<p>Hey all. I was just wondering how much this class is like a political science class. I know that political philosophy raises questions like "What are freedom and justice?" But do you go into how different kinds of governments operate? Basically, is it more a philosophy class or a political science class?</p>
<p>it’s under the philosophy department so it’s safe to say it’s more of a philosophy class. you’ll probably be learning about the philosophical questions i politics like “why should the few govern the many?” etc.</p>
<p>I’ve never taken the class, but my brother (who’s a history major) had to take a similar class like this. You read people like thomas hobbes (who’s one of the leading figures in political philosophy) and learn about things like the social contract. You might also read stuff on mill’s utilitarianism, or his On Liberty. You might even get into the republic.</p>
<p>I took Poli Sci 10, which is Political Theory. The required readings tend to be similar, and the PS class was very philosophical. You should expect the philosophy class to be philosophical too.</p>
<p>It’s probably going to be like Poli Sci 10.</p>
<p>It technically is “political science” because it is about government, but it isn’t about government in the sense of democracy, monarchy, liberty, etc. Well it is actually…TECHNICALLY.</p>
<p>You’ll probably be reading books by Locke, Rousseau, Hobbes, etc.</p>
<p>If you’ve ever read anything about Socrates or read books like The Social Contract and Leviathan, then that is pretty much what the class is about.</p>
<p>I took it a few years ago. Can’t remember the professor’s name, but we read Mills, Rawls, and one other philosopher. The class really focused on what justice is, and what mechanisms must exist for it to be protected. As far as I can remember, there was no discussion about different kinds of governments.</p>