POL 215 Foundations of Political Science Exam 1
Locke's social contract called for a limited government to perform how many basic functions?
2
What percent of all US state and federal judges are women?
33%
How many of the 112 Supreme Court Justices have been women?
4
What refers to the pro-democratic political movements (2011) spreading throughout the Middle East and Northern Africa?
Arab Spring
Who was the first women to serve on the Supreme Court?
Sandra Day O'Connor
What is positive law?
a body of law established or recognized by a governmental authority
What is natural law?
a body of law or a special principle held to be derived from nature and binding upon human society
What is a republican system of government?
a system of government in which power is exercised indirectly through representatives who are voted into office by citizens of the state.
What is a democracy system of government?
a system of government in which the supreme power is vested in people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections.
Which of the following is considered the cradle of Western civilization?
ancient greece
What type of philosophers were Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle?
ancient greek philosophers
What system of government did Thomas Hobbes advocate for?
authoritarian system
Which political science methodology looks at the actual behavior of those in the political process and employs an empirical or data-driven approach?
behavioralism
What is modern liberalism?
belief that points out potential problems associated with systems of "majority rule" and "equality" by emphasizing the tendency of democracies to degenerate into a tyranny of the majority
Which subfield of political science examines different types of institutions and issues within different countries?
comparative politics
What policy is a military strategy that includes military, political, economic, and humanitarian efforts in an attempt to win over the hearts and minds of the domestic population?
counterinsurgency
What policy is a police or military strategy that employs offensive tactics to preempt or deter future terroristic attacks?
counterterrorism
How do the three parts in The Republic and the three parts of the human soul connect according to Plato?
craftspeople and appetite auxiliaries and the spirit guardians and the rational
What does the Socratic teaching method foster?
critical thinking by probing students with questions rather than providing answers
What did the Sophists drive the study of?
debate and rhetoric
Aristotle hypothesized that which political system requires a strong middle class to balance the extreme interests of the wealthy and the poor?
democracy
In Plato's gradations of happiness, which system ranks second to last in terms of happiness in the state because it encourages the pursuit of all desires, both necessary and unnecessary?
democracy
What term refers to some of the ways that people are classified?
demographics
What system of government did jean-jacques rousseau advocate for?
direct democracy
What indicator is the most dramatic predictor of whether a person is likely to vote?
educational attainment
In Machiavelli's ideal world, it is best for the prince to be both loved and what?
feared
According to Hobbes, because conditions in the pre-contract state would be so abhorrent, people would voluntarily leave it in favor of the more secure environment provided by whom or what?
government
Nations exert what type of power when they compel other nations to modify their behavior through military or economic force?
hard power
Machiavelli said it is better to be feared than loved, but to be careful that fear doesn't turn into which of the following?
hate
Which of the following is a key takeaway of Hobbes' worldview?
humans are inherently violent and prone to conflict, which requires an authoritarian form of government to subdue
What is an educated guess based on previously understood facts or logic?
hypothesis
Which subfield of political science places special emphasis on the development of the international system, international organizations, and globalization?
international relations
Which eighteenth-century philosopher called for universal political participation in a direct democracy form of government where the people as a whole make decisions for themselves?
jean-jacques rousseau
Who caused a stir when he stated that "Man is born free, and yet we see him everywhere in chains" in his most famous work, The Social Contract?
jean-jacques rousseau
In the seventeenth century, who founded a new trend of thinking under the banner of classical liberalism, which viewed human beings as innately principled, mentally gifted, and capable of self-rule?
john locke
Which seventeenth-century philosopher advocated for a representative democracy where government possesses limited powers and the people select representatives to make decisions on their behalf?
john locke
How Did the Greeks Influence the American Founding Fathers?
most were college graduates and were, therefore, well trained in Plato and Aristotle's work
Which Italian philosopher claimed that in order to truly comprehend the nuances of politics, it is more important to have an understanding of how leaders can best acquire and maintain political control over the populace?
niccolò machiavelli
Which political philosopher wrote The Prince?
niccolò machiavelli
According to Machiavelli, can a prince secure his position through the wisdom of his councilors?
no
Socrates employed which approach to philosophy, in that he was most interested in uncovering the purpose of our human existence and how the "good life" can be achieved if humans interact with one another in a just and ethical manner?
normative approach
What approach is any approach that seeks to determine how one "ought to live"?
normative approach
What is the opposite of truth for Plato?
opinion
Who is considered the first Western political philosopher?
plato
Who wrote most of what we know about Socrates?
plato
What was the relationship between Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle?
plato was a student of socrates; aristotle was taught by plato and developed a more concrete political philosophy
Machiavelli was one of the first theorists to divorce the study of politics from religious and ethical viewpoints. What is this type of theorist called?
political realist
What is the term for the way that various groups define our lives and contribute to the way we view the world?
political socialization
What did political scientist Harold Lasswell say is the study of who gets what, when, and how?
politics
Which political science methodology is a hybrid between traditionalism and behavioralism?
post-behavioralism
What can broadly be defined as the ability to get others to do what they would not do on their own?
power
What did Machiavelli assert was the key unit of analysis in politics?
power
For Locke, owning what is considered one of the most important natural rights bestowed upon man by God?
private property
What is the purpose of government according to Hobbes?
provide security
What are surveys that seek to determine how different groups of people perceive political issues?
public opinion polls
Because it required one to surrender core ethical principles, Socrates argued that one could not pursue the good life and do which of the following?
pursue politics
What did true happiness mean for Socrates?
pursuing 'the good life'
What type of analysis uses data to interpret political phenomena to better understand the political world?
quantitative analysis
What form of civil disobedience did Thoreau participate in?
refused to pay taxes that went to the government because he did not support slavery or the mexican-american war
What system of government did John Locke advocate for?
representative democracy
If a politician were to take the advice of Machiavelli, what would she do?
seek out counsel only once she has a firm idea in her own mind of the way forward
What type of theorists typically provide an (1) observation on human nature, (2) an observation on problems that arise in the absence of government (i.e., pre-contract state), and (3) a recommendation on the form of government best able to solve these problems?
social contract theorists
In which academic tradition is the field of political science?
social sciences
Nations use what type of power when they employ diplomatic and cultural persuasion to other nations?
soft power
Hobbes argued that our existence in the unstructured and unmanaged environment of the pre-contract state (i.e., life before government) would be which of the following?
solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short
What does the Leviathan require of its subjects?
subjects give up all free will
For Aristotle, what is the key to happiness?
the ability to reason
In Hobbes' view, why are people willing to agree to a system of absolute rule?
the alternative of the state of nature is so awful that people will certainly choose the alternative of security that comes with the Leviathan
In The Republic whose primary function is to enforce the laws of the state and defend the state from foreign invasion (i.e., serve as the military)?
the auxiliaries
The three communities of citizens in The Republic are:
the auxiliaries, the guardians, and the craftspeople
The liberal writings of John Locke influenced which American document?
the declaration of independence
According to Aristotle, what are the three distinct forms of human communities that naturally evolve into more complex political arrangements?
the family unit, the village, and the polis
If a prince seeks out the counsel of a single very prudent governor, what does Machiavelli predict will happen?
the governor will soon take the place of the prince
In The Republic whose job is to represent the ruling class and who must have intensive training to ensure the pursuance of the public good and justice?
the guardians
According to Aristotle, the immersion into which of the following represents the highest form of happiness because the community of the polis offers the highest plane of reasoning?
the immersion into politics
Socrates was a controversial teacher because he asked his students to question what?
the intellectual rationale behind society's guiding principles
Who were the earliest Greek philosophers to believe in using rationality rather than mythology to understand the universe?
the ionians
Which book by Thomas Hobbes serves as the theoretical rationale for monarchs?
the leviathan
What two animals did Machiavelli advise a successful prince to emulate when leading the state?
the lion and the fox
What did the Ionian approach to political philosophy emphasize over mythology?
the rational
Plato wrote the first written work considered political science. What is it called?
the republic
Which ancient Greek philosophers were primarily concerned with questions surrounding human behavior and were skeptical about whether we can ever truly come to understand our ultimate reality or acquaint ourselves with the mysteries of our universe?
the sophists
Which philosophers who generally agree that nothing can be known with absolute certainty
the sophists
What emerges when individuals seek answers to questions?
theories
Those aligned with which of the following theories argued that the universe was in a constant state of random and arbitrary change (or becoming) and could be understood in material terms?
theory of becoming
The Ionians broke into two rival and competing movements that organized around the theory of becoming and the theory of what?
theory of being
Which school of thought believed that underlying our ever-changing material world is a preexisting and permanent design?
theory of being
What conclusions would Socrates be most likely to agree with?
there are a select few who are best suited to lead, and only they should pursue leadership
In Hobbes's view, people living in the state of nature live in what type of environment?
they live in a persistent state of warfare and fear
In the classic text, Leviathan, which philosopher sets out to prove the correctness of Machiavelli's contention that power rather than justice is the most important variable in studying politics?
thomas hobbes
Who argued that an all-powerful sovereign was required to prevent civil war and death in his social contract theory?
thomas hobbes
who were some the leading social contract theorists?
thomas hobbes, john locke, and jean-jacques rousseau
According to Plato, who are the only ones qualified to rule because they can be counted on to place the public interest of society over individual self-interest?
those who have reached 'the good'
For Locke, what is the primary reason for establishing a government or commonwealth?
to protect private property
What is the belief that government should not attempt to change society, but that government should instead merely reflect changes that have already taken place in society?
traditional conservatism
Which political science methodology seeks answers to questions that try to determine if individuals within government institutions (such as Congress) are acting how they "ought to be acting"?
traditionalism
For Plato, which of the following is the lowest form of political order?
tyranny
What form of civil disobedience did MLK Jr. participate in?
used nonviolence when leading the civil rights movement
What form of civil disobedience did Gandhi participate in?
used nonviolent civil disobedience to gain indian independence
Was Socrates' proposal about philosopher-kings would be controversial?
yes
