City of Men: Toward a Different Understanding of the Role of Political Science in Society | UNCC

This paper explores the study of political science and its role in society through an interrogation of ancient thinkers such as Aristotle, St. Augustine of Hippo and Marsilius. From my reading of these thinkers, I find that there is an inevitability to the development of civil society, and that the construction of a strong political society is the precursor to inculcation of the necessary conditions for a good life. The primary feature of this finding is the institutionalization of conflict in a society that one cannot simply wish away, but must instead confront as being the only real option besides stasis. The challenge, then, becomes the development of a temperament of will in the deliberative process that ancient thinkers assume is the nature of collaborative forms of government such as Democracy. This finding refines the discussion on the study of political science as a field by highlighting how important it is to understand it thoroughly before one can engage in a good politics that will preferably lead to better lives for everyone within a society.