1. Who were the Ionians? What were they concerned about? What was their beef with Homer?

2. Describe the differences/conflicts between the "theory of becoming" and the "the theory of being."

3. What personal experiences made Plato distrustful of democracy?

4. What is the central message of Plato'sThe Republic?

5. Why did Plato view democracy as a substandard political system?

6. What are some key criticisms ofThe Republic?

7. On what points did Plato and Aristotle agree? On what points did they disagree?

8. According to Aristotle, what do political leaders need in addition to knowledge?

9. What was Socrates' beef with the Sophists?

10. How and when did the nation-state system come into being?

11. How can Machiavelli be considered a realist?

12. What was the political context that served as the backdrop to Machiavelli's writing of The Prince?

13. What is meant by instrumental rationality?

14. Why must the prince be both the "lion" and the "fox"?

15. What was Machiavelli's opinion on violence?

16. According to Machiavelli, is it better to be feared or loved? And how can one avoid being hated?

17. What was Machiavelli's attitude toward religion?