each other. “Power terms in modern social science refers to subsets of relations among social units such that the behaviours of one or more units depend in some circumstances on the behaviour of other units”-Dahl,1961 According to Max Weber power is the probability that one actor within a social relationship will be in a position to carry out his own will despite resistance regardless of the basis on which this probability rests. Power is the ability of one group or person to influence another within the given social system (Martin, year). Power may also refer to as having the authority to influence other individuals and group. The authority to exercise power may be perceived legitimately by the social structure. The important difference between power and authority consists in the fact that power is essentially tied to the personality of the individuals whereas, authority is always associated with some social position or roles. So, in other words, power is a contingent property, a property of individuals, rather than a property of social structure (Martin, 1978). Some kind of obedience is also subjected to power. Power can be seen as unjust or evil from the perspective of the members anchored to the low-end status. Similarly, power can be seen as a...
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...1 The Foundations of International Society 2013-2014 Part I: Politics 2 (International Relations I) Paper organiser: Professor Christopher Hill (POLIS): Room 105, Alison Richard Building Email: cjh68@cam.ac.uk Lecturers: Professor Hill (CH), Dr Elisabetta Brighi (EB), Dr Aaron Rapport (AR) and Dr Stefano Recchia (SR). Aims and Objectives The course aims to introduce students to the subject of International Relations (IR), whose main focus is the nature of politics at the international level. Students will acquire the empirical and conceptual foundations needed to understand a world political system which cannot be accurately described as either pure anarchy or a coherent form of ‘global governance’. The starting point is the notion of ‘international society’, which refers to the set of institutions and common procedures generated by states over the last three and a half centuries in their attempts to achieve some minimal form of co-existence, but which has gradually evolved to include many non-state actors and different levels of activity – diplomatic, economic and cultural, as well as that of military competition. By the end of the course you should be able to have an informed discussion about: the historical origins of the present system; what is distinctive about international politics as opposed to politics inside the state; and the main challenges which confront humanity in the twenty-first century. You will also acquire a basic familiarity with the main theories needed...
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...mTELECOURSE STUDY GUIDE FOR The Examined Life FOURTH EDITION author J. P. White Chair, Department of Philosophy Santa Barbara City College contributing author Manuel Velasquez Professor of Philosophy Santa Clara University This Telecourse Study Guide for The Examined Life is part of a collegelevel introduction to philosophy telecourse developed in conjunction with the video series The Examined Life, and the text Philosophy: A Text with Readings, tenth edition, by Manuel Velasquez, The Charles Dirksen Professor, Santa Clara University. The television series The Examined Life was designed and produced by INTELECOM Intelligent Telecommunications, Netherlands Educational Broadcasting Corporation (TELEAC/NOT), and Swedish Educational Broadcasting Company (UR) Copyright © 2007, 2005, 2002, 1999 by INTELECOM Intelligent Telecommunications All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of INTELECOM Intelligent Telecommunications, 150 E. Colorado Blvd., Suite 300, Pasadena, California 91105-1937. ISBN: 0-495-10302-0 Contents Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v Lesson One — What is Philosophy? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....
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...Executive Summary The aim of the research was to answer the main research question: ‘What caused the Arab Spring’ In order to tackle this question; desk research, case studies and an interview with Mr Farrid Benkaddour have been conducted. Farrid Benkaddour is a Moroccan sociologist, he started his career in Morocco after obtaining his baccalaureate in 1984. Since then he has been a teacher in Morocco, afterwards he went to the Netherlands to teach Dutch people about Moroccan culture. He currently works for Arabika, a company that specializes in legal assistance, translations, language trainings and intercultural communications. The desk research revealed the opinions of the Arab spring’s countries inhabitants. Inflation, unemployment and poor housing conditions prevailed as a direct consequence of insufficient dictatorial regimes. Freshly graduated youth was left jobless with no sign of improvement in the near future. People became more and more aware of the lack of political influence they had and started idealizing the western political democratic models. The interview and case studies showed there have been negative thoughts about the dictatorial regimes ever since their instalment. Protests have been seen throughout the history of the Arab world. The difference, however, between those protests and the Arab Spring is the modern age. Where earlier protests failed due to lack of support, the modern age tools such as (social-)media carried the Arab spring’s unfolding...
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...Kholik Global Political Economy Global Political Economy 33423968 33420343 kadfrimpong@yahoo.com kkholik@gmail.com 15/03/2016 Abstract The so called Euromaidan revolution – Ukraine’s struggle to move one step further to closer ties with Europe by liberating itself from the Russian orbit, have created the Russia-Ukraine Crisis. It has re-established and heightened the tensions between Russia and West. Realism has been on the fore front of the academic discussion in explaining the crisis as the power competition between Russia and the West. Alternatively, Materialism has provided a different yet deeper analytical perspective on the conflict by attributing it to the broadening of the transnational class capitalism. This paper will seek to explain and scrutinize the analytical differences in conceptualizing this crisis in Realist and Materialist terms. Keywords: Ukraine crisis, Realism, Security, Materialism, Lockean heartland, Contender states Table of Contents 1 Introduction 4 2 Theoretical framework 5 2.1 Theoretical underpinnings of the Realist school of thought 5 2.2 Theoretical underpinnings of Materialism: Amsterdam School Approach 7 2.2.1 The Lockean Heartland 8 2.2.2 Contender States 9 2.2.3 Ex-contender states, aspirant states, and capitalist class fraction 10 3 The Russia-Ukraine conflict 12 3.1 Russia-Ukraine conflict in Realist terms 12 3.1.1 NATO expansion 13 3.1.2 European Union (EU) expansion eastward 15 3.1...
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...Phil. 334-01 / Spring 2011 Dr. Rodney G. Peffer Founders 169c/ 260-4092 Messages: F-162/ 260-4705 Office Hrs.: T/Th. 700-715 pm Web CT – to be announced Wed. 300-730 pm Phil. 334 ETHICS TOPICS COURSE: GLOB AL JUSTICE Required Texts: Rodney G. Peffer, Global Justice, Human Rights, and the Natural Environment (i.e. various published articles and unpublished essays that are components of this work that will either be put on ERES or emailed to you; there’s nothing to buy) David Schweickart, After Capitalism John Rawls, The Law of Peoples Thomas Pogge & Keith Horton (ed.), Global Ethics: Seminal Essays Thomas Pogge & Darrel Moellendorf (ed.), Global Justice: Seminal Essays Will Kymlicka, Politics in the Vernacular (Optional) E-Reserve Essays are in: Phil. 340 E-Reserves: Password = “war” Phil. 338 E-Reserves: Password = “endangered” Phil. 462 E-Reserves: Password = “worldpeace” A. Essays by Rodney G. Peffer (Peffer) B. Marxism, Morality, and Social Justice (MMSJ) I –XXI (Essays) = Essays by other authors divided into Sections All ERES Readings are in my Phil. 462 ERES unless noted otherwise. * = An important component of my next book. Jan. 26 General Introduction to Course Jan. 31 Basics of Political Philosophy/ Peffer’s Theory of Social Justice The following 6 short essays...
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...Europe’s Journal of Psychology, 6(3), pp. 46-70 www.ejop.org Is It You or Is It Me? Contrasting Effects of Ridicule Targeting Other People Versus the Self Leslie M. Janes Brescia University College James M. Olson University of Western Ontario Abstract In this paper, we describe a program of research on the topic of ridicule, which explored the differing effects of observing either ridicule directed at other people or selfdisparaging ridicule. In three studies, participants listened to humor that either ridiculed another person, ridiculed the self (the person expressing the humor), or involved no ridicule. Results in two studies showed that observing ridicule that targeted another person led participants to conform more to the alleged attitudes of others and to behave in ways suggesting a heightened fear of failure, compared to self-ridicule or no ridicule. In contrast, results in a third study showed that observing self-disparaging ridicule led participants to generate more creative ideas, compared to other-ridicule or no ridicule. The implications of these “inhibiting” effects of other-ridicule and “disinhibiting” effects of self-ridicule are discussed. Keywords: ridicule, disparagement humor, self-ridicule, conformity, creativity Ridicule is defined as “the act of making someone the object of scornful laughter” (Webster‟s New World Dictionary, 2002). This type of humor is common in modernday society. It is a staple in late-night comedy shows, political...
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