The study of political philosophy often begins

政治哲学研究的开始
as this course will do

往往就像这门课的做法
also, with the study of the great books

常始于研究巨作
or some of the great books of our field.

或者是我们领域的一些著作
Political philosophy is the oldest of the social sciences,

政治哲学在社会科学中最为古老
and it can boast a wealth of heavy hitters

并拥有大量名人
from Plato and Aristotle

从柏拉图亚里士多德
to Machiavelli, Hobbes, Hegel,

到马基雅维里霍布斯黑格尔
Tocqueville, nietzsche, and so on.You might say

托克维尔尼采等人
that the best way to find out what political philosophy is,

你们也许认为学习政治哲学最好的方式
is simply to study and read the works of those who have shaped the field

只要研读该领域有形的著作就好了
yes, right?

是吗