Yes, It Matters. Notes on Style, Political Theory and Humanities

Abstract

Although Political Science and political thought tend to assume a neutral tone or an aseptic style (if not an oversight) regarding how to present a text, the importance of style in writing is not a minor issue or a decorative matter. On the contrary, it corresponds rather to a sample of the interests and indifferences of political science, of what it wants to highlight in line with the ideas that its members profess. Why then would it be important to reflect on style in Political  cience and Theory? It is significant because in it we find a sample of the tensions, paradoxes and interests of the discipline, because there are implications in the flat style and lack of amazement and against this a more receptive, broad and imaginative conception would lead to a more complete understanding of political phenomena. In accordance with the above stated, the first section of these notes will approach the problem of style in Political Theory and Science, their tensions and what they profess, and the way they do it, thus distinguishing their writing from that of other disciplines. In the second section, we will briefly reflect on the importance of style and the repercussions that follow from becoming aware of it or not. Finally, according to the philosophical perspective of Martha Nussbaum, in the last section it will be argued that a different style of Political Theory (one receptive to the humanities) would have a profound impact on Political Science, allowing an approach to the plurality and
complexity of the world we inhabit.