--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Mostly what is called political science…" description: "\"“Mostly what is called political science seems to me a device, invented by university teachers, for avoiding that dangerous subject politics, without a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ea/alfred-cobban-217740_political-science_mostly-what-is-called-political-science_507602.jpg" --- # Mostly what is called political science seems to me a… ![“Mostly what is called political science seems to me a device, invented by university teachers, for avoiding that dangerous subject politics, without achieving science.” quote by Alfred Cobban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ea/alfred-cobban-217740_political-science_mostly-what-is-called-political-science_507602.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ea/alfred-cobban-217740_political-science_mostly-what-is-called-political-science_507602.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ea/alfred-cobban-217740_political-science_mostly-what-is-called-political-science_507602.jpg) > ““Mostly what is called political science seems to me a device, invented by university teachers, for avoiding that dangerous subject politics, without achieving science.”” Alfred Cobban ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Political science is often used as a shield by academics to avoid confronting real politics, compromising its scientific rigor. **In simple terms:** Academics may dodge real politics using political science. Key Takeaway Critically examine political claims. Themes politics academia science Mood critical skeptical Type political science:1 politics:1 science:1 trump:0 called political:0 teachers avoiding:0 invented university:0 science device:0 When to use this quote - curriculum design - public policy analysis - academic research Key Concepts critical theory philosophy education Questions to Reflect On - Why is politics avoided? - How can political science stay rigorous? A Different Perspective Avoids addressing political realities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Political science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-science/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) ## Related quotes > [A political philosophy (often called "political science" by practitioners who are not averse from verbal trickery) must deal with contemporary realities. If it does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/revilo-p-oliver/a-political-philosophy-often-called-political-science-by/) [Revilo P. Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/revilo-p-oliver/) > [You may twist the word freedom as long as you please, but at last it comes to quiet enjoyment of your own property, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cobbett/you-may-twist-the-word-freedom-as-long-as-you-please-but-at-last-it/) [William Cobbett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cobbett/) > [My art gets called political, as opposed to my intending it to be political. I think that's something that happens with black artists or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamila-woods/my-art-gets-called-political-as-opposed-to-my-intending-it-to-be/) [Jamila Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamila-woods/) > [Famine was quite deliberately employed as an instrument of national policy, as the last means of breaking the resistance of the peasantry to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-chamberlin/famine-was-quite-deliberately-employed-as-an-instrument-of-national/) William Henry Chamberlin > [I never had faith that the answers to human problems lay in anything that could be called political. I thought the answers, if there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-never-had-faith-that-the-answers-to-human-problems-lay-in-anything/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [Someone asked me the other day if I believe in conspiracies. Well, sure. Here's one. It is called the political system. It is nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-tucker/someone-asked-me-the-other-day-if-i-believe-in-conspiracies-well-sure/) [Jeffrey Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-tucker/) > [If you are asking me what the individual can do right now, in a political sense, I'd have to say he can't do all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/if-you-are-asking-me-what-the-individual-can-do-right-now-in-a/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [You need the commitment of people that aren't worried about that next election, who are going to do the right thing and worry about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-fitzgerald/you-need-the-commitment-of-people-that-aren-t-worried-about-that-next/) Jeff Fitzgerald > [“And the so-called 'political process' is a fraud: Our elected officials, like our bureaucratic functionaries, like even our judges, are largely the indentured servants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/and-the-so-called-political-process-is-a-fraud-our-elected-officials/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [It's called political economy because it is has nothing to do with either politics or economy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-leacock/it-s-called-political-economy-because-it-is-has-nothing-to-do-with/) [Stephen Leacock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-leacock/) > [I spend time in the classroom. I think more of them aren't political science than are political science. I particularly like talking to journalism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-edgar/i-spend-time-in-the-classroom-i-think-more-of-them-aren-t-political/) [Jim Edgar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-edgar/) > [“In ancient Greece more than one royal house was guilty of crime which became the stuff of tragedy: now Rome was to follow the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/livy/in-ancient-greece-more-than-one-royal-house-was-guilty-of-crime-which/) [Livy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/livy/) > [Unfortunately, Climate Science has become Political Science. It is tragic that some perhaps well-meaning but politically motivated scientists who should know better have whipped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-h-austin/unfortunately-climate-science-has-become-political-science-it-is/) Robert H Austin > [“A dead martyr can be manipulated by his heirs; a living one is apt to drag his colleagues to the extremes dictated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-peter-nettl/a-dead-martyr-can-be-manipulated-by-his-heirs-a-living-one-is-apt-to/) [John Peter Nettl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-peter-nettl/) > [“Equality of condition and equality of opportunity must provide the foundation of an interdependent nation with building blocks found in dignity and respect given…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-banks-lewis/equality-of-condition-and-equality-of-opportunity-must-provide-the/) Julie Banks Lewis ## More Political science quotes > [“Equality of condition and equality of opportunity must provide the foundation of an interdependent nation with building blocks found in dignity and respect given…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-banks-lewis/equality-of-condition-and-equality-of-opportunity-must-provide-the/) Julie Banks Lewis > [I spend time in the classroom. I think more of them aren't political science than are political science. I particularly like talking to journalism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-edgar/i-spend-time-in-the-classroom-i-think-more-of-them-aren-t-political/) [Jim Edgar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-edgar/) > [“A dead martyr can be manipulated by his heirs; a living one is apt to drag his colleagues to the extremes dictated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-peter-nettl/a-dead-martyr-can-be-manipulated-by-his-heirs-a-living-one-is-apt-to/) [John Peter Nettl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-peter-nettl/) > [Unfortunately, Climate Science has become Political Science. It is tragic that some perhaps well-meaning but politically motivated scientists who should know better have whipped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-h-austin/unfortunately-climate-science-has-become-political-science-it-is/) Robert H Austin > [“In ancient Greece more than one royal house was guilty of crime which became the stuff of tragedy: now Rome was to follow the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/livy/in-ancient-greece-more-than-one-royal-house-was-guilty-of-crime-which/) [Livy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/livy/) > [“It is your duty,' he said, 'to recover your country not by gold but by the sword. You will be fighting with all you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/livy/it-is-your-duty-he-said-to-recover-your-country-not-by-gold-but-by/) [Livy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/livy/) > [“Pick a leader who will keep jobs in your country by offering companies incentives to hire only within their borders, not one who allows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/pick-a-leader-who-will-keep-jobs-in-your-country-by-offering/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) > [“The decline of geography in academia is easy to understand: we live in an age of ever-increasing specialization, and geography is a generalist's discipline.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-jennings/the-decline-of-geography-in-academia-is-easy-to-understand-we-live-in/) [Ken Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-jennings/) > [“Or the Japanese may go in an entirely different direction—an interesting possibility, given that the West itself has now begun to question whether the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-smith/or-the-japanese-may-go-in-an-entirely-different-direction-an/) Patrick Smith > [“...poor countries are poor because those who have power make choices that create poverty. They get it wrong not by mistake or ignorance but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/poor-countries-are-poor-because-those-who-have-power-make-choices/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My research career has been devoted to understanding human decision-making and problem-solving processes. The pursuit of this goal has led me into the fields…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-a-simon/my-research-career-has-been-devoted-to-understanding-human-decision/) [Herbert A. Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-a-simon/) > [“The Neo-Feudalism of UN Agenda 21/Sustainable Development is reviving serfdom as the condition of the future. If you let it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosa-koire-behind-the-green-mask/the-neo-feudalism-of-un-agenda-21-sustainable-development-is-reviving/) Rosa Koire Behind the Green Mask > [“Since the earliest days of our youth, we have been conditioned to accept that the direction of the herd, and authority anywhere — is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/since-the-earliest-days-of-our-youth-we-have-been-conditioned-to/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) > [“So long as we have a law that is exploitable by individuals in power, it is imperative that every thinking human stands up to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/so-long-as-we-have-a-law-that-is-exploitable-by-individuals-in-power/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [I thought I would go into philosophy and political science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-isaac-chung/i-thought-i-would-go-into-philosophy-and-political-science/) [Lee Isaac Chung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-isaac-chung/) [Browse all 263 Political science quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-science/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Mostly what is called political science seems to me a device, invented by university teachers, for avoiding that dangerous subject politics, without achieving science.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alfred Cobban" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-cobban/mostly-what-is-called-political-science-seems-to-me-a-device-invented/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Political science" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-cobban/mostly-what-is-called-political-science-seems-to-me-a-device-invented/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ea/alfred-cobban-217740_political-science_mostly-what-is-called-political-science_507602.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ea/alfred-cobban-217740_political-science_mostly-what-is-called-political-science_507602.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ea/alfred-cobban-217740_political-science_mostly-what-is-called-political-science_507602.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Mostly what is called political science seems to me a device, invented by university teachers, for avoiding…” — Alfred Cobban", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alfred Cobban", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-cobban/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Mostly what is called political science...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-cobban/mostly-what-is-called-political-science-seems-to-me-a-device-invented/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-cobban/mostly-what-is-called-political-science-seems-to-me-a-device-invented/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```