Pol 3133 Test Ii Flashcards

Front 1

5 principles of stoicism

Back 1

1. The divine is immanent within nature and history. All that happens is necessary and good.
2. Human beings have access to the divine order of nature through our reason.
3. All of life is flux and change; human existence is fleeting.
4. Detachment is controlling one's emotions and passions and by using reason to reconcile themselves to the world.
5. Stoicism recognizes universal rationality and the equality of all humans.

Front 2

Cicero's 4 elements of honorableness

Back 2

1. Learning is associated with wisdom and good sense.
2. Sociability (the most important) is associated with justice and beneficence.
3. Justice involves not harming others without good cause, helping others in need, and being trustworthy.
4. Orderliness is associated with moderation.

Front 3

Cicero's arguments as to why the honorable is beneficial and the dishonorable is not beneficial.

Back 3

1) Dishonorable actions undermine our relations with others, and bring all sorts of unforeseen penalties.
2) We have moral duties to all human beings. When we violate these duties, we act against God, nature, humanity, and society.
3) Because human affairs are uncertain and constantly changing. It is therefore best to act honorably because honorable actions are likely to promote the best results in the long-run.

Front 4

St. Augustine's 4 central ideas

Back 4

1. The human race is corrupted by original sin, which only God's grace can cleanse.
2. Humanity is divided into two cities: the city of man (ruled by those who pursue wealth, power, pleasure, etc.) and the city of god (ruled by those that live according to faith and place God above everything else).
3. Political society must be based on principles of justice.
4. Justice requires obedience to God. The soul cannot rule the body and reason cannot rule the mind.

Front 5

St. Augustine's take on politics

Back 5

Politics is not a noble activity that can help us achieve the good life. Politics is a necessary evil concerned with how to achieve peace and individual security.

Front 6

St. Augustine's 4 reasons why force is justified to compel belief

Back 6

1. It works. Many Donatists turned into good Catholics.
2. Laws help counter peer pressure and grant protection to converts against persecution.
3. Mere teaching is generally insufficient.
4. Christ used coercion e.g. Paul's conversion to Christianity
5. Coercion gives political rulers an opportunity to serve God and benefit individuals

Front 7

Aquinas' 4 incorporations of Aristotelian ideas

Back 7

1. Human beings lost their innocence through original sin, but they retained the use of their reason.
2. God continued to govern the world through secondary causes within nature.
3. Human beings can understand God's natural laws through their reason.
4. Human beings are by nature political beings who can fulfill our natural ends only in society with others.

Front 8

Aquinas' best form of government

Back 8

Kingship by loving, peaceful and good kings because it best assures unity and peace of people.

Front 9

Aquinas' 4 tier Hierarchy of Laws

Back 9

1. The Eternal Law: The law of Divine Providence by which God directs everything in the universe.
2. The Divine Law: The law of the Bible which tells human beings what we must do to achieve salvation.
3. The Natural Law: The part of the eternal law that human beings are able to understand through our reason, which consists of 3 parts: self-preservation, care and propagation of the species, and inclinations toward society and the truth.
4. Human laws: The particular applications of the natural law to human affairs.

Front 10

Aquinas' 3 precepts of natural law

Back 10

1. Promotion of self-preservation.
2. Promotion of marriage, having children, and forming families.
3. Promotion of social cooperation and order, and also encouragement the inclination to know truths about God.

Front 11

Aquinas' take on obedience

Back 11

Subjects should obey their rulers, but only insofar as their rulers obey God and the natural law. Rebellion may be justifiable in extreme cases.

Front 12

Aquinas' take on private property

Back 12

Private property supports self-preservation and social cooperation. But the use of private property should be in some way common. The poor may justly take from the rich out of necessity. Public authorities can rightfully force the redistribution of wealth from rich to poor

Front 13

Aquinas' take on church-State relations

Back 13

The secular power (kings) should be subject to the spiritual power (the pope, bishops, priests) in the matters relating to the soul.

Front 14

Aquinas' take on toleration of non-Christians

Back 14

Political rulers should not tolerate the religious rites of non-Christian religions (except for Judaism) unless toleration is necessary to avoid disorder or intolerance appears counter-productive. Non-Christians should not be forced to adopt Christianity, but heretics should be compelled by physical force if necessary to return to the Catholic Church.

Front 15

Machiavelli's take of fortuna & virtu

Back 15

Machiavelli emphasizes the need to adapt oneself to Fortuna (fortune), which involves changing with the circumstances and times.
He argues that a person of virtue (virtu) can generally conquer fortune.Virtu should be defined in terms of the qualities that promote power and success.

Front 16

Machiavelli's central aim of politics

Back 16

Politics is to achieve, maintain, and increase your own power. A prince should be miserly, feared, and dishonest when necessary for a sake of political success.

Front 17

Machiavelli's recommendations for dealing with a principality in which a different language is spoken

Back 17

1. reside there
2. send colonies
3. befriend weak neighboring states
4. reduce strong neighboring states
5. keep other foreign powers out

Front 18

Locke's arguments in favor in religious toleration.

Back 18

1. Christianity preaches toleration.
2. Faith is internal whearas the civil magistrate enforces of external forces.
3. Enforcing one religion causes discord & war
4. The true religion cannot be known by human beings.

Front 19

Proasts arguments against religious toleration.

Back 19

1. Christianity favors proselytizing.
2. Politics should aim to promote virtue i.e. the good life.
3. Coercion can force people to consider true beliefs.
4. Civil penalties force apathetic individuals to alteast their consider religious convictions.
5. Civil penalties to enforce religion, even if wrong, still force people people to defend their religious beliefs with only a "minor inconvenience."