CHAPTER TWO
Ancient Political Theory
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
• Define normative theory. Discuss the
implications of normative theory in debating
governmental alternatives.
• Identify and define the significance of Socrates.
Describe the methods of Socrates.
• Describe Aristotle’s view of government?
Identify the various forms of democracy and
Aristotle’s views of these forms.
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LEARNING OBJECTIVES
• Identify and describe the ways Plato and
Aristotle influence the American system of
government.
• Discuss the Ancients’ view of democracy and
republics.
• Identify and describe the philosophical camps of
the Theory of Becoming and the Theory of
Being.
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QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER
1. Why did Socrates accept his death sentence
rather than flee his jail cell?
2. How did Plato make a connection between the
Republic and the human soul?
3. Why did Plato believe democracies were
inferior political systems?
4. What is the best path toward human happiness
according to Plato?
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QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER
5. Why does Aristotle believe that we are by
nature political animals?
6. How did Plato and Aristotle differ with respect to
their view of the ideal form of government?
7. In what ways did ancient Greek thinking
influence and/or challenge early Christian
thinking?
8. How did Plato and Aristotle influence the
American system of government.
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INTRODUCTION
• Ancient Greece is considered the cradle of
civilization.
• Theoretical discussion on politics was started
by Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.
o These three laid the theoretical foundation from
which all other Western political thought launches.
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THE IONIANS
• The Ionians were the earliest Greek philosophers
who believed in using rationality rather than
mythology to understand the universe.
• During this era, two rival and competing
movements organized around the question: Does
the material world exist in a perpetual state of
random change or is their an enduring life force
guiding our universe?
o The Greeks identified these camps as the theory of
becoming and the theory of being.
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THE IONIANS
 Theory of Becoming
• Belief that the universe is constantly
changing in a random and arbitrary way
• Postulates that there is no preexisting plan
or sacred objective to guide the material
world
• The world came into being as a result of
accidental collisions due to chance.
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THE IONIANS
 Theory of Being
• Belief that there is a permanent design that
preexisted the ever-changing material world
• The permanent design or truth in the
universe exists beyond the appearances of
the material world that is visible to the
physical senses.
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THE IONIANS
 Theory of Being (Cont’d)
• Pythagoras believed that teaching mathematics
instilled into the human soul the same
underlying principles of the world.
• Pythagoras’ emphasis on mathematics reflects
the Greek tradition of rationality.
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THE SOPHISTS
• Influenced Greek culture around the time that
the Greeks defeated the Persians in 448 B.C.
• Changed the emphasis of Greek philosophy
from the universe to the individual.
• Famous for teaching rhetoric and public debate
• Were skeptical that the ultimate realities of the
universe could be known by humans.
o
Skeptics: Philosophers who generally agree that nothing can be
known with absolute certainty.
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THE SOPHISTS
• “Man is the measure of all things, of the reality
of those which are, and the reality of those
which are not.” —Protagoras
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SOCRATES
• Greek philosopher who
introduced the inductive method
to teach students.
• Believed that agreed definitions
to words were essential to
adopt any universal principals
• Was the first to advocate that
virtue or excellence was
required for ethical human
behavior
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SOCRATES
• Unlike the sophists, was less concerned about
the skill of an individual
• Used the normative theory approach to
politics
o Normative Theory: Any theory that examines the way
something “should” or “ought” to be rather than
focusing on the way something actually “is.”
o Define and obtain the “good life”
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SOCRATES
•
True happiness for Socrates meant pursuing the “good
life,” which is attained when humans conduct their lives
in accordance to ethical principles derived from reason.
Life in and of itself is not important for Socrates, it is
only the “good life” that matters:
I say that it is the greatest good for a man to discuss virtue
every day and those other things about which you hear
me conversing and testing myself and others, for the
unexamined life is not worth living for man.
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SOCRATES
• He engaged in an early form of civil
disobedience by defying a court order to stop
teaching because he believed his teaching was
just and ethical.
o
Civil Disobedience: The refusal to obey governmental
demands or commands especially as a nonviolent and usually
collective means of forcing concessions from the government.
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SOCRATES
 Theory and Practice
Civil Disobedience After Socrates: Thoreau (1817–
1862), Gandhi (1869–1948), and King (1929–1968)
•
Can you think of other historical figures who engaged in
a form of civil disobedience? Have you ever engaged in
civil disobedience?
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PLATO
• Plato was a student of Socrates who introduced
Socrates’ teachings through the method of the
dialogue.
• He fought in the Peloponnesian War and
became disillusioned.
o Peloponnesian War: The war between Athens and Sparta from
431–404 BCE. Sparta, with the assistance of Persia (now Iran), built
a massive fleet that destroyed the Athenian navy at Aegospotami in
405 BCE. The war destroyed Athens.
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PLATO
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PLATO
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PLATO
 The Republic
• In The Republic, he argued that the highest
form of happiness is achieved by pursuing
justice, not self-interest.
• The polis (state) comes into existence since
humanity cannot function efficiently alone.
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PLATO
 Happiness in the Republic and the Human Soul
• We are by nature social creatures.
• The republic is a natural model for human
beings to adopt.
• Believed the ideal republic and human soul
consisted of three parts:
o Craftspeople/appetites
o auxiliaries/spirit
o guardians/rational
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PLATO
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PLATO
 Craftspeople and Appetite
•
Represents working class and includes farmers,
shopkeepers, and merchants.
o
Their function is to produce economic activity and to
ensure social sustenance.
o
They need to be taught temperance and restraint.
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PLATO
 Auxiliaries and the Spirit
•
Primary function is to enforce the laws of the state
and defend the state from foreign invasion (i.e.,
serve as the military).
•
They are taught courage and temperance.
•
They are linked with the spirit portion of the human
soul.
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PLATO
 Guardians and the Rational
•
Represent the ruling class and require intensive
training in order to ensure the pursuance of the public
good and justice.
•
Must possess “wisdom, courage, and temperance”.
•
Require the most sophisticated education.
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PLATO
 Theory and Practice
Wealth of U.S. Members of Congress
•
Do you believe the personal wealth of a member of
Congress impacts his/her legislative behavior in
Congress? Why or why not?
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PLATO
 Theory and Practice
The Greek Influence on Early Christian Thought: St.
Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas
•
In what ways are modern religious teachings similar
and/or different from the theories associated with
the ancient Greeks?
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PLATO
 Plato’s Theory of Forms
• Plato’s vision of forms reveals his dualistic
vision of the universe that distinguishes
between:
1. The world of appearances
•
Things we can see
2. The intelligible world
•
Things beyond our physical senses
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PLATO
 Plato’s Theory of Forms (Cont’d)
• Most people only see imperfect representations
of ideal forms
• Only those who see the ideal forms in both
worlds achieve the greatest happiness and are
fit to rule
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PLATO
 Allegory of the Cave
• Allegory of the Cave underscores the need
for philosophical rule by revealing how some
forms of judgment (or opinions) are more
valuable than others.
• Allegory explains: imagining, belief, and
knowledge and highlights why Plato
believed only those with the highest form of
knowledge should rule the republic.
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PLATO
 Theory and Practice
The Republic and American Democracy
•
Staying in the theoretical realm, would you support a
political system that gave “enlightened citizens” two
votes and “unenlightened citizens” only one vote if
there was an objective way to accurately distinguish
between the two? Why or why not?
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PLATO
 Gradations of Happiness in the Republic and
the Human Soul
• In The Republic, Plato writes that the ideal
philosophical aristocracy will eventually
decline, as all things in the world of
appearances are in a perpetual state of change
and transformation.
o
Aristocracy: A government in which power is vested in a minority,
consisting of those believed to be best qualified.
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PLATO
 Gradations of Happiness in the Republic and
the Human Soul (Cont’d)
• The state will initially devolve from a
philosophical aristocracy to a republic ruled by
warriors, referred to as a timocracy, where
society values courage and honor over the
higher value of justice.
•
Timocracy: A government in which the love of honor is the ruling
principle.
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PLATO
 Gradations of Happiness in the Republic
and the Human Soul (Cont’d)
• The children of the ruling warrior class will then
establish an oligarchy as they grow to prefer
economic prosperity and private property over
the value of courage and honor.
o
Oligarchy: A government in which a small group exercises control
over the masses.
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PLATO
 Gradations of Happiness in the Republic
and the Human Soul (Cont’d)
•
•
•
The republic will then further disintegrate when the
spoiled children of the oligarchs continue to value
possessions and paltry pleasures, but lack the
discipline and work ethic to accumulate them.
This group will demand independence and the freedom
to pursue trivial delights.
They will form a democracy that values liberty and
freedom over economic prosperity and work ethic.
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PLATO
 Gradations of Happiness in the Republic
and the Human Soul (Cont’d)
•
Finally, this democratic system of government will
eventually collapse into a tyrannical system of
government, the lowest form of political order for Plato.
o
Tyrant: An absolute ruler unrestrained by law or constitution.
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PLATO
 Gradations of Happiness in the Republic and
the Human Soul (Cont’d)
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ARISTOTLE
• Student of Plato who founded an academy in
Athens to teach a full range of academic
departments
• Much more pragmatic, scientific, and empirical
than Plato
• Like Plato, believed happiness is achieved
when rationality governed appetites and urges
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ARISTOTLE
In this painting Plato (left) counsels
Aristotle, his most prominent student.
Plato’s hand pointing to the sky
represents his transcendental view of
politics, while Aristotle’s hand gesture
symbolizes his more pragmatic and
empirical approach to politics. It is entitled
“School of Athens” and is regarded by
many as Italian artist Raphael’s greatest
work. Raphael painted “School of Athens”
in the Vatican around 1510 as
Michelangelo worked on the Sistine
Chapel.
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ARISTOTLE
 The Natural State
• Two major works that record Aristotle’s political
beliefs are: Politics and Nicomachean Ethics.
• Aristotle theorized that three are three distinct
forms of human communities:
o
o
o
The family unit
The village
The polis (state)
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ARISTOTLE
 Theory and Practice
The Greeks, the Roman Empire, and the Incorporation
of Law into the State
•
Natural Law: A body of law or a special principle held to be derived
from nature and binding upon human society.
•
Positive Law: A body of law established or recognized by a
governmental authority.
•
Can you think of any existing law that places the
well-being of special interests groups over the
public good? If so, how would you change this law
and how would this change improve our society?
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ARISTOTLE
 CourseReader ASSIGNMENT
Politics, Book 6, by Aristotle
•
Why are some forms of democracy better than other
forms of democracy according to Aristotle?
•
How has Aristotle’s theory of mixed constitutions
influenced the structure of modern democracies?
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ARISTOTLE
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ARISTOTLE
 Aristotle’s Theory of Forms and Happiness
• Does not view forms supernaturally, unlike
Plato
• All living forms have an ideal fate or preexisting
purpose within them
• Forms progress as they transition biologically
from potentiality to actualization
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ARISTOTLE
 Aristotle’s Theory of Forms and Happiness
(Cont’d)
• Happiness is found in humans’ ability to
reason, which separates them from animals.
• Reasoning allows humans to pursue
excellence and a just existence through
politics.
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ARISTOTLE
 Theory of Mixed Constitutions
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ARISTOTLE
 Theory and Practice
Does Democracy Require a Strong Middle Class?
•
How can Aristotle’s theory that a strong middle class is
required for a democracy to flourish help to inform
American foreign policy decision makers on U.S. policy
in Afghanistan?
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