Pithy
Quotes about Political Science.
“Political
science is governed by five myths: (1) that it studies politics; (2) that it is
scientific; (3) that it is possible to study politics separated off from
economics, sociology, psychology and history; (4) that the state in our
democratic capitalist society is politically neutral, i.e. available as a set
of institutions and mechanisms to whatever group wins the election; and (5)
that political science, as a discipline, advances the cause of democracy.”ť
[Bertell Ollman, “What Is
Political Science? What Should It Be?”, New Political Science, Volume 22, Number 4,
2000, pp. 553-562.]
“The
political scientist, in so far as he wishes to remain a scientist, is limited
to the study of techniques. A good deal of what is called political science, I
must confess, seems, to me a device, invented by academic persons, avoiding
that dangerous subject politics, without achieving science”
[Alfred A.Cobban, In Search of Humanity: The Role of the
Enlightenment in Modern History. (New York: G. Braziller,
1960), p. 240.]
“Apart from economics and geography, it is hard to find a social science that has given less
attention to religion than political science.”
[Kenneth D.
Wald, Clyde Wilcox, “Getting Religion: Has Political Science
Rediscovered the Faith Factor?”, American Political Science Review, November
2006 Vol. 100, No. 4, pp.
523-9.]
“Beyond a stark minimum, subject matter expertise in
world politics translates less into forecasting accuracy than it does into
overconfidence….”
[Philip E. Tetlock, Expert Political Judgment, Princeton U. Press, 2005, p. 161.]
“I was a
political science major.” Harry Shearer
“A young man
is not an appropriate hearer of lectures on political science….” Aristotle, in N. Ethics
If
you are interested in a detailed treatment of the evolution
of the discipline of political science, see the articles in the
Centennial issue of the American Political Science Review, special issue of November 2006.