October 29, 2015
Meliksah University
School of Economics and Administrative Sciences
Department of Political Science and International Relations
Political Philosophy Midterm Exam Questions
Fall 2015
1- Compare and contrast Rousseau’s ideas about the state of nature with Anarchist
approach on justification of the state. Indicate what idea (Rousseau’s or Anarchism’s)
you find more reasonable and why?
2- “Needs for a state does not make it legitimate, but the consent and voluntarily acting
make it legitimate”. What do you understand from this statement? Based on this
statement, do you think Social Contract Theory and Tacit Consent Theory justify the
existence of the state or more arguments are needed to justify the state? What are the
objections of Hume to these theories? Do you think his arguments are viable?
3- Compare and contrast Mill’s notion of ‘representative democracy’ with Plato’s notion
of ‘guardianship’. What notion do you favor (Mill’s notion or Plato’s notion) and
why? Explain in details with supporting examples please.
Note: Please choose one of the questions above to write an essay about. Please indicate your
thoughts clearly. Discuss the subject in review broadly. Please make sure that the thoughts
discussed are your own.
The essay should be between 500 to 750 words. It needs to be double spaced, 12 font size and
times new roman style. The paper should be in word document, not hand written. Please turn
in your paper as hard copy; electronic submissions will not be accepted.
Time given for this paper is two weeks from the date it is distributed. Any delay will be
penalized as it is indicated in the syllabus.
Please also submit your paper to turnitin.com by the deadline that you will turn in your
paper. In order to submit your paper to Turnitin.com, you must register to create an account
and then log into our class using the class code and password provided below:
Class ID: 10882356
Enrolment Pass: 2015
For guidelines and video tutorials (on Enrolling in a Class or Submitting a Paper etc), please
access the Student Training section at:
http://www.turnitin.com/en_us/training/student-training