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Abstract
The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the tradition of political realism by focusing on its roots in skepticism. Political realism, more than anything else, is an attitude of pessimism towards the possibility of improving the nature of politics. It has been skeptical of the capacity of humankind to use its reason to enable progressive change in international relations leading to endurable and perpetual peace. Political realists have attempted to justify their skepticism in two opposing ways: "dogmatic" justification, and justification based on philosophical skepticism. I argue that, as the former way of justification by dogmatic realists have been exposed to diverse criticism, the latter way should be explored. This task is interesting and significant when we think of the metatheoretical debate in the field of International Relations revolving around epistemological, ontological, moral and practical issues.
Two separate traditions, political realism and philosophical skepticism are discussed in this dissertation. Three classical realists, E. H. Carr, Hans Morgenthau, and Reinhold Niebuhr are the main figures in investigating the tradition of political realism. The tradition of philosophical skepticism, with its possible relation with that of political realism, also constitutes the subject of the dissertation. I discuss Greek skeptics and David Hume. I argue that the tradition of political realism is compatible with that of philosophical skepticism with its conceptual and analytical ties, and by exploring those ties, the tradition of political realism can be more clearly defined and its practical maxims will be more plausibly constituted. Philosophical skepticism would provide political realism with a sound justification of the latter's theoretical arguments and practical implications, which helps skeptical realists evade the pitfalls that "dogmatic" realists have faced.
In this dissertation I investigate moral, practical aspects of three classical realists and compare them with the philosophy of life suggested by philosophical skeptics. Classical realists, with their reserved position about the possibility of comprehending the nature of international relations, delved into history to show their practical arguments, without dogmatic generalization. In this dissertation, I try to find out a set of practical maxims of three classical realists by comparing them with philosophical skeptics.
