Lectures (Video)
- 1. Introduction: What is Political Philosophy?
- 2. Socratic Citizenship: Plato, Apology
- 3. Socratic Citizenship: Plato, Crito
- 4. Philosophers and Kings: Plato, Republic, I-II
- 5. Philosophers and Kings: Plato, Republic, III-IV
- 6. Philosophers and Kings: Plato, Republic, V
- 7. The Mixed Regime and the Rule of Law: Aristotle, Politics, I, III
- 8. The Mixed Regime and the Rule of Law: Aristotle, Politics, IV
- 9. The Mixed Regime and the Rule of Law: Aristotle, Politics, VII
- 10. New Modes and Orders: Machiavelli, The Prince
- 11. New Modes and Orders: Machiavelli, The Prince II
- 12. The Sovereign State: Hobbes, Leviathan
- 13. The Sovereign State: Hobbes, Leviathan II
- 14. The Sovereign State: Hobbes, Leviathan III
- 15. Constitutional Government: Locke, Second Treatise
- 16. Constitutional Government: Locke, Second Treatise II
- 17. Constitutional Government: Locke, Second Treatise III
- 18. Democracy and Participation: Rousseau, Discourse
- 19. Democracy and Participation: Rousseau, Discourse II
- 20. Democracy and Participation: Rousseau, Social Contract
- 21. Democratic Statecraft: Tocqueville, Democracy in America
- 22. Democratic Statecraft: Tocqueville, Democracy in America II
- 23. Democratic Statecraft: Tocqueville, Democracy in America III
- 24. In Defense of Politics
Introduction to Political Philosophy - Lecture 20
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Lecture 20 - Democracy and Participation: Rousseau, Social Contract
The concept of "general will" is considered Rousseau's most important contribution to political science. It is presented as the answer to the gravest problems of civilization, namely, the problems of inequality, amour-propre, and general discontent. The social contract is the foundation of the general will and the answer to the problem of natural freedom, because nature itself provides no guidelines for determining who should rule. The lecture ends with Rousseau's legacy and the influence he exercised on later nineteenth-century writers and philosophers.
Prof. Steven B. Smith
PLSC 114 Introduction to Political Philosophy, Fall 2006 (Yale University: Open Yale) http://oyc.yale.edu Date accessed: 2008-12-29 License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA |
