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How do we know that what we believe we know is really true? What is truth? What is knowledge? The branch of philosophy called Epistemology concerns itself with knowledge and how we gain knowledge. Knowledge is more that what you believe. For many hundreds of years, human beings believed that the earth was the center of the universe and that the sun, moon, and planets all rotated around the earth. This geocentric theory was ultimately proves wrong by the heliocentric theory. Knowledge is justified belief. Beliefs have to be justified by reason and observation. Check out the article on Epistemology in Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Questions of knowledge are frequently connected to questions of existence. Presumably we can only have knowledge about things that exist. If something did not exist, could be have knowledge of it? Surely not; but, hold on. Do numbers exist. Numbers are not physical things like rocks or trees; but they do have a kind of reality. Ontology is the branch of philosophy that concerns itself with questions of being. Check out the concept. All academic disciplines have distinct methodologies of how knowledge is acquired in their subject area. These methodologies might be called applied epistemology. Below are some simple steps in trying to gain knowledge about political science. Questions of Methodology Defining Concepts Classification Systems Two categories Relevant - irrelevant Good - bad Three categories Republicans - Democrats - Other Catholics - Protestants - Other Four and more categories Principles used in creating categories. Relationships between categories. Dependent and independent variables. Correlations between variables. Models, Ideal Types, Theories, Laws of Nature (Physics, Chemistry, etc.) Are there Laws of Politics? The Iron Law of Oligarchy! Maybe. In analyzing human thinking, one must clearly differentiate (classify) between logical relationships, mathematical data and mathematical manipulations of that data, empirical observations, beliefs and opinions, value judgments based on some moral, ethical, and aesthetic standards. FACTS are inter-subjectively verifiable data based on empirical observations. Empirical VALUES are normative judgments based on some standard of evaluation. BELIEFS or OPINIONS are commonly held mixtures of both facts and values. What appear to be facts may indeed by mistaken beliefs. Values may be drawn from conflicting normative standards. Beliefs and opinions may be illogical, based on false assumptions, and factually erroneous. Belief Systems, Moral Value Systems, Religions and Ideologies Political Philosophy: normative values Political Theory: empirical description and empirical explanation (theories) about those observed phenomena, facts.
Political Philosophy Political Science and the Question of Values Justice, Democracy, Liberty, Equality, Fairness, Law The Role of History and the Humanities in Political Science Right and Wrong; Good and Bad, Fair and Unfair, Just and Unjust. Prescription. Proscription. The role of Law.
Empirical Political Theory Political Science as Science Description, Explanation, Prediction, Prescription (If you want to achieve X, you must do why. An MD prescribes medicines to make people well based on his scientific knowledge of human biology and diseases.) Concepts, Conceptual Frameworks, Models, Ideal Types, Theories and Laws.
Structural-Functionalism and Systems Theory as Two Basic Conceptual Models of Political Science
David Easton developed the idea of a political system in several books. A system is any entity which has parts that connect with each other. A system has cohesion and covariance. Almost anything can be viewed as a system. SYSTEM LEVELS AND VARIOUS TYPES OF POLITICAL ACTORS SYSTEM: Any entity composed of parts which interrelate can be called a system. Karl Deutsch defined systems as having cohesion and covariance. The Universe The Milky Way Galaxy The Solar System Our Planet Earth
The Global System of So-Called Sovereign States and Other International Actors Particular State-Societies Central Governmental Bureaucracies
Bureaucratic Actors (Microsoft, IBM, ATT, GM, Harvard) Voluntary Associations
Societal Communities
Crowds and Mobs
Individuals
State-Societies are the basic units of analysis within the social sciences. The global political system is composed of over 198 sovereign states, as currently recognized by the United Nations in 2000.
A MODEL OF STATE-SOCIETIES Functional Pre-Requisites Resultant Structure or Subsystem ___________________________________________________________________ Procreation System of Social Structure Socialization Cultural System Adaptation Economic System Collective Decision-Making Political System _____________________________________________________________________
David Easton’s Model of a Political System Every state on this planet has a political system, an economic system, a system of social structure, and a cultural system.
Political systems can be analyzed by their structures and functions. Functionally, the political systems may be defined as: 1. authoritatively allocating values (David Easton). 2. determining "who gets what, when, and how. (Harold Lasswell). 3. the steering mechanism which controls the ship of state. (Aristotle, Deutsch). 4. having a monopoly on the legitimate use of force. Structurally, political systems may be defined in terms of input, conversion, output, and feedback operating in at least three different environments. DAVID EASTON'S MODEL OF A POLITICAL SYSTEM ____________________________________________________________________ | | or | | | 1. INPUT---> | DECISION- |--->---3.> OUTPUT | | a. demands | MAKING | governmental | | b. supports | STRUCTURES | policies | |
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and laws | | /<-----------------<-------------------<---/ | | 5. E N V I R
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ARISTOTLE'S CLASSIFICATION OF TYPES OF GOVERNMENT RULE BY: LEGITIMATE GOVERNMENTS
ILLEGITIMATE GOVERNMENTS ONE MONARCHY TYRANNY (DICTATORSHIP) FEW ARISTOCRACY OLIGARCHY MANY POLITY DEMOCRACY _______________________________________________________________________ Copyright Dr. Harold Damerow |