Democratic Philosophy & Types of Democracies Unit 1: Const. Underpinnings (Foundations)

Unit 1: Essential Question How does the Constitution demonstrate the concept of limited government?

Words in red have appeared on previous released AP exams

Common Theme for the Course… In order to REALLY understand how our society works, how the realities of life work, and how situations have managed to become so problematic for many people along time and geography… What is the Lowest Common Denominator?... WE ARE…HUMANS This course is really about HUMANS

Humans, Power, & Tyranny… Our “story” from day one begins with this internal struggle with having power and what we do with it From the Bible’s Adam & Eve, Lucifer the Fallen Angel, Greek and Roman myths about gods to Marvel’s Avengers movies… the story remains the same…

A little philosophy before we start… Take 2 mins to answer for YOURSELF (this is your view of the world) the following question… Do you believe babies are born “bad”, therefore need to be taught “good”? OR Do you believe babies are born “good”, therefore are taught to be “bad”?

A View From a Distance…How we “See” Democracy

Democracy in Action: The Dead Gazelle

Conclusions & Inferences on the Dead Gazelle Take the next 2 mins to debrief your OBSERVATIONS from the Dead Gazelle- How do animals in the jungle resolve this problem? Bringing this out to the floor… Now, “initial conclusions/inferences”…

The Dead Gazelle: A Case Study

New Conclusions & Inferences on the Animals as Humans and “Dead Gazelle” Now, pretend these animals are HUMANS… What changes? Is there anything different that could happen? How would humans in the “jungle” resolve this problem? Take the next 2 mins to debrief your OBSERVATIONS from the Dead Gazelle-what are the two of you thinking? Bringing this out to the floor… Now, “initial conclusions/inferences”…

A Closer “Look” at Humans To better understand ourselves, we have to have an honest “look” at ourselves What we are going to examine now is the following: You will draw a silhouette of a human You will fill out the silhouette with what you feel and think makes us “human” You can focus on “all” aspects of human, good & bad, light & dark, etc You will share your silhouette and discuss what “qualities” do we as humans posses that define who we are with your partner

Morgana’s “View” of Humanity Has a story and past Capacity to hate Can reflect Selfish & greedy Can love Rational thinker Easily influenced complex Capacity to create beauty Capacity for isolation Can make decisions Hungry to consume Has memories Vulnerable to environment Ability to empathize Narrow minded Can be a part of group/family Levels of assholery multidimensional

Debrief and Next Steps… Take a look at your silhouette for about 30 seconds… Do you notice anything about how your “human” is probably divided or broken up? Probably in two, two sides, two sides of the same coin…this has a name… The Duality or Dichotomy of humanity What do we do with this “split” in humanity? How do we reconcile (make peace) with this split? What are the ramifications (effects) of this on society?

The Realities…

Closure & Conclusions Take the next 3-5 mins to do the following to close out our session for today: Write a conclusion/analysis with these questions as a guide How do you “see” humanity now after this first conversation? What are your initial “conclusions” on what we need to deal with the duality/dichotomy of humanity given the realities we saw today in photographs?

Part 2: Types of Democracies, Values, Beliefs, & Structures

Majoritarian View of Democracy Majoritarian view: leaders are heavily influenced by will (choices) of people Thinking: How is the will of the people carried out?

Elite View of Democracy Elite Politics view: minorities dominate policy (laws) making Thinking: Name examples of how this is played out in real world.

The Pluralist View of Democracy Pol. Resources are scattered- no single elite has monopoly Thinking: What do you think is meant by pol. resources?  

Hyper pluralistic View of Democracy Hyperpluralist view: Too many groups competing for resources Thinking: Is competition necessarily a bad thing?

Direct vs. Representative Democracies Direct Democracy Representative Democracy People have direct access to making decisions & laws This usually worked in small villages or homogenous environments People CHOOSE people to make decisions & laws on their behalf This is what the U.S. and most other nations use

Processing Democracies Thinking Time With your partner, take 2 mins to discuss this question: Which of the two systems discussed demonstrate a distrust or lack of confidence in people? Explain why Bringing this out to the floor…

Elements of Democracy There are elements of democracy that need to be present in order for it to work in the purest of its form Next slides will highlight some of these elements in parts…

Democratic Values

Democratic Processes

Democratic Structures

Lecture DQs: Types of Democracies Identify and discuss 2 of the major views of democracies Identify 1 value, 1 process, 1 structure of democracy