Political Philosophy Questions

"This leads us to a question that is in dispute: Is it better to be loved than feared, or vice versa? My reply is one ought to be both loved and feared; but, since it is difficult to accomplish both at the same time, I maintain it is much safer to be feared than loved, if you have to do without one of the two"

"For many authors have constructed imaginary republics and principalities that have never existed in practice and never could; for the gap between how people actually behave and how they ought to behave is so great that anyone who ignores everyday reality in order to live up to an ideal will soon discover he has been taught how to destroy himself, not how to preserve himself. For anyone who wants to act the part of a good man in all circumstances will bring about his own ruin, for those he has to deal with will not all be good. So it is necessary for a ruler, if he wants to hold on to power, to learn how not to be good, and to know when it is and when it is not necessary to use this knowledge"

The final cause, end, or design of men (who naturally love liberty, and dominion over others) in the introduction of that restraint upon themselves, in which we see them live in Commonwealths, is the foresight of their own preservation, and of a more contented life thereby; that is to say, of getting themselves out from that miserable condition of war which is necessarily consequent, as hath been shown, to the natural passions of men when there is no visible power to keep them in awe, and tie them, by fear of punishment to the performance of their covenants, and observation of those laws of nature set down in the fourteenth and fifteenth chapters

What does Paine see as the king in the US?

43. Why are proof texts likewise dependent on authority, including reason?

3. Why and how should questions of certainty be treated differently than questions of probability?

4. Why are creation (nature) and redemption (grace) not in conflict?

In Federalist #39 we are told that the goverment established by the Constitution isa. partly national, partly federal.b. a true federation rather than a confederation.c. a consolidation of the states, which serve no important purpose.d. a true democracy, in which the will of the people always prevails

2. How was the insistence on "conscience" (and preventing the violation of conscience) a complicating factor in Hooker's debate with his opponents?

3. What does prudence require particular knowledge of?

6. If the first table of the Decalogue is enforced, does this presume that the conscience (faith) can be enforced?

The leading characteristic of a good executive, according to Publius, isa. reasonb. justicec. energyd power

According to Publius (Hamilton), the radical vice of the Articles of Confederation isa. the failure to include a bill of rights.b. the limited extent of the powers of Congress.c. legislation for the states in their corporate capacities.d. inadequate education of the people, on which republican liberty depends.

In Federalist #47, we are told that the state governmentsa. have offered to serve as a constitutional council-in-judgment to legally settle anyseparation of powers disputes for the proposed new federal government.b. have practiced the separation of powers completely and nearly perfectly.c. have often violated the separation of powers.d. have offered to send experts to the proposed new federal government to advise itin how to maintain the separation of powers.

"Brutus" believes that interpretation ("construction") of the Constitution should bea. in the legislature, elected by the people.b. in the states, which are closer to the peoplec. in the President, as representative of the peopled. in the Supreme Court, as the Constitution allow

Hobbes tells us that we are all equal by nature. He means:a. We are all created in the image of God.b. Parents see all of their children as equals.c. We all have roughly equal ability, especially to do harm.d. Animals don't think human beings are very special.

In Federalist #51, Publius writes that to maintain the separation of powers,a. we must rely on parchment barriers.b. we must rely on enlightened statesmen.c. the people must be called in to settle all constitutional disputes.d. by mixing the powers a little, political ambition can be made to counteractambition.

3. What ought to regulate persons in the state of nature?

According to Aristotle, the city (or state) existsa. by natureb. by consent, since all are naturally equalc. by virtue of its creation by the godsd. by historical process, since nature can provide no standard for men

5. Why did early Protestants insist that the government ideally did more than keep people physically safe?