SYLLABUS IMPORTANT TOPICS

1. Presented By:
Dr. TRIPTI SHARMA

2. INTRODUCTION:-
 DOY:- 1807
 POB:- London
 WORKS:- On Liberty, The subjection Of Women,
Principles of Political Economy, Utilitarianism,
Representative Government.
 METHODOLOGY:- Induction (one generalize from
experience)
INFLUENCES:-
 James Mill
 Bentham

3. ON UTILITARIANISM/ REVISION OF
UTILITARIANISM
 IT IS BETTER TO BE HUMAN BEING DISSATISFIED THAN A PIG
SATISFIED; IT IS BETTER TO BE A SOCRATES DISSATISFIED THAN A
FOOL SATISFIED.
 Replaced self-interest with self-sacrifice
 Happiness is only a by-product of some pursuit
 Pleasures differs in quantity as well as quality
 Pleasures cannot be objectively measured
 Dignity of man & not the achievement of pleasure in the final end of life
 State exists to promote virtue among individuals
 Liberty to Mill is an end in itself & not a utility
 Importance to the role of history
 Positive role of the state
 Favored weightage for the educated classes
 Mill regarded state as a product of will rather than of interest
 Importance to the role of history

4. NATURE OF LIBERTY
 Freedom of expression
 Freedom of thought
 Freedom of action
 BASIS OF FREEDOM
 Individual is sovereign over his body & mind
 Division of individual’s activities into self-regarding &
other regarding
 Mill’s concept of liberty is negative
 Individualistic or atomistic conception of society

5. ON INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY
Liberty is absolute in so far as the individual is
concerned
 Freedom of association
 Liberty of taste & pursuits
 The ‘inward domain of consciousness

6. NEGATIVE LIBERTY
 When it impinges upon the liberty of others
 The only justifiable reason to interfere with an individual’s exercise of
liberty is to prevent harm to others
ON FREEDOM OF SPEECH
 In democracy, public opinion overpowers the alternatives power
 The tendency is for individuals to be intolerant of ideas that go against
the grain
 At times people take for granted the rational behind conventional
wisdom
 No one is infallible
 Dissenting opinions may possess some truth
 Discussion enables people to better understand what is true
 Discussion allows people to take heart what is accepted as true
CRITICISM

7. REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT
 The first element of good government was the virtue &
intelligence of the human beings composing the
community
 The ideally best form of government is that in which
the sovereignty is vested in the entire community &
every citizen is called on to take an actual part in
government by the personal discharge of some public
function

9. INTRODUCTION:-
 DOY:-1748
 POB:- England
 WORKS:- The Introduction to the principles of morals & legislation,
Discourses civil & penal Legislation, Manual of Political Economy
 METHODOLOGY:- determinate choice in economics & in ethics,
experimental methods of reasoning
INFLUENCES:-
 Priestley’s essay on Government
 Pleasure-Pain Theory of Locke & Hume
 Hobbes individualism
 Beccaria’s treatise ‘crime & punishment’
 Philosophical Radicalism of Ricardo

10. Utilitarianism
 Principle of Utility
 Greatest happiness of the greatest number
 Sources of pleasure & pain : moral, political,
natural, religious
 Felicific Calculus : intensity, duration, certainty,
remoteness, propinquity.
 Value theory combined with right action

11. VIEWS ABOUT THE STATE
 Conceives of the state as a group of persons organized for
the promotion & maintenance of utility- that is happiness
or pleasure
 State is not a product of any contract & individuals obeys it
for their sake & welfare
 People obeys the laws because laws protects them
 State is different from any other association which is the
ultimate source of laws: State is a law making institution
 State is the source of rights
 State is a means but individual are the ends

12. VIEWS ON DEMOCRACY
 All governments are in itself one vast evil: based on power & fear
 Government’s aim is to bring happiness to people
He supported democracy
 Universal manhood suffrage
 Annual Parliament
 Secret Ballot System
 Abolition of the House of Lords
 PM elected for 4 years
 Public services can be obtained through Competition
 Every court will provide an advocate without cost for the poor
people for justice
Criticism

13. REFORMISM OF BENTHAM
 Reforms in law & justice
 Reforms in punishment
 Reforms in jail
 Education reforms
 Reforms in political sphere
 Reformative plan of economy
 Reformative plan of church

14. CONTRIBUTION
 Representative Government
 Analytical School of jurisprudence
 Influence on the English administration of justice
 His theory of punishment
 Equality in the voting system
 Basic principle became a watchword for liberalism
 State is a means & not an end in itself
 Separation of politics from ethics

15. PLATO
INTRODUCTION:-
 DOY:- 427/428 BC
 POB:- Athens
 WORKS:- The Republic, The Statesman, The Laws
 METHODOLOGY:- Deductive also called Philosophical,
Dialectical Method,
 INFLUENCES:- Virtue is Knowledge, Theory Of Reality,
Theory of Knowledge

16. Theory Of Justice
 Justice does not consist in mere adherence to the laws, for
it is based on the inner nature of the human spirit.
 Justice is the central theme of the Plato’s Republic.
 Started with “What Justice is not?”
Plato’s Rejection of prior theories
 Traditional Theory of Justice: Caphalus & Polymarchus
 Radical Theory of Justice: Thrasymachus
 Pragmatist theory of Justice: Glaucon
Criticism

17. Theory of Education
“PLATO’S REPUBLIC IS NOT MERELYAN ESSAY
ON GOVT., IT IS A TREATISE ON EDUCATION”-
Rousseau
 Athenian System Of Education
 Spartan System Of Education
SCHEME OF PLATO’S EDUCATION
 ELEMENTARY:- 6-20 Years
 HIGHER:- 20-30 years ; 30-35 Years 35-50 years

18. Features
 Compulsory & State controlled
 Education for men & women
 Education meant for Peasants & Artisans: “Men of
copper can be made into men of silver & even of gold if
they possess their attributes.”
 Strict Censorship on literature
 Importance to Mathematics
 For Mental & Physical development
CRITICISM

19. The Philosopher King
ASSUMPTIONS
 Triplicity of human soul
 Virtue is knowledge
VIRTUES
 Lover of wisdom
 Follower of truth
 Self control
 Lover of justice
 Free from selfishness
 Calm nature
 Memory power
CRITICISM

20. IDEAL STATE
 FATHER OF IDEALIST SCHOOL, POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY
 IDEAL STATE IN THE REPUBLIC
FEATURES
 Ruled by Philosophers
 State controlled education prepares the Philosopher King
 State control over art & literature
 Spirit of justice in the ideal state
 Class division in the ideal state
 Functional specialization
 Communism of property for rulers & soldiers
 Equal status of woman
 Communism of wives for rulers & soldiers
 Status of children of rulers & soldiers
CRITICISM