CHAPTER ONE
Introducing the Ancient Debate

Study

People’s preconceptions affect the way they think about politics, which can make it very difficult to study politics systematically and to remain open to new concepts, different approaches, and alternative perspectives. Thus, it is important to find some mechanism that enables students of politics to take a step back from their biases, their own desires, their preference for realism or idealism, and so forth. The use of fictional examples can make it easier to set aside our predispositions and can help us to travel to places we typically could not visit and to share experiences that would ordinarily elude us. The difficulty people have when attempting to define the term itself, the changing nature of the subject matter, and disagreements about how to conduct research all further confound the study of politics. Students should learn two very important lessons from this first chapter. First, the study of politics is fascinating. Second, reading only the chapter summary will not adequately prepare you for class or for an exam.

STUDY QUESTIONS