“Everyone suspects himself of at least one of the cardinal virtues, and this is mine: I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known.” This quotation is said by Nick Caraway, the narrator of Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald depicts Nick as or moral guide through a novel infused…
Political Culture Culture: ‘patterns of beliefs and behaviour’ Institutional arrangements Social traits Political culture = cultural attitudes towards politics & government Attitudes, beliefs, values, norms about political issues and ideas Cultural differences among different groups and states Ideology Three categories of political culture: Parochial = negative + low Subject = positive + low Participatory =…
Centralization: What Form? Issue: how much centralization of power into the hands of a State government? classification = 4 types 1. Unitary central State government = all powers & govern whole state no legal challenger in political system, unlcss created by central government most common form: 150 states often: no constitution but traditional rules egs?…
Classification Typology: classification system for claiming broad similarities or differences Aristotle’s typology based on two questions: who rules? in whose interest? Who Rules Lawful (common good) Lawless (private interest) One Monarchy Tyranny Few Aristocracy Oligarchy Many Polity Democracy modern concept of “democracy” = polity — constitutional democracy Dickerson and Flanagan’s modern typology Political System: Liberal…
One of the major environmental crises that are taking place in the world today is the extensive destruction of the Amazon rainforest. This has been a problem for four decades now, since the rapid increase in the population of the globe meant that it has become necessary to find land on which to grow crops…
In Rene Descartes’ Meditations on First Philosophy, he is trying to explain and theorize that humans are more than just a shape with mass. He does so by creating the concept of the ‘I’ – or ego. I do not completely agree with Descartes’ beliefs of mathematics, his designation of the ego, and his use…
“Will you marry me?” A young man asks his girlfriend of two years. She has barely finished her last bite of linguini as he startles her with the awaited question. The nerves kick in and she takes a moment to reply. She doesn’t know what to say so she asks for more time to decide.…
Water, the most important resource on the planet, is not simply “H2O” unless it is first distilled. It contains many natural elements, some beneficial to health and some harmful. Water constituents are defined as a hazard when they have the potential to impair health. In addition to the natural hazards humans add to the constituent…
Key Ideas Many types of feminism (listed by Trimble) Key concepts: “sex”, “gender”, “masculine” and “feminine” Sex: biological, physiological, Gender: social construction of roles humans sexed male and female “Determine a person’s social, economic, cultural, and political status” Constructed discursively & materially One gender is valued or superior More than 2 genders (more than 2…
Key Ideas Many ideologies linked together by similar ideas drawn mainly from Karl Marx’s critique of capitalism Marxism Social Democracy Socialism Marxist-Leninism Anarchism Syndicalism Stalinism Maoism Feminism Reform liberalism *Note: there is no communist ideology, economy, etc.! Oppose capitalism because it is neither free nor just Capitalism is an unjust, exploitative economic system, thus generating…
Why study Ideologies? All concepts in political science are “essentially contested concepts”: a notion around which there will never be agreement Ideology is an essentially contested concept Ideology results in all other concepts being essentially contested concepts Questions about “us”: How do I make sense of my world? What are the bases of my political…
Background Info – Plato Citizen of Athens (5th c.b.c.e) Rich, baking family Name means “broad shoulder one” Subject to the rule of the 30 tyrants Political life was corrupt To lead people back to eudaimonia → happiness or human flourishing Logon didonai – give account to what you say and do Dialogues – have a…
Background Grew up in the medieval world where the questions of science Structured deeply by Aristotle and theology Descartes’ project: To establish new foundations for science Lodge the new foundation into mathematics A new source of veridicality (absolute certainty or truth) > new sense of self > Thinking “I” Text Discourse on Method Thesis of…
Self Affects (affectivity, emotions) Own (property) Perceptions Knowledge Centre (ego, “I”) Aristotle’s Thesis: There is no modern sense of self; rather there is a soul that perceives, thinks, and nourishes. Background to Aristotle (384 – 322 BCE) Macedonia Tutor of Alexander the Great Life separated into three phases: Travels with Alexander Return to Athens which…
Over the past few years, Autism Spectrum Disorder has been on the rise in North America and the reasoning behind this increase has been studied greatly. Autism Spectrum Disorder, otherwise known as ASD, is characterized by the presence of chronic inflammatory disease and loss of acquired cognitive function, possibly due to absorption of vitamins or…
Phonetics – the study and classification of speech sound Phonology – deals with systems of sounds Morphology – the study of the forms of things, in particular o Linguistics the study of the forms of words. Syntax – the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language Semantics – the branch…
In the process of choosing a President, there are three phases, the campaign, the general election, and the declaring of the president. The first step, the campaign, is a long and strenuous process. A campaign generally begins 20 months before the actual presidential election. In the early months, a candidate will raise funds and make…
The two major parties in the United States, the Republicans and the Democrats, vary widely on all issues. The Democrats align themselves to the left and center of the political spectrum, while the Republicans are further to the right. The Republican Party has a more conservative viewpoint, while the Democratic viewpoint is more liberal. The…
In the United States, there is an election every four years to determine the president of the country. This statement does not tell the full story of the steps which need to be taken to become the president. It is a process which begins about two years before the actual election itself. The first step…
Microevolution: The change in the genetic makeup of a population from generation to generation Mendel’s model: the particulate hypothesis of inheritance Quantitative characteristics: characteristics of a population that vary along continuum. Eg. Fur length in mammals Population genetics: study of how populations change genetically over time. Modern synthesis: a comprehensive theory of evolution that integrated…