I have taught courses on political philosophy at four schools — the University of Chicago, Rosary College, Idaho State University, and Northern Illinois University. I have had to adjust the style of my teaching to conform to the distinctive character of each school. But I have found that the most fundamental obstacles to winning the attention of students have been the same.

Many students have begun my courses with four unfavorable preconceptions. They believe that political philosophy is too abstract. And for that reason they also believe that it has no application to contemporary political issues. Moreover, many students assume that since the classic texts of political thought are old, the ideas they contain must therefore be obsolete. And finally they think that political philosophy is ultimately subjective because no philosopher can prove his ideas to be absolutely true.