Social and Political Philosophy for the Perplexed: a Basic Introduction to Political Philosophy

Political philosophy is a branch of philosophy that attempts to answer fundamental questions about political societies. Such questions include but not limited to: How does a state originate? Who should rule? What is the best form of government? What are rights? This book approaches the subject of political philosophy from both a historical and thematic perspective . The book examines primary texts in order to discover how various philosophers answered these questions. The philosophers we will examine include: Plato, Aristotle, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, John Stuart Mill, Karl Marx, John Rawls, Robert Nozick and Martha Nussbaum. The book also looks at themes such as; rights, freedoms and capabilities.