PSIR Test 01 Model Answers

(Q1) Discuss in details the distinction between political thought, political theory, political
ideology & Political science.
• A distinction can be made between political theory and similar terms such as political
thought, political ideology and political science, though they’re mostly used inter
changeably.
• Political theory implies an intellectual effort to attain a systematic knowledge about
the ends and means of political action. It is a set of specified concepts that focus to
describe, explain and predict political processes, events and institutions.
Political theory & Political science
• The differentiation between political theory and political science arises because of the
general shift in intellectual perceptions brought about by modern science. Political
science has tried to provide plausible generalizations and laws about politics and
political behavior. On the other hand, political theory reflects upon political
phenomenon, processes and institutions and on actual behavior by subjecting it to
philosophical/ethical criterion.
• However, Andrew Hacker, in his work, ‘political Theory: Philosophy, ideology,
science’ (1961), points to the dual nature of political theory. According to him, every
political theorist has a dual role of a scientist as well as of a philosopher.
• According to Hacker, in the realm of science, political theory uses the empirical
approach to describe & explain the realities of political behavior. Its object is to
obtain reliable knowledge about facts and give explanation of political events.
Behavioral approach, given by Robert Dahl, exemplifies the scientific approach to the
study of politics.
Political theory and Ideologies
• Political ideology is a systematic and all embracing doctrine, which attempts to give
a complete and universally applicable theory of human nature and society along with
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a detailed programme of attaining it. John Locke is known as the father of modern
ideologies.
• However, Hacker particularly emphasizes on the need to distinguish political theory
from ‘ideology’. According to him, a theory, whether it takes the character of science
or philosophy, must be ‘dispassionate’ and ‘disinterested’. He argues that when a
theorist has no personal interest in any political arrangement, his vision of reality and
his image of good life will not be clouded. On the contrary to a theorist, an ideologue
is an interested party with an intention either to defend the things or they are or to
criticize the status quo in the hope that a new distribution of power will come into
being. In a nutshell, all ideologies are based towards partisan ends. When theory is
clouded by ideology, it is bound to be distorted which could obstruct the search for
truth.
Political theory and Political thought
• Political theory is sometimes synonymously regarded with political thought and
political philosophy is used interchangeably. However, some commentators tend to
distinguish between these terms.
• ‘Political thought’ is considered to be a generalized term which comprises all
thoughts, theories and values of a person or a group of persons or a community as a
whole. One important aspect of political thought is that it is considered to be time &
space bound nature, which means that belief structures or thought have a specific
social origin.
• On the other hand, political theory, unlike thought, refers to the speculation by a single
theorist usually articulated as systematic logical hypothesis advanced as models of
explanation.
• It is in this context, Barker had commented that while political thought is the immanent
philosophy of a whole age, political theory, on the other hand, is the speculation of a
particular thinker.
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(2a) Write short note on Socrates ‘Theory of Knowledge’.

Context of the theory- Socrates was against the type of knowledge which was being
imparted in Athens by Sophists. Sophists were charging money and transferred the
education as a business for making money. They weren’t doing justice to their task.
• In this context, Socrates propounded his theory of knowledge and emphasized its
importance, not in material terms (as was done by sophists), but philosophically.
• According to Socrates, ‘Knowledge is virtue’. It means knowledge is the source of
good life. He proposed that there’s an objective good to be known about life, which
could be known only be reasoning & logical investigation and not by intuition. In this
line, he argued that ‘an unexamined life is not worth living’.
• Socrates, while envisaging his theory of knowledge, also preached about what kind of
knowledge one should try to achieve and how. According to him, one should know
what constitute a good life. The argued that the real knowledge is inherent in human
soul, which tells us what should be done and what shouldn’t be. However, one could
listen to one’s soul only by developing reason through dialectics (or logical
argumentation).

(2b) Influence of Socrates on Plato.

• The Socratic influence on Plato has been well defined by Prof. Maxey who argued that
in Plato, Socrates lived again.
• Plato considered himself as the discipline of Socrates, whom he considered to be the
wisest man on the earth. Socrates was Plato’s hero, the character from whose mouth
Plato spoke for both himself and the master, especially in his book ‘Republic’. It is
believed that whatever we know about Socrates is only through Plato dialogue.
• Socrates influences on Plato is evident in three main forms—
(i) Socrates’ theory of knowledge—According to Sabine, the fundamental idea of the
Republic came to Plato in the form of his master’s doctrine that ‘knowledge is virtue’.
Plato gave his teacher’s doctrine a prime place is his philosophy.
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(ii) Socrates’ method of dialectic—Plato adopted the Socratic methodology of dialectic

(or dialogue) in propounding his philosophy.
(iii) The events in the life of Socrates—when Socrates was ordered to drink poison, at
that time, it was democratic system in Athens. Plato’s hatred for democracy is linked
to this event in life of Socrates.
• However, apart from Socrates, there were other influences on Plato in the form of
scholars like Pythagoras, Heraclitus and Parmenides.

(3) ‘The fundamental issue of Republic is the discovery of the nature and habitation of
justice’. Comment.
• Plato has been regarded as the founder of philosophical idealism by virtue of his
attempts to conceptualize the disorders & crises of the actual world and presented a
vision of desirable socio-political order.
• In his work, ‘Republic’, Plato’s greatest work, he has attempted to establish the
philosophical tradition of justice, and in doing so, he set forth his conception of an
‘Ideal state’. His book explored the notion of justice and its realization within the
individual & state.
• The idea of justice has been the core concern of the subject of political philosophy
from Plato to Marx, Marx to Rawls and Rawls to Amartya Sen. Plato, who has been
regarded as the founder of philosophical idealism has discussed the idea of justice in
depth.
• During, his days in competence & factionalism, unrighteousness and injustice
regional supreme. Thus, Plato was keen to find out solution to all these socio-political
evils and in the conception of justice; he found the sustainable remedy of curing these
evils. Therefore, the primary issue of Plato’s Republic is the discovery of the true
nature of justice. The Republic, thus, is called a treatise concerning justice. According
to E. Barker the Republic in Greek meant ‘justice’ and shouldn’t be understood in its
Latin sense meaning ‘the state or the polity’.
• Plato’s main purpose was the substitution of a true conception of justice for the false
views, which common error & sophistic teachings had contrived to spread. According
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to Barker, whether Plato is combating the sophists or reforming the society, justice
forms the central port of his thought.
• In the process of construction of his conception of justice, Plato critically examined
contemporary views on justice and then defined his concept.
• Having rejected the various theories of justice, Plato propounds his own theory of
justice. The following are some of the characteristics of Platonic justice—
(i) Conception of justice is based on the principle of functional-specialization & non-
interference.
(ii) It is based on the principle of peace & harmony.
(iii) Justice is a quality of human soul and, thus, internal.
(iv) Just as the justice of the state is the due performance of the duties of each class, the
justice of the individual means the due performance by each of the three elements of
appetite, spirit and reason within their proper limits.
• In this way, in dealing with the question of achieving justice in society, Plato’s
‘Republic’ focused on other inter related themes like right kind of life, nature of human
beings, purpose of political life, ideal type of political system, need for good rulers
and nature of knowledge. Therefore, According to Plato, other virtues can flourish
only when they’re preserved by justice. It is in this context Barker commented that the
entire Plato’s thought is hinged around the concept of justice.

(4) ‘Both the communism of property and the families tend to make them more truly
guardians’ –Plato. Critically analyze.
• Plato, who is considered as the founder of philosophical idealism, was mainly
concerned with making Athens an ‘Ideal state’. His theory of ‘Philosopher guardian/
ruler’ is the linchpin of his conception of ideal state. It was derived from the conviction
that only the philosopher has the knowledge, intellect and training to govern.
According to Plato, a philosopher by his grasp of the idea of ‘Good’ was the best
qualified to rule, implying that a philosopher would be able to administer perfect
justice and act for the good of the community.
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• Plato’s theory of communism of property and wives is considered as a supplementary

machinery to give effect and to reinforce the spirit, which education has to create, of
philosopher ruler/guardian.
• Plato’s communism takes two forms- The first is the prohibition of private property,
whether houses or land or money, to the rulers. According to Plato, this is important
because as property/wealth ultimately leads to corruption, there should be no
economic motives as far as the rulers are concerned.
• The second is the abolition of a permanent monogamous sexual relation or institution
of marriage/wives.
• According to Dunning, as private property and family relationships appear to be the
chief sources of dissension in every community neither is to have recognition in the
perfect state. According to Sabine, Plato’s argument for communism of property and
families is the purpose to secure the unity of the state and this property and marriage
must go. He argues that Plato considered property and family relationships as potent
rival to the state in competing for the loyalty of rulers.
• However, Plato’s plan of communism has been denounced by many, including his
discipline Aristotle and scholars like Karl Popper on following grounds—
(i) Communism of wives and property, According to Aristotle, was bound to create
confusion.
(ii) Common children would tend to be neglected, for everybody’s child would be
nobody’s child.
(iii) The whole scheme of communism is too rigid, strict and stringent.
(iv) Plato’s theory of communism is too idealistic, utopian and Accordingly, far away from
the realities of life.

(5) ‘Absence of any adventures spirit, the polity is almost a perfect epitome of Aristotle’s
ethical-political position’ – (Sibley). Elucidate.
• Aristotle has been regarded as the ‘Father of political Science’ as he was the first to
analyze, critically and systematically, the subject matter of politics and identified its
core elements such as sovereignty of law, constitutionalism, theory of revolution etc.
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• On the basis of his study of 158 constitutions, Aristotle has given a classification which
became a guide for all the subsequent philosophers who ventured to classify
governments. Aristotle’s main focus was on the best practicable state/constitution.
• In his classification, monarchy or the rule of the philosopher king is the b est but not
the best practicable as the practical form of monarchy will be tyranny, which he
consider to be the worst form of government.
• According to Aristotle, the best practicable state is one in which middle class rule in
the interest of people, which he referred to as ‘polity’ or ‘constitutional government’.
It represents the golden mean, obviating the extreme tendencies within oligarchic and
democratic systems. Democracy is extreme as it is the rule of too many which means
rule of ignorant & poor. On the other hand, the extreme tendency in the oligarchic
system is due to the fact that it is a rule of rich and thus, bound to be unstable as poors
will be conspiring against rich.
• Therefore, from the viewpoint of stability, it was necessary, According to Aristotle, to
enlarge a group that was neither rich nor poor, namely ‘middle class’. The rich
enjoyed great benefits and privileges, but were unwilling to accept discipline. The
poor, because of their deprivation, locked spirit and enthusiasm. Therefore, the middle
class constituted the mean in the social structure, not only balancing the oligarchic
and democratic elements, but also mixing them in the right proportion so as to ensure
stability. The larger the middle class, the greater the possibility of tranquility and
stability in the state.
• Therefore, ‘polity’ that combined oligarchic and democratic characteristics was the
best form of government and was the best way of preventing revolutions & violent
changes. It is in this context, sibley argued that the ‘polity’ reflects a kind of
condensation of his practical political wisdom and is a perfect epitome of his ethical-
political position.
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(6) ‘Neither his cynicism nor his praise of craftiness is sufficient to conceal the idealist
in him’ (Laski). Critically examine.
• Machiavelli, in the west, represents the first clear departure from idealism and
morality and, thus, the first modern political thinker reflecting the spirit of
Renaissance.
• Machiavelli’s “prince’ is the product of the prevailing conditions of his time. As such,
it is not an academic treatise or value-oriented political philosophy, it is ‘real-politik’.
It is a memorandum on the art of government & statecraft, is pragmatic in character
and provides technique of the fundamental principles of statecraft for a successful
ruler ship.
• Writing at a time of political chaos, unification of the country (i.e., Italy) became the
chief objective for Machiavelli. Stability of the country and the common good
remained the core theme of Machiavelli’s writings. He saw stable political authority
and order as necessary for social cohesion & moral regenerations. It was for this
reason that he stressed the need for a unified polity, and a republican and free
government committed to the liberty of its people. Therefore, he cherished republic
liberty, but was aware of the danger tyranny posed, admist the chaos of free institution
as he has been taught by grim experience that power is the price of liberty. So that all
which stands in the way of realizing power, and maintaining it, he puts on one side.
• It is in this context, Laski argues that Machiavelli attempts to achieve the objective of
a united and renovated Italy with all his heart, which is a recognition of an idealist in
him.

(7) ‘Machiavelli was perhaps too practical to be philosophically profound’ –Sabine.

Comment.
• According to Lerner, the whole drift of Machiavelli’s work is towards a political
realism, unknown to the formal writings of his time. He, thus, represents the first
modern political thinker reflecting the spirit of Renaissance.
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• Unlike traditional political theory, which contended that ethical conduct was
desirable for it would bring about moral elevation, Machiavelli was too realistic to
overlook the irony of the political situation. He held that in politics, it wasn’t possible
to assess the effect of a virtuous or a wicked act.
• Deviating from medieval principles, Machiavelli suggested that politics is different
from religion/ethics as it is management of power. In addition, he argued that the
prince will be judged by the ends he achieved. As end will justify the means to be
employed, prime shouldn’t suffer from dilemma in opting the means. In this context, it
has been argued that Machiavelli rejected traditional ethics or preaching about fullest
moral development of political men, and was mainly concerned with acquisition &
extension of powers & territories.
• Machiavelli’s attitude to religion and morality made him highly controversial. Strauss
characterized him as a teacher of evil. In this context, Sabine argues that his character
& true meaning of his philosophy has been one of the enigmas of modern history. He
argued that though Machiavelli has been described as a cynic, an impassionate
patriot, an ardent nationalist etc, none of these gives a complete picture of
Machiavelli.
• In this context, while analyzing his thoughts, Sabine argued that Machiavelli’s thought
is a result of a wide range of political observations and, thus, is too practical &
empirical. On the other hand, According to Prof. Maxey, Machiavelli’s passion for
the practical as against the theoretical did much to rescue political thought from the
scholaristic obscurantism of middle Ages.

(8) ‘What effectively distinguishes the citizen from all others is his participation in
judgment and authority i.e., holding office legal, political…!’- Aristotle. In the light of
the above statement, critically examine the relevance of Aristotle’s ‘Theory of citizenship’
in present times.
• Aristotle placed the theme of citizenship at the centre of his political analysis because
of his belief in a law-based government. This was contrary to Plato, who ignored the
issue and placed greater faith on philosophical rule.
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• Aristotle defined a state as a collective body of ‘citizens’, whom he defined as one who
enjoyed the right to share in the deliberative or judicial offices, and was able to
exercise his political rights effectively. Based on the traditional Greek ideal of
constitutional rule of participation by the citizens in the deliberative functions of the
state, Aristotle has focused on the substantive or functional aspect of the concept of
citizenship, rather than on formal-legal status. According to Aristotle, citizenship is a
duty/responsibility based concept. For Aristotle, a citizen was one who shared power
in the ‘polis’ and, unlike Plato, didn’t distinguish between an ‘active ruling group and
a politically passive community’.
• For Aristotle, young and the old cannot be citizens, for one is immature and other
weak or feeble. he didn’t regard women as citizens, for they lacked the deliberative
faculty and the leisure to understand the working of politics. Therefore, a woman’s
rightful place is her house or private realm because of her abilities as a wife, mother
and householder. Using the criterion of reason, he also ruled out slaves and workers.
Thus, for Aristotle, only natural born adult male possessing property qualifies to be
citizen as he possess the intelligence and abilities to rule and be ruled and thus, can
devote himself to the tasks & responsibilities of citizenship.
• Aristotle’s theory of slavery and citizenship has been criticized of being too narrow
and unsustainable & outdated conception in the present day of democracy.