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Lecture 1

POL373H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Montesquieu

Political Science
Course Code
Rebecca Kingston

Sept 11 2017
Montesquieu dividing gov’t in Spirit of the Laws according to how many people rule and
the general sentiment of the gov’t (social sentiment of each regime; love of honour, love
of equality, etc.)
When policy makers don’t take into account the emotional needs of the citizens, it can
lead to failure (i.e. Brazilia) … (James Scott)
Emotion as an important means of motivation
Why has emotion been separated from political science?
Growth of modern science & its image of the human … ‘privatizing of emotion’
o Idea that emotions are idiosyncratic; too personal; emotion as projection of
individual tendencies and personalities, etc.
Issues w/ excessive emotion (i.e. nationalism)
Shift to more ‘rational’ language after 17th c., people stopped saying people were driven
by passions but were instead driven by interests
Shift in late 18th c. and 19th c., to seeing universalism as a proof of moral goodness (Kant,
B/c of this, we’re blinded by motivational questions in politics how do we become
attached to “core values” in liberal democratic society
Disregarding emotions in politics may actually encourage apathy and lack of political
What does a just and good society feel like?
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