Search results

This article surveys developments in recent social theory in the course of outlining a new rationale for Politics following the subject's own expansion and in the light of developments in post-empiricist thought. It suggests reasons for thinking of Politics as a cultural rather than a positive science. It outlines a number of core or primary political problems which comprise the intellectual foundations of the discipline. It suggests, overall, that Politics is especially concerned with maintaining and improving the viability of human association(s) in the light of conditions created by the rise and expansion of complex societies.

A new rationale is presented for political studies in light of the trend away from empirical consideration of the discipline. The question of the many subfields within political studies & their contribution to an integrated field of study is also addressed. To tie the subfields together into one structure, it is recognized that each focuses on some aspect of human associations; thus political studies as a discipline examines the different types of human associations, & how individuals can live together in a community. Such an examination does not constitute a physical science, but rather a cultural science. 31 References. A. Cole