The Language of Analysis: Theory as Defense against the InternalPersonality and Politics. By Fred I. Greenstein Philosophy, Science and Political Inquiry. By John G. Gunnell Political Science and Political Knowledge. By Philip Melansen Knowledge and Politics. By Roberto Mangabeira Unger

Polity ◽  
1979 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-141
Author(s):  
James M. Glass
Keyword(s):  
Political Science ◽  
Political Knowledge ◽  
Analysis Theory ◽  
Political Inquiry

Metaphor and Political Knowledge

1979 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
pp. 155-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eugene F. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Political Science ◽  
Political Knowledge ◽  
Alternative View ◽  
Political Speech ◽  
Political Expression ◽  
Political Inquiry

Since the language of political inquiry seems to be inescapably metaphorical, the question necessarily arises as to how metaphors of various types, including models, enter into the composition and expression of political knowledge. The solutions that have been most influential in contemporary political science can be called the verificationist and constitutivist views of political metaphor. While both views contain important elements of truth, there are fundamental difficulties in each that require the search for a more satisfactory view. An alternative view of metaphor and political knowledge is developed by reference to four main problems: Why is political speech metaphorical? How do metaphors make political things manifest? How are political metaphors tested? and Are metaphors indispensable to political expression and political knowledge?

A Discussion of Josiah Ober’s The Rise and Fall of Classical Greece

2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 1142-1143
Author(s):  
Arlene W. Saxonhouse
Keyword(s):  
Political Science ◽  
Ancient Greece ◽  
Ancient World ◽  
Ancient Greek ◽  
Theoretical Concepts ◽  
Classical Greece ◽  
Theoretical Account ◽  
Political Inquiry ◽  
Greek World

Ancient Greece has long exercised a powerful hold on the imagination of modern political science. But until fairly recently, this influence has largely been philosophical, related to the origins of many theoretical concepts—including the concept of politics itself—in the ancient world. In The Rise and Fall of Classical Greece, Josiah Ober offers a synoptic and ambitious social theoretical account of the ancient Greek world, the sources of its power, the causes of its decline, and the lessons that can be drawn from this story for contemporary social and political science. We have thus invited a range of political scientists to comment on Ober’s account of classical Greece and its relevance to contemporary political inquiry.

Political Theory and the Study of Politics: A Report of a Conference

1956 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 475-487 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harry Eckstein
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Political Thought ◽  
The Other ◽  
Sharp Distinction ◽  
Basic Issue ◽  
Political Inquiry ◽  
The One

The issues which arose during the discussions of the conference fall fairly conveniently into three compartments.First, we obviously had to settle, with reasonable clarity, what we were talking about: what “political philosophy” is, what “political science” is, and whether they are really distinguishable. The basic issue of the conference was to determine the relevance of the one to the study of the other, and if we had decided that they were really the same thing, there would simply have been no problems for us to discuss. On the whole, we felt that a valid, if not necessarily sharp, distinction was to be made between the “philosophical” and the “scientific” approaches to the study of politics and that we were not discussing absurd or tautological issues. We agreed, however, that all types of political inquiry involve the construction of theory, implicit or explicit, and that the title “political theory” has been unjustifiably appropriated by the historians of political thought.

Political Science and Political Understanding: Isaiah Berlin on the Nature of Political Inquiry

2004 ◽  
Vol 98 (2) ◽  
pp. 327-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
RYAN PATRICK HANLEY
Keyword(s):  
Political Knowledge ◽  
Empirical Science ◽  
Value Pluralism ◽  
Negative Liberty ◽  
Political Inquiry ◽  
Humanistic Study ◽  
Sense Of Reality ◽  
Political Understanding ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

I saiah Berlin is remembered for his positive/negative liberty distinction and his value pluralism, but he was also an active participant in the debate over the nature of political inquiry. This essay argues that his neglected contribution to this debate is central to his thought and a valuable resource in today's debate over political science's methods and ends. I first show how Berlin understood the relationship of empirical science to humanistic study. I then demonstrate that his conceptions of political judgment and the “sense of reality” were intended as alternatives to the scientific pursuit of political knowledge. Finally, I argue that his Churchill and Weizmann essays present exemplars of the moral excellence Berlin considered necessary to ennoble liberal society and the political understanding indispensable to comprehensive political inquiry. I conclude by noting how Berlin's critique of scientific political inquiry informs his liberalism and his own methods of political inquiry.

Introduction

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Ethan Porter
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Health Insurance ◽  
Behavioral Economics ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Political Knowledge ◽  
Consumer Decision Making ◽  
Consumer Decision ◽  
Consumer Decisions ◽  
Political Decisions

This chapter blends insights from political science, behavioral economics, history and psychology to lay out the theoretical proposition of the book. The consumer citizen approach has implications for attitudes toward government and government spending, levels of political knowledge, and even whether people sign up for government-sponsored health insurance. Empirical evidence about the incidence of consumer and political decisions is offered. The comparative ubiquity of consumer decisions, I argue, explains why consumer decision-making tools come to be used in political contexts. Ultimately, viewing citizens as consumer citizens means viewing their political behaviors and attitudes as they are, not as some might wish them to be.

Improving Political Education in the Schools

1981 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. 2-3
Author(s):  
Mary A. Hopburn
Keyword(s):  
Political Science ◽  
Political Knowledge ◽  
Political Education ◽  
The Political ◽  
College Courses ◽  
National Assessment ◽  
Knowledge And Attitudes ◽  
Incoming Freshmen ◽  
Introductory College

National surveys of the political knowledge and attitudes of young Americans conducted by the National Assessment of Educational Progress document broad deficiencies in political education in the schools (NAEP, 1973; 1976). Political science professors who teach introductory college courses can attest to these shortcomings in the political knowledge and skills of many incoming freshmen. The main response of the political science profession has been to attempt to improve the quality of the content of civics, government, or citizenship courses by developing improved curriculum materials. Two major federally-supported, APSA-sponsored curriculum projects in the 1970s produced quality textbooks for high schools and instructional guides for middle schools (See APSA, DEA News Supplement, Spring 1974; and DEA News Supplement, Winter 1976).

A Discussion of Josiah Ober’s The Rise and Fall of Classical Greece

2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 1140-1141
Author(s):  
S. Sara Monoson
Keyword(s):  
Political Science ◽  
Ancient Greece ◽  
Ancient World ◽  
Ancient Greek ◽  
Theoretical Concepts ◽  
Classical Greece ◽  
Theoretical Account ◽  
Political Inquiry ◽  
Greek World

Ancient Greece has long exercised a powerful hold on the imagination of modern political science. But until fairly recently, this influence has largely been philosophical, related to the origins of many theoretical concepts—including the concept of politics itself—in the ancient world. In The Rise and Fall of Classical Greece, Josiah Ober offers a synoptic and ambitious social theoretical account of the ancient Greek world, the sources of its power, the causes of its decline, and the lessons that can be drawn from this story for contemporary social and political science. We have thus invited a range of political scientists to comment on Ober’s account of classical Greece and its relevance to contemporary political inquiry.

Post Structuralist Political Pedagogy

1985 ◽  
Vol 44 ◽  
pp. 18-19
Author(s):  
Michael J. Shapiro
Keyword(s):  
Political Science ◽  
Scientific Communication ◽  
Political Inquiry ◽  
The Creation

There are many ways to treat the implications of post-structuralist thinking for political pedagogy. Since for the most part I shall be treating its implications for someone — primarily teachers of political science — the appropriate context is a comparison between post-structuralist inquiry and what remains the prevailing approach to political inquiry, the application of the scientific code.1 We can begin with a broad juxtaposition that will establish the tone of the comparison. Modern political inquiry is increasingly oriented toward a particular model of scientific communication, one which promotes a commitment to precision and clarity in the creation of concepts and the development of measurement indices and, by implication, eschews ambiguity and uncertainty.

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