This chapter introduces Political Science: the meaning and origin of politics, how the discipline grew from Greek philosophy into a modern social science, its definitions, nature and scope, the debate on whether it is a science or an art, the traditional and modern approaches to its study, and its relationship with other social sciences. The study of politics dates back to 5th century BCE Greece.
1. Meaning and Origin of Politics
- The term 'Politics' is closely related to the Greek word 'Polis', meaning 'city-state' (for affairs of the cities, for affairs of the state).
- The study of politics dates back to 5th century BC (BCE) Greece, with immense contributions by Plato (428/427 BC – 348/347 BC) and Aristotle (384 BC – 322 BC).
- Before the 20th century, the study of politics was integrated with other disciplines such as history and philosophy.
- The last two centuries saw politics concentrating on the conflict between liberty and equality; in the 21st century a central theme has been the conflict between liberty and security.