2.1 Socrates and the Search for Truth
One of the most important early figures in political philosophy was Socrates (c. 470–399 BCE), a Greek philosopher from Athens.
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Political Science
2.0 Political Science Module 2: Origins of Political Thought
Module 2 traces the origins of political thought by following major thinkers who asked foundational questions about truth, justice, power, freedom, law, and government. It begins with classical Greek philosophy through Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, then moves through Christian thinkers such as Augustine and Aquinas, before turning to modern political thinkers like Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu, Rousseau, Adam Smith, Burke, and Mill. Across these sections, the module shows how political thought developed from moral questions about justice and virtue into more practical debates about authority, rights, institutions, liberty, order, and social change.
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1.9 What is Political Socialization?
Political socialization is the process by which individuals learn and develop their political beliefs, values, and attitudes over time.
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1.8 What is Political Culture?
Political culture refers to the shared beliefs, values, attitudes, and expectations that people in a society have about politics and government.
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1.7 What is Political Ideology?
Political ideology is a set of beliefs, values, and ideas about how society should be organized and how power should be used.
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1.6 Postbehavioralism
Postbehavioralism combines empirical research with normative concerns, aiming to make political science both accurate and relevant.
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1.5 Behavioralism
Behavioralism is an approach to political science that focuses on observable behavior, data, and scientific methods to study politics.
1.4 Traditionalism
Traditionalism seeks to understand politics through ideas, history, and philosophy, with an emphasis on ideals rather than observable outcomes.
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1.3 Normative vs Empirical Theory
Normative theory evaluates values. Empirical theory analyzes reality.
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1.2 What is Political Power?
Political power is the ability to influence decisions, shape outcomes, or control the behavior of others within a society or across nations.
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