We’ll devote this class to examining some of the ideas in the selection from Aristotle’s Politics. You’ll notice that Aristotle tries to be very precise in the way he uses words. This means that we have to pay some attention to his definitions. The first of these is the idea of Citizen. What does it mean to be a Citizen? How does Aristotle use this term? Second, we need to understand why Aristotle argues that there is a difference between being a good citizen and being a good man. Aristotle says, “Hence it is evident that the good citizen need not of necessity possess the virtue which makes a good man.”Does this sound similar to some the ideas Thoreau considered when writing about civil disobedience? Perhaps agreeing to take the punishment is a way to reconcile these two virtues. What do you think? Write your thoughts in a stick note before adding the document to your dropbox.
Like Aristotle, (and, I suppose, like human beings everywhere), Plutarch, an ancient historian and philosopher, analyzes character in terms of good and bad traits. Pericles, you will remember, is respected as the leader who brought democracy to Athens. But that didn’t make him perfect, at least in Plutarch’s eyes For your Drop box, make a little chart of Pericles' good points and bad points. Does this have any relationship to Aristotle’s distinction between a good citizen and a good person? Was Pericles a good citizen and a good person? If not, was he a good citizen or a good person? What do you think? Add your ideas to your chart and drop it in the dropbox.
Core 102
The Idea of Democracy
Roger Williams University
Section 05 LLC TTH 12:30AM 01:50AM GHH 106
Section 02 ELI T-F 02:00PM 03:20PM GHH 105
Fall Semester, 2015
Michael R. H. Swanson, Ph. D.
Office: GHH 215
Hours: M 2:00-3:20 T & Th: 11:00-12:00 Or By Appointment
Many cultures have traditions in which questions of rights and questions of political order are raised and elaborated. Because the United States has evolved primarily from European roots, we trace our Democratic Ideas to what historians call the Western Tradition. No disrespect for other traditions is intended by this “Eurocentric” view.
Notes on the Readings:
Ideally, we should have read this last week, because Pericles gives the kind of address we now associate with days of remembrance like Memorial Day or Veterans Day. He’s trying to articulate the cause for which many Athenian soldiers gave their lives in the ongoing wars with Sparta and its allies. Pericles barely mentions “democracy” by name. His argument is by inference. He compares the Athenian experience with that of the other city-states of Greece, arguing by inference that the better lifestyle represents the better government. So, what is good about life in Athens? The key paragraphs are numbers 3 through 6. Each contains a number of assertions about Athenian culture. As you mark this reading up, number these in the text. Do any of these virtues of Athenian life sound familiar to you because contemporary countries make the same arguments about their cultures?
Write your thoughts about this in your in a sticky note before you put it in your drop box.
Defining Democracy
No true-to-life representation of Aristotle has been found. The Renaissance treated him as a near-deity as the image to the left suggests. The 20th century is less reverent: On the right, Aristotle is pictured giving a lecture to his prize student, Alexander the Great. Click on the illustrations for more information
Download, Read, Mark up, and Analyze, before adding this to your drop box, from theCore Canon
No two City-States were the same. However, Athens and Sparta can be taken as representative of the polar extremes. It is useful to compare these, remembering that Athens created “democratic” government. Sparta had a different set of virtues: what were they? The United States has affinities with both. There are a number of university towns named Athens, and many athletic teams named the Spartans. It was Athens, however, in which the philosophical foundations of democracy were most vigorously investigated. Amongst the investigators was the philosopher, Aristotle.
We’ll need to examine the role Aristotle sees for the average person in an ideal government. To understand this, it is helpful to think about the general shape of Aristotle’s thought. Aristotle is a great believer in moderation or the middle way.
For him, the right course of action (virtue) falls between two extremes, either of which is wrong (vice). Since his time, much of western thinking follows this scheme of things. As evidence for this assertion, rehearse the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Consequently, Aristotle is suspicious of pure democracy and pure oligarchy, aristocracy, timocracy, or tyranny. So he looks for some system which incorporates the virtues of each while avoiding the vices of each.
We will try to sort this out.
Two Parthenons--the original above, Nashville, Tennessee's version below. The old saying, "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery" may apply here. Where else have you seen buildings which look a little like Greek temples? How about downtown Bristol? We imitate more than buildings. For example we imitate place names, as well. The best online gazetteer, provided by the United States Department of the Census, is currently off line as new data is fed into from the 2010 head count. But you can visit google maps to check the proof of the assertion. Search some Greek place names, Athens or Corinth, for example. How many do you find?
If You are interested in hearing the speech. you can listen to the video above. This is a longer version. The narrator is not the best I've heard. but the pictures chosen are helpful to getting a sense of the era.
For those who made it to the bottom, a little flavor Nashville humor and music. You'll hear the music if you click the picture of Ryman Auditorium, home of the Grand OL Pry.
