Traditional Approaches and Methods

Philosophical Approach

The philosophical approach, as the name suggests, treats political issues as philosophical concerns. Its main concern is to find out what should be or ought to be the principles, ideals and organizing criteria of political and human society.

The Greek thinkers espoused, and enquired into, philosophical issues. In the writings of Plato and Aristotle we find philosophical concerns, such as the proposition of an ideal State/society, principle of justice, and so on. From this concern for the ideal, the philosophical approach becomes prescriptive and normative, and reflects ethical concerns. For example, in Plato’s search for the philosopher king and principle of justice on which to organize his republic. Similarly, Aristotle’s assertion that the State alone is self-sufficing and it alone can provide conditions within which the highest development of human beings can take place reflects the same concern. For him, self-sufficiency of the State goes beyond mere territorial or economic self-sufficiency, and stands for moral and ethical self-sufficiency. It is this that leads him to say that the State comes into existence for the sake of life and continues for the sake of good life. Further, when Aristotle says, and the Greeks agree, that man is a political animal, it indicates that for them political life was the very end, the teleos of human existence. Barker sums up this concern of the Greeks when he says, ‘The nóλις (polis) was an ethical society; and political science, as the science of such society, became in the hands of the Greeks particularly and predominantly ethical.¹² Thus, political science became concerned with ethical issues and not merely superficial arrangements of offices.

The philosophical approach generally adopts the deductive method and seeks a priori or universal principles. It draws conclusions or prescriptions based on these principles. The existing arrangements, political set-up and public offices are judged according to the conclusions drawn from the universal principles. According to Plato, ‘Knowledge of the proper use to which any branch of knowledge should be put is a master knowledge’. And he identified this with the art of politics, or political science.¹³

According to Sabine, political theory is associated with the ‘philosophic–scientific tradition’ and has been characterized by ‘architectonic’ stance with respect to its subject matter. ‘A political theorist stands outside the edifice as an architect might … sees it as a whole, plans its whole development, and adjusts this or that aspect with an eye to the success of the whole.’¹⁴ This ‘whole’ has to come from a priori principle(s) and universal values to which the practical aspects can be adjusted. This shows that values and universal principles should not be isolated from political enquiry.

Contemporary thinkers such as Leo Strauss have insisted that philosophy being the quest for universal knowledge, political philosophy is an ‘attempt to know both the nature of political things and the right, or the good, political order.¹⁵ He believes that political science is concerned with not only arrangements but also values. Thus, values are integral to political philosophy, and political philosophy is integral to political thought and, hence, to political enquiry. He is very critical of the distinction made between political science and political philosophy, and the fact–value dichotomy being maintained as a result of this distinction. Like Strauss, Eric Voegelin also supports philosophical political science as the search to understand what a good citizen and a good society are.

Medieval theorists like Thomas Aquinas also reflected the themes and ideas of the Greek political theorists. Aquinas defined society as ‘a system of ends and purposes’,¹⁶ and insisted on the moral aspects of governing and authority. Immanuel Kant’s concept of ‘human dignity’ where he asserts that an individual should be treated not merely as a means but also as an end is a philosophical enquiry. The concept of ‘moral or self-development’ found in J. S. Mill, T. H. Green and C. B. Macpherson also raises philosophical questions. In fact, the philosophical approach seeks the moral basis of political obligation and legitimacy of authority. Rawls’s distributive theory of justice and Nozick’s entitlement-based theory of justice both seek justice, though in different ways.

The empirical and behavioural theorists criticize the philosophical approach for being speculative and subjective, and maintain that there is a dichotomy between facts and values. They believe that all political enquiry should be fact-oriented, not value-based.