POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY AND POLITICAL SCIENCE
CONTENTS 1.0 Introduction 2.0 Objectives 3.0 Main Content
3.1 Distinction between Political Theory and Political Thought, Political Philosophy and Political Science
3.2 Approaches to Study of Political Theory 4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment 7.0 References/Further Reading
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Political theory is largely an attempt to seek the truth as the thinker sees it and it is usually expressed through a treatise such as Plato’s Republic, Aristotle’s Politics, Hobbes’ Leviathan, or Rawls’ Theory of Justice.
Political theory contains an explanation of man, society and history, focusing on the sources of conflict in the society and how they can be resolved.
2.0 OBJECTIVES
By the end of this unit, you should be able to:
discuss the distinction between political theory and political thought, political philosophy and political science
identify approaches to the study of political theory.
3.0 MAIN CONTENT
3.1 Distinction between Political Theory and Political Thought, Political Philosophy and
Political Science
Political Theory and Political Thought
Political theory is sometimes synonymously regarded with political thought but it is important to understand they don’t necessarily mean the same thing. Political thought is a generalized term which comprises all thoughts, theories and values of a person or a group of persons or a community who think and write on the day-to-day activities, policies and decisions of the state, and which has a bearing on our present living. These persons can be philosophers, writers, journalists, poets, political commentators etc.
Political thought has no ‘fixed’ form and can be in the form of a treatise, speeches, political commentaries etc. What is important about political thought is that it is time-bound since the policies and programs of the governments change from time to time. Thus there exists the Greek thought or Roman thought of ancient period or the political thought of the medieval ages. While political thought is the immanent philosophy of a whole age, political theory is the speculation of a particular thinker. While political thought is implicit and immersed in the stream of vital action, political theory is explicit and may be detached from the political reality of a particular period (Mukhi, 2010).
Political Theory and Political Philosophy
Philosophy is all thinking really on anything and everything in search of the truth and wisdom. It is called the science of wisdom; wisdom about this world, man or God. This wisdom is all-inclusive and tries to explain everything. When this wisdom is applied to the study of political phenomena or the state, it is called political philosophy. Political philosophy belongs to the category of normative political theory. It is concerned with not only explaining what is but also what ought to be.
When this search is on political topics, we call it political philosophy.
Hence it may not necessarily have a theory to propose (Adam, 2002).
Though political theory deals with the same issues as political philosophy, it can explain them both from philosophical as well as empirical points of view. In other words, while political philosophy is abstract or speculative, political theory can be both normative and empirical. However, we must not forget that though we can analytically distinguish between philosophy and theory, yet if political theory is separated from political philosophy, its meaning will appear distorted and it will prove barren and irrelevant.
Theory must be supplemented by philosophy (Das, 2006).
Political Theory and Political Science
As a discipline, political science is much more comprehensive and includes different forms of speculation in politics such as political thought, political theory, political philosophy, political ideology, institutional or structural framework, comparative politics, public administration, international law and organizations etc. Political theory was made one of the subfields of political science. While Political theory is not only concerned about the behavioural study of the political phenomena from an empirical point of view but also prescribing the goals which states, governments, societies and citizens ought to pursue.
Political theory also aims to generalize about the right conduct in political life and about the legitimate use of power.
Thus, political theory is neither pure thought, nor philosophy, nor science.
While it draws heavily from all of them, yet it is distinct from them.
Contemporary political theory is trying to attempt a fusion between political philosophy and political science (Mukherejee & Ramaswamy, 2011).
3.2 Approaches to Political Theory
When we talk about the approaches to analysing political theory, we are simply referring to the method of analyzing a text in political theory.
There are many methods of analysing of political theory, but the two basic methods are; the Textualist approach and Contextualist approach.
The textualist approach has been dominant since 1945. The main thrust of this approach is that political theory text can be studied without reference to their historical context. It is considered as a sub-category of philosophy with its central concern on the clarification of concepts used in political discourse and debate and also to critically examine and evaluate political beliefs and principles. The textualists think that though, historical understanding of the milieu in which these texts have originated may give us some insights; they do not play a central role in interpreting them (Heywood, 1999).
The contextualists, on the other hand, posit that a mere textual approach is inherently weak as it overlooks the historical background, the purpose, motivation and intention of writing the text. The approach emphasizes that political theory itself has a history. That every text is the result of the conscious effort of the authors, therefore, to ignore the historical context could lead to an error in interpreting and understanding the text (Mukherjee & Ramaswamy, 2011).
The contextualists also point out that the writers of the past intended to communicate with particular audiences, only when the writers’ intention
is comprehended and their use of language and the words that prevailed at that point of time understood, then understanding the text becomes possible. They further argued that since political theory is by and large descriptive, a historical approach is important for that would help us to see how political theory varies according to time and circumstances.
In interpreting a context, one must keep the time and period of the text in mind as it enables us to see the way a word has been defined, the different meanings that it gives rise to and the author’s intentions and relate it to the immediate social and political environment, the aim and purpose of writing the text, how well the author tackled the problems in relation with his contemporaries and then the meaning of the text today (Ramaswamy, 2015).
SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE
i. Explain in brief the distinction between political theory and political thought, political philosophy and political science.
ii. Discuss the approaches to the study of political theory.
4.0 CONCLUSION
Political theory is discipline-based, thus we are confronted by a variety of political theories, each distinguished by a discipline on which it is based and the task of political theory is not only to understand and explain but also to device ways and means to change the society. Thus political theory recommends groups of action as well as means of reform, revolution or conservation.
5.0 SUMMARY
In this unit, political theory is associated with the explanation and evaluation of the political phenomena and this phenomenon can be examined as a statement of ideas, as an agent of socio-economic change, and as an ideology which has a link with political thought, political philosophy and political science.
6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT
1. Explain in brief the distinction between Political Theory and Political Thought, Political Philosophy and Political Science.
2. Discuss the approaches to the study of political theory.
7.0 REFERENCES/ FURTHER READING
Adam, S. (2002). Political Philosophy. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Das, P.G. (2006). Modern Political Theory. London: New Central Book Agency PVT LTD.
Heywood, A. (1999). Political Theory: An Introduction. London:
Macmillan.
Mukherjee, S. & Ramaswamy, S. (2011). A History of Political Thought:
Plato to Marx. New Delhi: PHI Learning Private Limited.
Mukhi, H.R. (2010). Political Thought. New Delhi: SBD Publishers Distributors.
Ramaswamy, S. (2015). Political Theory: Ideas and Concepts. New Delhi: PHI Learning Private Limited.