scholarly journals Lockean Political Philosophy And Its Implications For Nigerian Politics

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-112
Author(s):  
Victor Adefarasin

The political ideas of John Locke have greatly influenced the modern world. His political ideas have actually given to the modern world the concepts of constitutional government, religious toleration, representative institutions, the freedom of individual and private property. In addition, the philosophical theories are embedded in the American and British Constitutions. It is against this background that Lockean political philosophy and its implications for Nigerian politics are discussed in this paper. The paper concludes that Lockean Political Philosophy is of vital importance to Nigerian politics.

Author(s):  
Christopher Bobonich

The dialogues that are most obviously important for Plato’s political philosophy include: the Apology, the Crito, the Gorgias, the Laws, the Republic, and the Statesman. Further, there are many questions of political philosophy that Plato discusses in his dialogues. These topics include, among others: (1) the ultimate ends of the city’s laws and institutions; (2) who should rule, the forms of constitution, and their ranking; (3) what institutions and offices there should be; (4) the nature and extent of citizens’ obligation to obey the laws; (5) the proper criterion of citizenship; (6) the political and social status of women; (7) the purposes of punishment; (8) private property; and (9) slavery. This chapter attempts to provide an overall picture of Plato’s political philosophy, focusing on three moments: the “Socratic” dialogues, including the Apology and the Crito; the great middle-period work, the Republic, along with the Phaedo; and finally, two works from Plato’s last period, the Statesman and the Laws.


Author(s):  
Michael C. Hawley

By any metric, Cicero’s works are some of the most widely read in the history of Western thought. This book suggests that perhaps Cicero’s most lasting and significant contribution to philosophy lies in helping to inspire the development of liberalism. Individual rights, the protection of private property, and political legitimacy based on the consent of the governed are often taken to be among early modern liberalism’s unique innovations and part of its rebellion against classical thought. However, this book demonstrates that Cicero’s thought played a central role in shaping and inspiring the liberal republican project. Cicero argued that liberty for individuals could arise only in a res publica in which the claims of the people to be sovereign were somehow united with a commitment to universal moral law, which limits what the people can rightfully do. Figures such as Hugo Grotius, John Locke, and John Adams sought to work through the tensions in Cicero’s vision, laying the groundwork for a theory of politics in which the freedom of the individual and the people’s collective right to rule were mediated by natural law. This book traces the development of this intellectual tradition from Cicero’s original articulation through the American founding. It concludes by exploring how modern political ideas remain dependent on the conception of just politics first elaborated by Rome’s great philosopher-statesman.


2001 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 621-676

Cairns, Alan C. Citizens Plus: Aboriginal Peoples and the Canadian State. By Joyce Green 623Flanagan, Tom. First Nations? Second Thoughts. Par Jean-François Savard 625Manfredi, Christopher P. Judicial Power and the Charter: Canada and the Paradox of Liberal Constitutionalism. By Miriam Smith 627Corbo, Claude, sous la direction de. Repenser l'École : une anthologie des débats sur l'éducation au Québec de 1945 au rapport Parent. Par Annie Mercure 629Howe, R. Brian and David Johnson. Restraining Equality. By Paul Groarke 632Stewart, David K. and Keith Archer. Quasi-Democracy? Parties and Leadership Selection in Alberta. By Harold J. Jansen 634Adkin, Laurie E. Politics of Sustainable Development: Citizens, Unions and the Corporations. By Milton Fisk 635Gibson, Robert B., ed. Voluntary Initiatives. The New Politics of Corporate Greening. By Jean Mercier 637Vosko, Leah F. Temporary Work: The Gendered Rise of a Precarious Employment Relationship. By David Camfield 639Amar, Akhil Reed. The Bill of Rights: Creation and Reconstruction. By Matthew DeBell 640Kagan, Robert A. and Lee Axelrad, eds. Regulatory Encounters: Multinational Corporations and American Adversarial Legalism. By Susan Summers Raines 641Barbier, Maurice. La modernité politique. Par Jean-François Lessard 643Badie, Bertrand. The Imported State: The Westernization of the Political Order. By Geoff Martin 645Gill, Graeme. The Dynamics of Democratization: Elites, Civil Society and the Transition Process. By Daniel M. Brinks 646Gunther, Richard and Anthony Mughan, eds. Democracy and the Media: A Comparative Perspective. By Bartholomew Sparrow 648Klieman, Aharon. Compromising Palestine: A Guide to Final Status Negotiations. By Julie Trottier 650Huang, Jing. Factionalism in Chinese Communist Politics. By Chih-Yu Shih 652Kim, Samuel S., ed. Korea's Globalization. By Hoon Jaung Chung-Ang 654Powell, Jr., G. Bingham. Elections as Instruments of Democracy: Majoritarian and Proportional Visions. By Richard Johnston 655Tesh, Sylvia Noble. Uncertain Hazards: Environmental Activists and Scientific Proof. By William Chaloupka 657Watts, Ronald L. Comparing Federal Systems. By Michael Stein 658Eisenstadt, S. N. Paradoxes of Democracy; Fragility, Continuity, and Change. By Brian Donohue 660Castles, Stephen and Alastair Davidson. Citizenship and Migration: Globalization and the Politics of Belonging. By Triadafilos Triadafilopoulos 661Sidjanski, Dusan. The Federal Future of Europe: From European Community to the European Union. By Emmanuel Brunet-Jailly 663DeWiel, Boris. Democracy: A History of Ideas. By Florian Bail 664Newell, Waller R. Ruling Passion: The Erotics of Statecraft in Platonic Political Philosophy. By Andrew Hertzoff 666Hueglin, Thomas O. Early Modern Concepts for a Late Modern World: Althusius on Community and Federalism. By Phillip Hansen 668Slomp, Gabriella. Thomas Hobbes and the Political Philosophy of Glory. By Don Carmichael 670Thompson, Norma, ed. Instilling Ethics. By Gary K. Browning 671Boutwell, Jeffrey and Michael T. Klare, eds. Light Weapons and Civil Conflict: Controlling the Tools of Violence. By Kirsten E. Schulze 672Falk, Richard. Predatory Globalization: A Critique. By Stella Ladi 674Meyer, Mary K. and Elisabeth Prügl. Gender Politics in Global Governance. By Naomi Black 675


Author(s):  
Jeremy Waldron

This chapter examines and defends the relevance of John Locke's writings as political philosophy. Locke's political philosophy continues to have an enormous impact on the framing and the pursuit of liberal ideas in modern political thought — ideas about social contract, government by consent, natural law, equality, individual rights, civil disobedience, and private property. The discussion and application of Locke's arguments is thus an indispensable feature of political philosophy as it is practised today. After providing a short biography of Locke, the chapter considers his views on equality and natural law, property, economy, and disagreement, as well as limited government, toleration, and the rule of law. It concludes with an assessment of Locke's legacy as a political thinker.


2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 35
Author(s):  
Ylber Aliu

<pre><em>The purpose of this study is to identify the similarities and differences between the political philosophy of<br />Plato and political philosophy of Aristotle. Such comparative study is very important for political<br />thought in general. The main significance of this paper is the precise meaning of the political philosophy<br />of Plato and political philosophy of Aristotle, as well as the meaning of differences and similarities.<br />Often, Plato’s political ideas appear as Aristotle political ideas, and Aristotle’s political ideas appear as<br />Plato’s political ideas. The main method of study in this paper is the comparison method. The ancient<br />political debate between Plato and Aristotle is important to modern political philosophy as it is the basis<br />of modern political theories. The data for paper are taken from the books of these two authors. The<br />political philosophy of Plato and Aristotle, although they have similarities in some points, but differ in<br />many other issues, such as: different categories of political analysis, different methodologies of policy<br />study, and different reasons for state creation, different opinions why democracy is a bad form of<br />government and why aristocracy is the right form.</em></pre>


2021 ◽  
Vol 64 (3) ◽  
pp. 81-90
Author(s):  
Ivan Matic

The subject of this paper will be the analysis of the question of religious toleration in the political thought of seventeenth century English philosopher John Locke. The first part of the paper will discuss the foundational principles of Locke?s political thought, particularly his contract theory. The second part will be dedicated to situating his positions on freedom of religion within the domain of that theory, accentuating the moment of separation between church and state. The final part will analyze the implications of religious toleration, as well as its limits, upon which Locke?s criterion of freedom of religion will be critically examined.


Author(s):  
Katrin A. Flikschuh

This chapter examines the political ideas of Immanuel Kant. Kant is widely regarded as a precursor to current political liberalism. There are many aspects of Kant's political philosophy, including his property argument, that remain poorly understood and unjustly neglected. Many other aspects, including his cosmopolitanism, reveal Kant as perhaps one of the most systematic and consistent political thinkers. Underlying all these aspects of his political philosophy is an abiding commitment to his epistemological method of transcendental idealism. After providing a short biography of Kant, this chapter considers his epistemology as well as the relationship between virtue and justice in his practical philosophy. It also explores a number of themes in Kant's political thinking, including the idea of external freedom, the nature of political obligation, the vindication of property rights, the denial of a right to revolution, and the cosmopolitan scope of Kantian justice.


This biographical introduction begins with the formation of Catharine Macaulay’s political ideas from when, as Catharine Sawbridge, she lived at the family estate. It follows her through her mature development as the celebrated female historian, to her death in 1791, as Mrs. Macaulay Graham. It notes the influence on her of writings of John Milton, Algernon Sidney, and John Locke as well as other republican works. It covers her marriage to the physician and midwife George Macaulay, and sets out the circumstances which led to the composition, and influence of, her History of England from the Accession of James I (HEAJ). The content of her histories, political philosophy, ethical and educational views, and criticisms of the philosophers David Hume, Thomas Hobbes, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Edmund Burke are sketched, and it is argued that her enlightenment radicalism was grounded in Christian eudaimonism, resulting in a form of rational altruism, according to which human happiness depends on the cultivation of the self as a moral individual. It deals with her engagement with individuals in North America before and after the American Revolution, in particular her exchanges with, John Adams, Mercy Otis Warren, Benjamin Rush, and George Washington, and also recounts her contacts with influential players in the French Revolution, in particular, Jacques-Pierre Brissot de Warville and Honoré-Gabriel Riqueti count of Mirabeau. The introduction concludes with her influence on Mary Wollstonecraft and an overview of her mature political philosophy as summarized in her response to Burke’s Reflections on the Revolution in France.


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