1

+-CONSTRUCTION

DECONSTRUCTION: To break-down ideas, concepts collection of ideas,

normative assumptions, paradigms and world-views.
RECONSTRUCTION: To re-assemble those constituents (piece of part of
something) and understand them both individually and collectively.

KEY TERMS

Ideas building blocks of a belief

Concepts a collection of ideas to form theories
Normative assumptions the normal way that someone views their
environment.
Paradigms a collection of normative assumptions
Worldview the overall perspective towards life and the universe

POLITICS

POLITICS IS ABOUT HUMAN INTERACTION

POLITICAL THOUGHT IS HOW THAT HUMAN INTERACTION TAKES PLACE

WESTERN & EASTERN THOUGHT

Western Political and Social thought has a tendency to emphasize separation,

compartmentalization, closed, separate and distinct spaces.
Islamic Political and Social thought encourages a unity albeit with distinct and
inter-connected spheres

Thomas Hobbes THE misery of the natural condition of

mankind

ARTICLE BRIEF

EQUALITY

Ability

Hope

Mind

COMPETITION

Struggle for the same things

GAIN

DIFFIDENCE

Insecurity

Safety

GLORY

Reputation

EQUALS TO = STATE OF WAR

MISERY

1.1 Hobbes: begins with a basic idea then develops that idea into a
series of beliefs about human nature and our social environment.
Emphasizes the equality of men. A gun the Great equalizer.
1.2 Infallible rules, called science Infallible means perfect. Wherever
there is room for human intervention, there can be a mistake.
1.3 Domination of one man over another is necessary condition in
human nature and this should be allowed- a general belief Is that
two men who desire the same thing will become enemies if
both cannot enjoy it
1.4 KEY IDEAS: In human nature we find three principal causes of people
fighting one another. Competition makes people fight, invade or
attack for gain, Diffidence (Insecurity) makes someone fight for
SAFETY, GLORY- makes someone fight for reputation.
1.5 The notion of time is to be considered the notion of war
1.6 pre-emptive strike meaning I hit you before I give you the potential to
become a threat to me.
1.7 Where there is no common power, there is no law: where no law, no
injustice. Force, fraud are wars two cardinal virtues
1.8 no propriety, no domination, no mine and thine distinct; but only that
to be every mans that he can get
1.9 These articles, are they, which otherwise are called the Laws of
Nature.

Persian Letters, which criticized the lifestyle and liberties of the wealthy
French as well as the church
Persian kings were seeking luxury (huge monuments, huge buildings) //
crisis during the Persian king time when they wanted everything for show
or design
Persian Letters criticized the lifestyle and liberties of the wealthy French
as well as the church
Luxury can lead to weakness (you dont become resilient, you become
dependent)
MONTESQUIEU
Separation of powers:
According to Montesquieu there were three types of governments
monarchy (ruled by king or queen), Republic (ruled by an elected
leader), Despotism (ruled by a dictator)
He believed that the best type of government was the government
elected by the people. As long as people are involved in some sort of
relationship with their leaders and thats why democracy was
successful
Connection to their leadership
An important factor in this relationship is the separation of powers
Separate powers between three groups
Montesquieu gave a good example of the separation of powers with
England as an example
King (who enforced laws), Parliament (which made laws), Judges of
English courts (who interpreted laws)

KIN
G
PARLIAME
NT
JUDGES OF THE ENGLISH
COURT

MONTESQUIEU When the [law making] and [law enforcement]

powers are united in the same personthere can be no liberty.
Concept that justice is productivity
The more just you will be, the more money will flow

 If you trust your financial institutions (bank) and place money in a

bank, the government can invest those funds into the economy,
infrastructure, new technology
More justice brings more economic prosperity
Each branch of power limits the power of the other two and this
became the basis of US constitution
BARON DE MONTESQUIEU
Invariable laws meaning unchangeable laws
Too much intelligence leads to humans wanting to transgress (break) the
laws prescribed by God
He was not secular in his perspective about laws
Human being is finite, limited in his intelligence (they think they are clever
enough to break the laws set in place by God)
Because he is a limited being, he is likely to make mistakes and even his
perfect knowledge he loses (humans that is)
We are lead to error because of our false sense of complete knowledge
Philosophy forget himself
Forget God religion
Law forget others
Understand human beings alone as a separate entity prior to
understanding them in society
Important sheikh
(1) Know yourself (2) know god (3) know your responsibilities (4) know
forgiveness

How will you discover the will of God when you reject the church?
The church was the House of morality in French society
They studied the universe, they felt b studying the universe you can
discover Gods worth
Analysis and examination of what would make a good society can help
humans know Gods will
How did European scholars discover the will of God when they rejected the
will of god? (question for exam) answers are above two dot points
Two ways of discovering the will of god through your heart and mind
through the scientific method research, evidence (study of universe
through the scientific method)
A human would think of the preservation of his being before he would
investigate its origin
The human would feel fear
With fear there would be no danger of attacking one another as everyone
is terrified because both individuals may feel inferior to one another,
they may choose to cooperate (thus peace would be the first law of
nature)

FIRST LAW: PEACE AS A RESULT OF FEAR

Quotes Hobbes in work

Obvious mistake Hobbes makes is that he is describing human beings
alone in the jungle as if they are in society and these are not the first
things to happen, lack of evidence in Hobbes argument
Both Hobbes and Montesquieu have different intentions
Second law: is for mankind to seek out nourishment (wants and needs)
(sustenance)
Third law: inclination towards another being (when youre intimidated by
an individual you may choose to befriend them)

FOUR LAWS OF NATURE:

1. Fear, because of insecurity, leads to Peace.
2. Survival, seeking nourishment.
3. Cooperation, aim for unity
4. Creation of society, loses sense of weakness, begins to acquire knowledge.
CONCLUSION: Knowledge creates the State of War.

Savage is only rarely used for men. It is only negative. Can refer to
animals.
Opposites: Noble and Savage
He criticises all philosophers before. He claims they talk about the alone
men in jungle in terms of freedom, fear, inequality and justice/injustice
None of them have shown how those ideas develop. How does the idea
that youre free form? How does the idea of whats just or unjust develop?

He does not look at the noble avage as a savage. Is talking about these people
how people would talk about these people in society (Europeans would consider
non-Caucasians as savages). He uses that description but calls them noble
savages.
He flips it
Lets not confuse the people we have in front of us with whats alone in the
jungle
-

Interesting insight: he uses the term nature as a reference to GOD. (nature

is GOD)
Words can be sued in many different ways in English
Nature replaces the idea of god
Nature is feminine (her)
Nature knows how to raise its children
Nature knows whats best for us

Example of the horse, cat, bull any animal that is big has more strength
when they are raised in the wild than when they are raised in stables
Domestication can also apply to people
Youre changing the nature of something into something else
Can you really domesticate certain animals??
By dressing pets, you deprave them means make them lower than their
real value. It means to make them worse.
Being in the wild has its advantages, people will become tougher and
stronger
Love provided to domesticated pets is depraving them of their real value
In the same way that animals are spoiled when they are domesticated,
human beings are spoiled too
However there is a difference, the manner in which men become worse
and that is the manner in which we indulge, treat and paper ourselves
Deeper problem within the human being is that we pamper OURSELVES
Waste and luxury is destructive to the European society
Deception of luxury that there is this initial comfort that is good in the
beginning but over self-indulgence is bad
(important to remember the above few points)
He is addressing European scholars and states that Europeans look at
Africans and other races as savages just because they lack luxuries
But really the other races are MORE NOBLE as they are not over indulging
in luxuries
If luxuries were necessary, then men in the jungle would not have survived
The two fears of man are pain and suffering NOT DEATH
Russo argues that Hobbes is incorrect in saying that human beings want to
dominate. humans are neutral
Main idea/focus: there is one point we should not forget There is a
principle that Hobbes forgot man is a creature with an ego. There is a
quality to lessen the ego. Before the human wants to protect himself, selfpreservation, survival. Even before a man thinks about nourishing himself,
there is one idea that is inexplicably human is the disgust (repugnance)
when you see someone suffer (that is human. The more you can see
someone suffering, the more human you are) COMPASSION
According to Russo there is one natural virtue, a quality we are made out
of is compassion.
(Mistake in Russos analysis this is a quality of goodness, Russo said
humans are neutral. But Russo did say that humans feel it but as to
whether compassion is good or bad is dependent on the education of the
human)
Russo argues that he is not afraid of the contradiction against his own
argument
There is no state of war but a state of compassion (the less compassion a
society has, the more sick it will become.)
The jungle is not a jungle at all (contrary to the image people associate
with the jungle)
A close view of the jungle shows that the animals are compassionate
(horses are reluctant to trample on human bodies)
Survival is not the whole experience of the jungle, it is a part of it
An animal passing the corpse of another animal pause (ants carry or eat
the body but they dont leave it lying around)

The purest emotion is compassion. The worst human being has not
succeeded in destroying compassion.
A society that reflects this moral is more civil
Restaurant example, noble savage. Nobility disappears the closer you get
to the city.

a) Survival of the fittest

Survival of the fittest because of their ability to dominate others, those

individuals with a killer instinct become survival of the fittest
Charles Darwin British scholar
An individual in a tribe with a higher standard of morality compared to
anyone else does not make a difference (only slight advantage, it will
make no major difference in society)
Patriotism, fidelity, obedience, courage and sympathy are qualities that
make the criteria for natural selection (power of the character)
The fittest is the one possessing the characteristics listed above
The weaponry and technology does not make a person the fittest
(according to Darwin)
There is a psyche is people that diversity is a blessing
The strength of an individuals character determines whether they are the
fittest
A team that works together will be difficult to beat
a society focused on ego will not benefit anyone
Throughout human history the nations hat rise do so on a clear basis of
morality
What is the process of natural selection according to Darwin? (possible
question in finals)
The idea of natural selection according to the person who coined the
term
Connection between time and political theory
Time: deals with both life and death
We can only see because of Time
The concept of death in Muslim society : Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said
that a believer must think of death 27 times a day
In ancient Japanese classic : The Code of the Samurai, time includes a
constant remembrance of death
Three things for a samurai one think about death, second be loyal and
third being learning how to properly respect our parents
This way you will avoid evils in life. Keep yourself free from disease.
Difference in eastern and western approaches to health (western
medicine, eastern spiritual drink tea, mediation) If you are not loyal you
cannot be physically strong as you are spiritually sick which increases your

chances of becoming physically sick. (Eastern way of thinking) Muslim

society draws parallel to Japanese way of thinking
There are 3 classes (warrior, farmers and business men), and the samurai
stands on top

The word apologise can have many negative connotations

makes the weaker speech stronger manipulation- you make the LIE
more acceptable than the TRUTH
Know the real meaning of apology
Although there is no harm in it, Socrates argues that he does not profit
from educating people
Only god is wise, human wisdom is worth little
Know the three things Socrates was accused for (in final exams)
Socrates blames everyone of corrupting the youth

Alternative tile or, on what is to be done?

Crito means to discern (distinguish) and judge
Story takes place inside Socrates prison cell. Crito visits Socrates to
convince him to escape
Dont do anything wrong knowingly