Reading philosophy can be like trying to ride a bucking bronco—you hold on for dear life while “transcendental deduction” twists you to one side, “causa sui” throws you to the other, and a 300‐word, 300‐year‐old sentence comes down on you like an iron‐shod hoof the size of a dinner plate. This Is Philosophy is the riding academy that solves these problems. Each book in the series is written by an expert who knows how to gently guide students into the subject regardless of the reader’s ability or previous level of knowledge. Their reader‐friendly prose is designed to help students find their way into the fascinating, challenging ideas that compose philosophy without simply sticking the hapless novice on the back of the bronco, as so many texts do. All the books in the series provide ample pedagogical aids, including links to free online primary sources. When students are ready to take the next step in their philosophical education, This Is Philosophy is right there with them to help them along the way.

This Is Philosophy: An Introduction
Steven D. Hales

This Is Philosophy of Mind: An Introduction
Pete Mandik

This Is Ethics: An Introduction
Jussi Suikkanen

This Is Political Philosophy: An Introduction
Alex Tuckness and Clark Wolf

Forthcoming:

This Is Metaphysics: An Introduction
Kristopher McDaniel

This Is Epistemology: An Introduction
Clayton Littlejohn

This Is Philosophy of Religion: An Introduction
Neil Manson

This Is Modern Philosophy: An Introduction
Kurt Smith

This Is Bioethics: An Introduction
Udo Schuklenk

There is no consensus in political philosophy about the order in which to introduce topics; and we realize that the order we have chosen may diverge from the order that some instructors will prefer. For this reason, the chapters in our book are designed to be substantially independent and can be used in any order. Although we occasionally refer to arguments from previous chapters to help students see connections, these references are not necessary in order to understand the material. Our goal is to create a flexible tool that can be used in a variety of different ways. Some may teach straight through. Others may want to pair this book with classic texts or case studies.

There is, however, a logic to the order of the chapters. Part I (Chapters 1–4) examines four core values that represent goals, or potential goals, of government: happiness, freedom, equality, and justice. In Part II we look at topics related to the nature of political authority: democracy and the conditions for legitimate government , the obligation to obey the law, and the legitimacy of political violence (including the topics of war and punishment). Part III (Chapters 8–10) looks at more specific questions: Who counts (Chapter 8) explores questions regarding who deserves justice, for example questions about animal rights, environmental ethics, and abortion. Chapter 9 looks at the relationship between religion and politics, including a discussion of multiculturalism. Chapter 10 addresses problems in political ethics.

Our overall approach is to try to move from examples and cases to philosophical investigation of the questions those examples and cases raise. Our hope is that the book will prepare students to have more thoughtful responses when the issues are discussed in class. Our goal is to introduce the central issues in political philosophy in ways that students will find both engaging and challenging.

Politics and philosophy initially seem a strange pairing. Philosophy is logical, rational, and abstract. Politics is often thought to be about power, connections, and persuading people however you can, regardless of whether the arguments are logical (or even true) or not. But this doesn’t tell the whole story. Imagine the following conversation:

Political arguments don’t normally proceed like this, because merely asserting your wants is not a very persuasive way to explain your political views. In the real world, Justin is more likely to say something like: “Because affirmative action promotes justice and equality.” When he merely says what he wants, there is not much to argue about. When he makes a claim about justice and equality, there is plenty to argue about. He must persuade us that justice and equality are good things and that affirmative action does in fact support them.

Political philosophy is about taking seriously the reasons people give for claiming that political positions are good, right, or true and asking whether the reasons they give are good ones. Are they better than the reasons for thinking the opposite? Perhaps we are all sometimes persuaded by bad arguments. But most of us like to think that we know the difference between a bad political argument and a good one. We don’t like to think that people are manipulating us successfully with bad arguments. In this sense, studying political philosophy is like studying self‐defense. People often throw around terms like “justice” and “equality” without defining clearly what they mean by them, without explaining why we should value them, and without considering their implications. By arming yourself with philosophical understanding, you can avoid being misled.

We think that the best way to introduce political philosophy is to begin with real political debates and to show how philosophy sheds light on those debates. For this reason we begin each chapter with a political discussion between Justin and Sophie. We picked these names because Sophie is related to the ancient Greek word for wisdom (sophia) in the word “philosophy,” which means “love of wisdom.” The name Justin comes from the Latin word for justice (iustitia), arguably the most important term in political philosophy. As you watch them argue, you will see political philosophy in action. In the book as a whole we will try to use examples and illustrations to make the ideas clear and interesting.