What follows is a set of twenty key terms in political theory, and their definitions. These definitions were written by the author of this blog, Joe Kopsick, but were based on the contents of a political theory course that was imparted to him at the University of Wisconsin at Madison in the spring of 2009.
The course was taught by Jimmy Casas Klausen, who assigned students works written by Western political theorists throughout history until the present day. These works included Plato's Republic, Sir Thomas More's Utopia, Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince, Hannah Arendt's The Human Condition, and famous works by Aristotle, Marcus Tullius Cicero, Thomas Hobbes, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
Action
Hannah Arendt says that action is an end in
itself and it is the highest mode of activity and creation. She says that freedom
comes through action, that the freedom of action cannot be eliminated, and that we define
and create ourselves through action.
Alexander [the Great]
Alexander was a Macedonian ruler and
a student of Aristotle. Aristotle says that the Athenian polis was brought to an end through
self-corruption, and its goal changed from common interest to profit. Aristotle
believes that Alexander's goodness saved Greece.
Amour Proprie
Rousseau says that amour proprie,
vain self-love, is unnatural, and that vanity arises only in civil society. In vanity, we
empty ourselves of meaning, as meaning and love can only be given to us by other people. He
says that vanity is the cause of dependence, domination, and inequality, and that
man is naturally independent and unselfish.
Chrematistics
Aristotle believes that
chrematistics, the art of acquisition, trade, and exchange, is an unnatural form of acquisition for the
household. He argues that chrematistics makes gains on the exploitation of others. He says
that living well is self-limitation and self-sufficiency without conspicuous consumption.
Collective Deliberation
Aristotle believes that reason that
is agreed on by everyone is more valuable than orthodoxy. He believes that a group of citizens
gathering to combine their competencies and positive qualities will make policies better
than any one person could. Hannah Arendt believes in active citizenship, civic
republicanism, and the value of political association to develop the power of action, deliberation,
and efficacy.
Corpus Mysticum
The corpus mysticum describes
the body politic of the church. The church is the corpus mysticum of Christ, and the people are part of the mystical
body. The church's spiritual head is Christ represented, and its
second spiritual head is the spiritually-ordained king. This puts the state in a lower
position of authority than the church. Hobbes says that the corpus mysticum is an
artificial body, and this is why we are able to take it apart and study it.
Cynics
The Cynics was a school of
philosophy that questioned and rejected every social convention and claim to authority. Cicero
believes they questioned shamelessly and called Cynicism an "anti-tradition."
Cicero believes that indecency and shame can be justified.
Despotism
Rousseau says that despotism is the
unjust rule of one man. He, Aristotle, and Plato agree that despotism is the worst type of
governance. Rousseau says that the farther away we move from the state of nature and from
despotism, the closer we get to perfectibility. He says that between the state
of nature and despotism, there is happiness in "a middle position between... our
primitive state and... egocentrism...”.
Fortuna
Machiavelli says that fortuna
(fate, fortune, luck, or favor), has direct bearing on a ruler's success or failure to maintain power. He
believes that with virtú, one may triumph over fortuna.
Liberality
Liberality is generosity.
Machiavelli warns that excessive generosity may turn government into a slave. Machiavelli says that
generosity should be practiced virtuously, and not known about. Cicero believes that
generosity helps to build a network of friends, and that a man should measure his actions by
honorableness rather than by his own advantages.
Maieutics
Maieutics is the belief that the
truth is latent in the human mind. Plato says that Socratic maieutics resembles obstetrics. Thus,
Socrates is the "midwife of reason," and his dialectical method is the obstetrics that
gives birth to logos.
Matter in Motion
"Matter in Motion"
is an individual driven by a passion. For Hobbes, the individual is the principal unit of analysis,
and thus the matter of political science. He says that the decay of sense is an obscuring of
motion made in sense.
Nonsenso, Raphael
Raphael Nonsenso is a
character in Thomas More's Utopia. He is a philosopher whom has seen the world as a sailor. He
describes Utopia as the happiest society. He is a representation of Thomas More and his opinions.
Oikos
The oikos is the private
realm of the household, and the polis is the public realm of the political community. Aristotle believes
that wealth and trade are associated with the household economy, and that it is wise to
make a distinction between expertise in household management and expertise in business
management. Hannah Arendt agrees that matters of labor and economy belong to the
oikos. She believes that the rise of the social has destroyed the political by
subordinating the public realm of human freedom to the concerns of mere animal necessity.
[Note: oikos is the root of the word "economy".]
Perfectibility
Rousseau says that perfectibility is
the characteristic of man that desires self improvement. Perfectibility and reason allow men
to evolve, and modern day culture was brought about by perfectibility. Men improve
upon themselves by having a capacity for change which allows them to be molded to fit
their environment. Perfectibility becomes possible when people move away from the state of
nature and from despotism.
Plurality
Plurality is a condition that
preserves unity without being detrimental to either liberty or uniqueness, Hannah Arendt wants the
polis to be an artifact of uniqueness, She says that the rise of the social is bad.
Aristotle agrees, and also says that the household must be distinct from the whole of society.
Sovereignty
Sovereignty is political authority
within a territory. Hobbes believes that sovereignty is unconditional, absolute, and
irrevocable. He believes that the sovereign must be separate from the people in order to
prevent civil war. Rousseau believes that the sovereign and the people should be one and the
same, in order for there to be common happiness.
State of Nature
The state of nature is a state of
anarchy that existed before the rule of law, and before the state had a monopoly on force. The
natural condition of mankind, according to Hobbes, is a state of war in which life is
"solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short" because individuals are in a "war of all against
all". Rousseau believes that natural man is gentle, timid, piteous, non-confrontational, and amoral.
Telos
Teleology is the study of ends. It
is the belief that the essence of something is found in the thing into which it grows. The
telos is the purpose, goal, or end. Aristotle said that the telos of man is to be happy and to
live well and live justly. He also says that living happily requires living a life of virtue.
[Note: To read "The Squirrel and the Acorn", a short essay that I wrote in May 2009 about teleology and political science, please visit the following link:
http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-squirrel-and-acorn.html]
Three Causes of Quarrel
According to Hobbes, the
three causes of quarrel are competition, diffidence, and glory. Men quarrel for gain, safety, and
reputation. He says that in anarchy, these three quarrels lead to a state of war. Rousseau says
that competition does not occur in a state of plenty. Aristotle says that diffidence occurs
when people act out of fear of aggression and seek retribution. Hobbes believes that glory is
exclusive pride for oneself, one's family, or one's homeland.
Author's Note:
To read another glossary - or "encyclopedia" - of political theory terms, which I devised by myself, please visit the following link, and read my August 2018 article titled "Encyclopedia of Economic Systems and Key Terms in Political Theory":
http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2018/08/encyclopedia-of-economic-systems-and.html
Notes taken in May 2009
First published to this blog on August 3rd, 2021
Introduction and notes in brackets written on August 3rd, 2021
