Evolution Of Political Philosophy

The progression of political philosophy paved the way to man’s thirst to know more of the political and on how to live his life ideally. Although political philosophy has aided man in gaining knowledge of the political, man’s intellectual and practical development has deemed political philosophy and its normative approach impractical. The decline and decay of the discipline brought forth the opportunity for the emergence of political theory – to aid philosophy of its normativity and to legitimize itself, and of political science – adapting the empirical methods of research and the practical application of political theories. In return, the shifts in theory and practice have continued to put political philosophy in a position where it needs

In every era of political thought, there are distinct political theorists and subsequently a corresponding political theory. As political philosophy is concerned with the end or final value of political things (Chiranjeev, Jacib, & Natarajan, 2013), political theory is the result of political philosophy’s network of concepts and generalizations. And according to Weinstein, political theory is an activity concerned with political phenomena both in the philosophical, for the classic traditional political theory, and as well as empirical, for the contemporary political theory (Chiranjeev, Jacib, & Natarajan, 2013). Similar to the classic political philosophy, political theory in the same era, does not also necessarily provide answers to all of man’s queries but it does at least aids man with the knowledge on how he should go about with the solution. Logical consistency and abstract reasoning are the standards to which political theory in the classic era are assessed (Ashcraft, 1980). Theoretical interpreters have seen their role as historic missions to straighten the logical muddles (Ashcraft, 1980) of ancient masters in order to relay the message they originally had. In the midst of the progression of political philosophy, political theory also went along with the flow of its own evolution. The questions raised by historicism today are considered to be the most urgent by

It evolved from the classical and traditional normative political theory into the contemporary and rather stagnant discipline it is today (Chiranjeev, Jacib, & Natarajan, 2013). In between the two shifts, political philosophy has also immersed itself in the empirical approach – abandoning the value-fact distinction of philosophy and science. Rather than being purely normative, political theory is grounded on the experience of experimental scientists (Gunnell, 1981). While lagging behind the developments of political science and political theory, political philosophy transformed itself and its normative ways into the like, or ultimately into, empirical political theory. With this empirical political theory, concerned with the description and explanation of political reality, political philosophy was able to once again legitimize itself.

Political philosophy is in a state of decline is because political philosophers of recent times have focused on questions of meaning (Brown, 1986). They are drawn to the pure and abstract constructs of a concept’s “meaning” – a trait which adds to the discipline’s stigma of impracticality. This status of philosophy is further advanced by the proud scientization of the methods of