Five Great Political Texts

Course Summary

A brief introduction to five famous works in political philosophy:

• Plato, Republic (c. 380BC), an account of the ideal state, which will be ruled by philosophers (who may include women).
• Aristotle, Politics (c. 330BC), in which he supports various arrangements (including slavery and the subordination status of women) as ‘natural.’
• Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince (1513), in which he holds that the ruler must learn ‘how not to be virtuous.’
• Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan (1651), in which he argues that a very powerful sovereign is needed to keep us out of the dreadful ‘state of nature.’
• Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, The Communist Manifesto (1848), in which they maintain that many social evils will end when capitalism is overthrown by communism.

A few pages of notes (with some key excerpts from the texts) will be sent by email, prior to each class.  No purchases are required. 

Dr Douglas Adeney lectured in philosophy for many years at Melbourne State College and then the University of Melbourne. Since 2011 he has greatly enjoyed teaching numerous CAE philosophy courses.