Teaching Session 1 topic:

Explain how normative political theory differs from science (and political science more
specifically).
Descriptive statements versus normative principles
Factual versus ethical
While science tries to explain what is or to predict what will be, ethics seeks to determine what
ought be done

Postmodern versus analytic

Analytics: focuses on careful conceptual clarification, the drawing of fine dinstinctions, and the
presentation …

Goal of political theory

Make sound political arguments. How?
- Rawls’ two tests
- Original position

Cohen
- Philosophical truth
- Rough-and-ready “rules of regulations”

Ideal versus non-ideal theory

What the right rules would be to govern a society in which people could be relied upon follow
them?

Ideal theory – answering the question, thus making claims

Non ideal –

Political ideals versus feasibility

-right principles – what justice is (ideal theory of justice)
- feasibility – people’s willingness to accept ideals
- what people are likely to do versus what people can do
- the salience of ‘facts’ to political theorizing
-should we reject a political principle if it cannot generate recommendations which are political
plausible?

POSITIVISM VERSUS INTERPRETIVISM

Science - positivist, what is, analytic, political feasibility, Cohen

Normative – interpretivist, what ought to be, post modern, political ideas, Rawls

How do normative political theory intersect and complement other approaches we’ve
encountered, how do they conflict, and why is the distinction is necessary?
Teaching Session 2 topic:

Explain the meta-ethical conflict between value-cognitivism and value-non-cognitivism. What are
the key features of each account?

How does this debate affects our moral judgments and (meta-) ethical discourse?

Science versus
Predictions versus what ought to be done – recommendations

Philosophy
Philosophy of PS – critical understanding of a body of knowledge

Philosophy of Pol ethics –

Value cognitivism

Naturalism – empirical generalizations, subjective feelings

Intuitionism – the endowment of a moral sense, rational knowledge or religious insight

Value noncognitivism – subjective moral statements, not true or false, expressing versus asserting

The natural law thesis

An application of value-cognitivism – example: slaves

Value-nongognitivism and the denial of natural law

-non-cognitivism implies the denial of natural law, but does the denial of natural law entail
noncognitivism?

Value-cognitivism – objective (t or f), naturalism and institutivism

Value-non-cognitivism – subjective, non-cognitive status

Rawls – reflect…I cannot explain moral convictions

Cohen – ‘can’ is a strong word in Cohen sense, what overall believes should be

Essay Topic:
Assess and explain the role normative political theory should play in our political lives. What is the
distinctive contribution that normative questions raise for our understanding of politics?