The Oxford Handbook of the History of Political Philosophy ||

✍ Scribed by Klosko, George

• Book ID: 120515420
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Year: 2011
• Weight: 112 KB
• Category: Article
• ISBN: 0199238804
• DOI: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199238804.001.0001

✦ Synopsis

This book presents fifty original articles, each covering the entire subject in the history of political philosophy. It provides not only a survey of the state of research but substantial pieces that engage with, and move forward, current debates. Part I addresses questions of method. Articles discuss the contextual method, classically articulated by Quentin Skinner, along with important alternative methods associated with Leo Strauss and his followers, and contemporary post-modernism. This first part also examines the value of the history of political philosophy and the history of the discipline itself. Part II, based upon chronological periods, works through the entire history of Western political philosophy. While most articles address recognizable chronological periods, others are devoted to more specialized topics, including the influence of Roman law, medieval Arabic political philosophy, socialism, and Marxism. Aspects of the history of political philosophy that transcend specific periods are the subject of Part III. Articles on topics such as democracy, the state, and imperialism trace theoretical developments over time. The histories of major non-Western traditions—Muslim, Confucian, and Hindu—are discussed in the final part, with special reference to their relationships to Western political thought.