Political Science

Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)

the study which treats of the life, organization, and principles of the state. Its primary purpose is to investigate and trace the history of the various political institutions of the state , showing what useful purposes they serve, the interests which called them into being, and attempting to show how they may be modified to suit changing social conditions . In serving these purposes the need is now felt of having a wide range of historical data in order that vague generalizations may be avoided, and also artificial constructions. The latter has been the particular purpose of the science in the period preceding the rise of historical criticism in the nineteenth century. The method of study now used is the comparative one, an extensive examination and criticism of the existing institutions in many different modern states and a deduction of principles from the facts gathered. Still another purpose of the science, and one which is not nor ever can be fully achieved, is the derivation of sound principles for the conduct of political life. As the nature of the subject is certainly not wholly mathematical , but dependent in great measure on the complex psychology of human beings, until more accuracy is possible in this latter field, sound principles in political science will not be laid down very dogmatically. Like many of the sciences the complex nature of society and the increasing amount of data at the disposal of modern scholars has brought about many subdivisions of political science. Among the divisions earliest to be made was the setting apart of the study of political theory and ethics from that of the field of constitutional and administrative law. A later division has created international law and diplomacy y as subjects apart from comparative study of party politics and legislation. Aristotle's "Politics" is among the first works on political science , and in the field of political theory holds its own against many later treatises. A long space of time elapses before we come to another work which at all ranks with it, not in fact until Jean Bodin, a Frenchman of the 16th century. In the 17th century Hobbes and Locke contributed to the literature of the subject, their elaborate theories revolving around the "social contract." Montesquieu and Rousseau are the leading political theorists of the eighteenth century. In the philosophy of Kant and especially of Hegel is found a considerable amount of political theory interwoven with their general philosophies. The other branches of the science enumerated above, such as the study of administrative law and comparative legislation, did not receive a full measure of attention until the 19th century, but since then have tended to attract a considerable number of scholars. Among contemporary American writers on political science may be mentioned in the first ranks Burgess and Dunring, abroad Bosanquet and Bluntschli.