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Understand Political Philosphy
Understand Political Philosophy is an in-depth guide to the philosophers and political ideas who have shaped our society. Quickly and easily get to grips with the key thinkers and theories, from Aristotle to Wollstonecraft, from capitalism to utilitarianism. With exploration of contemporary issues and current debates, this book will put political philosophy in the context of the world we live in today.
NOT GOT MUCH TIME?
One, five and ten-minute introductions to key principles to get you started.
AUTHOR INSIGHTS
Lots of instant help with common problems and quick tips for success, based on the author's many years of experience.
TEST YOURSELF
Tests in the book and online to keep track of your progress.
EXTEND YOUR KNOWLEDGE
Extra online articles at www.teachyourself.com to give you a richer understanding of psychology.
FIVE THINGS TO REMEMBER
Quick refreshers to help you remember the key facts.
TRY THIS
Innovative exercises illustrate what you've learnt and how to use it.
NOT GOT MUCH TIME?
One, five and ten-minute introductions to key principles to get you started.
AUTHOR INSIGHTS
Lots of instant help with common problems and quick tips for success, based on the author's many years of experience.
TEST YOURSELF
Tests in the book and online to keep track of your progress.
EXTEND YOUR KNOWLEDGE
Extra online articles at www.teachyourself.com to give you a richer understanding of psychology.
FIVE THINGS TO REMEMBER
Quick refreshers to help you remember the key facts.
TRY THIS
Innovative exercises illustrate what you've learnt and how to use it.
304 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 25, 2008
9 people are currently reading
85 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 17, 2009
A bit haphazard at times but it was good overall.
September 8, 2015
I read this over the weekend to shore up my understanding of all things political philosophy as I am taking a graduate course on John Rawls this semester and thought it would be good to read up on some basic stuff.
The book is a good read overall and would be of good use to the introductory student of political philosophy. In my particular case I found that I was already fairly well acquainted with most of the material that is covered here, although the presentation of the material certainly helped refresh my memory on some things and indeed did introduce me to a few new ideas and new thinkers along the way.
The one criticism that I have of the book is that its latter chapters are arranged topically, covering ideas such as gender and multiculturalism, environmentalism, globalization, etc. There's nothing terribly wrong with that, but I found that those chapters became a bit of an ongoing discussion about random topics that many folks would be knowledgable of just simply by watching the news as opposed to a more detailed engagement with philiosophical thought. This is not true of the book's early chapters, which introduce Plato & Aristotle, then several Enlightenment thinkers. John Rawls is also given attention in one chapter, and is mentioned throughout the book.
One more con for the American audience: this is a British publication, and as such the overwhelming majority of case study examples used in the work come from British news stories or government affairs. That's not a bad thing in and of itself, but it does make the material a bit more foreign, to coin a term. Additionally, the book's treatment of the term "liberalism" falls along the British/European definition of the term, which means something altogether different from the American political lexicon.
Nevertheless, this was a good read overall. I give it 4/5 stars.
The book is a good read overall and would be of good use to the introductory student of political philosophy. In my particular case I found that I was already fairly well acquainted with most of the material that is covered here, although the presentation of the material certainly helped refresh my memory on some things and indeed did introduce me to a few new ideas and new thinkers along the way.
The one criticism that I have of the book is that its latter chapters are arranged topically, covering ideas such as gender and multiculturalism, environmentalism, globalization, etc. There's nothing terribly wrong with that, but I found that those chapters became a bit of an ongoing discussion about random topics that many folks would be knowledgable of just simply by watching the news as opposed to a more detailed engagement with philiosophical thought. This is not true of the book's early chapters, which introduce Plato & Aristotle, then several Enlightenment thinkers. John Rawls is also given attention in one chapter, and is mentioned throughout the book.
One more con for the American audience: this is a British publication, and as such the overwhelming majority of case study examples used in the work come from British news stories or government affairs. That's not a bad thing in and of itself, but it does make the material a bit more foreign, to coin a term. Additionally, the book's treatment of the term "liberalism" falls along the British/European definition of the term, which means something altogether different from the American political lexicon.
Nevertheless, this was a good read overall. I give it 4/5 stars.
March 19, 2012
Great introduction to western political philosophy. Not only does it adequately summarize many of the works of ethical thinkers from Plato - Rawls, but it includes some objective commentary about some of the political movements of today. Very insightful.
July 1, 2011
The title is "Understand Political Philosophy", and now I do. No mean acievement with a middle-brow reader like me.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews