The Athenian Socrates (469-399 BC) is generally considered to be the founder of Political Philosophy (P.Phil). The bust pictured here is a depiction of Socrates found at the Louvre Museum in Paris. (Credit)Socrates taught Plato, and Plato taught Aristotle.
The works of Plato and Aristotle are the oldest known works devoted to P.Phil (in the Western tradition).
We know Socrates through Plato. Socrates did not write one book or letter, or least nothing can be attributed to him today.
Socrates is important because he is the first to ask questions about political nature and justice. He wondered about the form and character of things and he became engrossed in questions about the "idea of justice" or "natural rights" of men.
One cannot understand the "nature of man" without understanding the "nature of society".
For Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, the Polis or City-State was the best regime/government to be found because it represented and captured the "nature of man" and the "nature of society".
The City-State in this conceptualization was not seperate from society. State and society was considered to much the same thing.
This is very different than the time we live in as mentioned in class. The state is hardly the same thing as society.
So for Socrates, knowing society's nature is knowing the state's nature.
In these terms, the City-State (Polis) encapsulated justice and it was considered to be the highest form of civilization.
The tribe or Empire, both regimes were known to Socrates, was considered a lesser regime and even incapable of high culture and civilization.
The questions about about justice, liberty, and the rights of man are more conducive in the City-State.
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