Genious Alert1234 ONLY- 4 ASSIGNMENTS BY SATURDAY AT 4 PM EST
TBone6102
political_thought_course_project.docxCourse Project - Final Draft
It's time to submit the Final Draft of your Course Project. Please take a moment to go back to Module 2 and review the instructions for the project and to make certain you have met all of the requirements which are below:
The course project requires you to research and write an analytical paper comparing and contrasting the political views of two philosophers on one of the following areas:
a. Who should govern - one, few, or many?
Your paper should be 6-8 full pages in length, plus a cover page and a References Page.
THE MODULE 3 ASSIGNMENT-OUTLINE/ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY IS BELOW FOR YOU TO USE ALONG WITH PROFESSOR’S FEEDBACK COMMENTS.
Outline
1. St. Augustine and St. Thomas were two Christian philosophers that established different political theories from a religion point of view. The two philosophers share different opinions concerning governance. However, one of the most important things that the two agreed upon is on the governance concept. According to the two philosophers, leadership and governance are inevitable when it comes to human nature.
a. According to St. Augustine, people are sinners by nature, and it is because of sin that God has made the people to be ruled by their fellow human being. However, the theory of St. Augustine states that no human being should rule over fellow human beings because God is the overall ruler but the sinful nature of man has made it so because sin subjects man to his fellow man
b. According to St, Thomas Aquinas, the world is occupied by both good and evil men. Hence, a government is necessary so that it can help in improving the evil men and enable the good men to have a peaceful place to live in. Thus, St. Thomas emphasis that good man should only occupy the government.
2. St. Augustine and St. Thomas had different views concerning who should govern the people. The various opinions were triggered by their different understanding about the government as well as its purpose.
a. St. Augustine perceives the government as something limited and something that is of no importance or significance and hence many people should not get involved. According to St. Augustine, the government is there just to give directions because people are sinners and needs to be controlled.
b. St. Thomas Aquinas perceives that the government is an important setting that helps the evil people to change and protect the good people. Thus, the best form of government is that of monarchy where many people are involved. Thomas shares the feelings that an oligarchy type of government which includes one or a few individuals creates an environment that favors tranny which would adversely affect the people. It is only when many people are involved that democracy can be achieved and anarchy prevented.
Conclusion
St. Thomas and St. Augustine are two great philosophers that developed various theories on different aspects of life and spirituality. The two philosophers made their arguments from a religious point of view. On politics, the two philosophers had views on the aspect who should govern. This means that they both agreed on one thing that there should be governance even though they differed on why there should be governance and who should govern. St. Augustine supported a limited type of government while as St. Thomas claimed that many people should govern.
Annotated Bibliography
Aquinas, St Thomas. (2007). Palgrave Macmillan Dictionary of Political Thought:
The article features about St. Thomas and well as the things that triggered to his political views way of thinking. The article is a highly reliable source because it has the original work of St. Thomas. Also, the source has relevant information that will help the project to be comprised of original work. Hence, it does not even compare with another source because it has firsthand information. Hence, the source will help the project to be rich in accurate and detailed information.
Carr, A., Klaassen, M., Zuidervaart, L., & Shuker, R. (2013). Truth Matter: Knowledge, Politics, Ethics, Religion. Montreal: MQUP:
In this article, the author focuses on the benefits of philosophers like Aquinas, St. Augustine and many others who helped in bring the truth about governance to the people. The author considers philosophers as educators who have played a significant role in shaping the way people perceive different issues especially leadership. The article is an excellent reliable source because it is a recent source and this means that the information provided has been made from a current point of view. Also, the source has covered the issue from a wider perspective where it covers not only the two philosophers on focus but also other scholars. The source will help in the writing of the project because it has accurate information on how the true information that the philosophers provided has impacted the people's current perspective about governance.
Clap, R. (2011). Governing desire, Christian Century, 128(9), 61:
This article presents different author's reflections on the necessity and role of government from a Christian perspective. Hence, the source features the various merits of a government in general hence featuring why it is important for people to have a running government. In the article, the author features St. Augustine's of Hippo leadership and governance theories where the author expresses the need not only to criticize the existing flawed government systems but instead focus on structuring human behavior in general. This article is classified as a reliable source because it features an in-depth review of St. Augustine’s political philosophies and hence has relevant information concerning the topic. The source will help to bring out clearly the political views of St. Augustine especially on who should govern.
Gould, K. (2016). The City of God by Saint Augustine. Salem Press Encyclopedia Of Literature: http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.rasmussen.edu/eds/detail/detail?sid=f00ef4c4-bd72-4a8b-94bf-7b17abf59b47%40sessionmgr102&vid=0&hid=121&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#AN=117480409&db=ers
The author features how St. Augustine uses the City of God to demonstrate how governance should be carried out. In the article, the city of God which has the absolute governance that should be used is featured to show why many people should not govern a country. The source is reliable because it has relevant information that is highly objective and covers the subject from a wide perspective. The source will help the project because it will provide the project with the necessary and accurate information on Augustine’s political philosophies on who should govern.
Goyette, J. (2013). On the Transcendence of the Political Common Good, National Catholic Bioethics
The author aims at articulating and defending St. Thomas Aquinas understanding and political theory on the common good. The author argues against the arguments on new natural approach views on the common good stating that these new theories are limited and hinders democracy. This article is highly reliable because it is recent and has relevant information that concedes with the issue under discussion. More so, the article complements the other sources because it provides the contradicting side of St. Thomas political view as compared to that St, Augustine. Hence, the source will help in bring out a clear comparison how the two philosophers differed on their political view on who should govern.
PROFESSOR’S FEEDBACK COMMENTS
The outline is solid as it provides a nice general overview of the direction of the paper. Though you provided complete sentences, it is still somewhat challenging to see exactly which direction you will take some of the points.
I am concerned that it will become a very basic biography - please note that this is not the purpose of the paper so keep that very brief.
I’d also like to see you interweave the compare/contrast more – instead of separating the two, let the reader see them directly.
Your annotated bibliography met the requirements of 5 sources with annotations that provided the necessary information to determine if the sources are appropriate. One of the more important aspects of this assignment was encouraging you to really evaluate the sources before venturing off on the writing. You may still add sources if you wish. Your sources are appropriate and should prove to be meaningful for your project.
Mike
