
Power over People: Classical and Modern Political Theory
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Narrated by:
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Dennis Dalton
About this listen
What is the connection between individual freedom and social and political authority? Are human beings fundamentally equal or unequal? In 16 in-depth lectures, Professor Dalton puts the key theories of power formulated by several of history's greatest minds within your reach.
These lectures trace two distinct schools of political theory, idealism and realism, from their roots in ancient India and Greece through history and, ultimately, to their impact on the 20th century - via the lives and ideas of two charismatic, yet utterly disparate leaders: Adolph Hitler and Mahatma Gandhi. The issues Professor Dalton addresses in these lectures - and in Western political theory generally - fall into three sets of fundamental questions you'll get to unpack. The first set involves the essential characteristics of human nature and the good society. The second focuses on the intricate relationship between the individual and society. And the final set of questions involves theories about change.
Through these lectures and their historical case studies, you'll be able to identify the fundamental questions and concerns that shape classical and modern political theory:
- Describe the influence of one's understanding of human nature upon one's vision of the good society.
- Compare and contrast the views of theorists regarding the purpose of the state, the relationship between politics and ethics, and the qualifications for exercising political power.
- Discuss views of leading political theorists regarding the meaning of freedom, the sources of legitimate political authority, and the obligations of individuals to the state or society, and more.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
©1991 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)1991 The Great CoursesIts a rather select and limited scope of political thinkers.
Too little on Aristotle's politics.
Nothing on conservative thinkers like Burke.
A strong bias to contemporary mainstream American Liberalism.
The professor is a Ghandi expert and spent time on India and he does tend to have an ongoing bias to Ghandi & Hinduism which is not that relevant to much of the course.
The professor has a tendency to ramble and keep repeating the same point over and over.
Good in parts but limited in scope.
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Enjoyed it immensely
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If I had to give it a negative, I would say that the course is too short, and the topics left out are a real shame. Hobbes is barely touched, along with Locke and Paine as well, all three only get a small mention in reference to Thoreau. However, the course is so overwhelmingly good that I cannot take points away for lack of these writers. The lecturer is an expert on Ghandi, and the episode on Ancient hindu philosophy is superfluous for people like me (really interested in the Western theory), but I'm sure very interesting for some.
Overall, I would say this is the best Great Courses series I've heard so far, and I'm just hoping he writes a new edition with a few more conservative philosophers! The course concentrates on more radical ideas and these does leave some of the debates behind.
Fantastic, cannot recommend enough.
A well written and fascinating course
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Power to the Listener
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Learned a lot! Great lectures.
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I'm still trying to figure out who Play Doh is.
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But overall an informative course done by an excellent and passionate narrator.
Entertaining but light on the theory
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This is a really great course.
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fascinating and informative
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The reason I have dropped a point for the performance is not because of the narrator himself, but because I feel that audiobooks produced in this day and age should be highly professional in their production quality. Most of the lecture series I have listened to recently have been produced and edited to a very high standard. However, this one is quite raw, with frequent coughing and lip-smacking left in. For many, this is a minor point, but for me it was enough to drop a star.
Great Lecture Series, but a Little Basic
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