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Government Philosophy

The concepts of political philosophy and political science have been examined for centuries, and evidence suggests that these subjects have evolved to include new theories and ideas that have been tested over time by the most prolific experts, including Plato and Aristotle, to name a few.  Although these two topics are used interchangeably throughout literature and in discussions, they are distinct from each other in some ways.  Therefore, a discussion of these topics requires a separation in order to identify their unique components and objectives.  The following evaluation will identify the differences between political philosophy and political science, and will discuss the theories of Plato and Aristotle, identifying their roles in history as political philosophers or political scientists.

            The role of political philosophy in ancient as well as modern society is to identify various theories that encompass the many beliefs regarding the role of politics in the thought process (Academics.vmi.edu).  The primary theories of political philosophy include the following: 1) Libertarianism; 2) Socialism; 3) Liberalism; and 4) Communitarianism (Academics.vmi.edu).  These very diverse principles define a number of unique objectives regarding the importance of politics to the human mind and belief system.

     On the contrary, political science is not correlated to philosophy in any way, as it serves as the area of social science that examines politics (Resnik).  This area of social science evaluates the political system through such key strategies as survey instruments and statistical processes in order to identify various variables and components (Resnik).  Although many individuals might utilize these two concepts interchangeably, they are quite distinct from one another in that political philosophy employs beliefs and values, while political science utilizes statistics and other analytical methods to extract data (Resnik). 

     Aristotle is generally considered as a political philosopher, as his beliefs regarding politics are largely influenced by his own thoughts and belief system (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy).  In this context, Aristotle is one of the key thinkers regarding politics in history, and his beliefs encompass a variety of issues that are critical to the study of politics as a whole.  His primary emphasis evaluated the city-state and its relevance to the political machine, and he also described the utilization of a constitution by a city-state as a key method of rule (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy).

     On the contrary, Plato was the first person ever to coin the term “political science” as a means by which males were provided instruction in order to participate in the public affairs process (Bullen).  Furthermore, Plato provided his own sense of understanding of political science when he sought to describe how individuals cannot rule on their own, and that they require some sense of direction from other people in order to survive (Bullen).  Since it is not possible to ever avoid the context of political sovereignty, Plato believed that it was best for human beings to accept these political ideals, and that they were comprised of any number of important issues that warranted further discussion (Bullen).  Furthermore, it is estimated that citizens of any given area will be best supported if they learn how to provide a contribution to the political process, so that it is not exclusively organized by a specific group of individuals, without any input from others that seek to maintain an understanding of this process and its relevancy to their own lives (Bullen).  In essence, political science is a product of a highly organized political system, and this provides benefits to those residing within a given area or region.

Works Cited

Bullen, Paul. “The Concept of Political Science in Plato

And Aristotle.” 13 December 2004: http://paul.bullen.com/Bullenplatonicpolisci.html

Political Philosophy. 13 December 2004: http://academics.vmi.edu/psy_dr/political_philosophy.htm

Resnik, David B. “Some Definitions of Key Ethics Concepts.”  13 December 2004: http://www.scicom.lth.se/fmet/ethics_03.html

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. “Aristotle’s Political Theory.” 13 December 2004: http://members.tripod.com/~batesca/aristotle.html

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