The meaning of personalistic approach in political philosophy (in comparison with classical political science)

This article reveals the essence of the personalistic approach in political philosophy, in a comparative analysis with the principles of classical political science. In this approach, the focus is on the human personality, in all its versatility and exclusivity. This personalistic approach is compared with the classical approach in the social sciences (and also in political science), where a person is considered as only a social individual, “actor”, an isolated part of the social structure. Personalism is compared with the system-functional approach and rational choice theory, which had a significant impact on classical political science. The advantages of the approach of personalism to the study of reality and to the perception of the human personality are revealed.