Socio-Political Philosophy- An Introduction

Social and Political Philosophy is a normative pursuit, related to Ethics. Where Ethics focuses on moral value of an individual’s actions, Social and Political Philosophy is interested in values related to groups of individuals,— a community, society, or nation. This branch of philosophy asks questions such as: “What makes a good society?” and “What makes a government legitimate?” The theories of social and political philosophers provide understanding and justification for considerations such as: the relationship between an individual and the government; the just distribution of resources among individuals; the merit of various forms of political structure and government. Issues such as fairness, justice, human rights, and the responsibilities of government arise in the theories advocated by social and political philosophers.

Successful completion of our study of this unit will enable you to:

1. Recognize the impact of the philosopher’s view of human nature on proposals made about social order.
2. Understand and explain the concept of “social contract theory” from diverging points of view, including those of Thomas Hobbes and John Rawls.
3. Explain and contrast the values underlying Liberalism and Socialism.
4. Describe the impact of theories put forth by John Locke and John Stuart Mill on present-day democracy.

In our investigation and readings for Social and Political Philosophy, we will encounter the work of these philosophers. You may select a name here to link to a short biography, or you may link to the same information at your first encounter the philosopher’s name in the Course Content sections.

Unit 1 deals with Nature and Scope of Social and Political Philosophy. Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems concerning matters such as the nature knowledge, truth, justice, beauty, mind and language.

Unit 2 deals with Basic Concepts: Society, Community, Social group. A society, or a human society, is a group of people involved with each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations.

Unit 3 deals with Social class and Caste. Classes are found in ‘open’ societies which often-ample opportunities for mobility through achievement. It is important to investigate into the nature of mobility in caste and class to find out how far they confirm to the generalization mentioned by Sorokin.

Unit 4 deals with Ideas of Freedom, equality, justice, liberty. Some two decades earlier, it was proclaimed in the Preamble of the Indian Constitution that the Democratic Republic of India stood committed to securing to all its citizens “Justice, social, economic and political.”

Unit 5 deals with Political Ideas (Forms of Democracy, Meaning and Nature of Secularism, Swaraj and Sarvodaya). Over the millennia, political philosophers have expounded on a variety of political ideologies, or ways governments and societies can be organized.

Unit 1 deals with Nature and Scope of Social and Political Philosophy. Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems concerning matters such as the nature knowledge, truth, justice, beauty, mind and language.

Unit 2 deals with Basic Concepts: Society, Community, Social group. A society, or a human society, is a group of people involved with each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations.

Unit 3 deals with Social class and Caste. Classes are found in ‘open’ societies which often-ample opportunities for mobility through achievement. It is important to investigate into the nature of mobility in caste and class to find out how far they confirm to the generalization mentioned by Sorokin.

Unit 4 deals with Ideas of Freedom, equality, justice, liberty. Some two decades earlier, it was proclaimed in the Preamble of the Indian Constitution that the Democratic Republic of India stood committed to securing to all its citizens “Justice, social, economic and political.”

Unit 5 deals with Political Ideas (Forms of Democracy, Meaning and Nature of Secularism, Swaraj and Sarvodaya). Over the millennia, political philosophers have expounded on a variety of political ideologies, or ways governments and societies can be organized.