Political Thinkers: From Socrates to the Present

The most comprehensive introduction to the greatest political thinkers written by a team of international experts. Political Thinkers is the most comprehensive introduction to Western political thought written by a team of internationally renowned scholars. The third edition provides students with a clear and engaging introduction to the canon of great theorists, from Socrates and the Sophists to contemporary thinkers such as Rawls and Arendt. Each chapter begins with a helpful chapter guide, a biographical sketch of the thinker, a list of their key texts, and their key ideas. Part introductions and a concluding chapter enable readers to understand the social and political contexts that inspired political thinkers to write. The third edition features two brand new chapters on Hannah Arendt, one of the most influential philosophers of the twentieth century, and Hugo Grotius, whose work on just war continues to inform international law today.