ontemporary Thinkers: Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Aguinas

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Contemporary Thinkers: Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Aguinas

Question #1 : Please discuss the political organization of the Greek city- states, particularly Athenian democracy at the time of Pericles, Plato, and
Aristotle. Also discuss the backgrounds of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle and the fate of the Greek city-states historically.

During the time of Pericles, Plato, and Aristotle, Greece was divided into city-states with a wide variety of constitutions, ranging from Sparta's military dictatorship to Athens' direct democracy.
Most city-states had about 300,000 people, each divided into one of three classes : citizens, metics, or slaves. The citizens represented a total of one - third the population. The members of this class participated directly with politics in the various institutions, and decisions were derived by popular vote, known as direct democracy. This class was further divided into three councils : Assembly of Ecclesia, Council of 500, and the Council of 50. The largest council was the Assembly of Ecclesia, which was a body of all male citizens over the age of twenty. The Council of 500 consisted of 500 members, chosen from lottery and election from the Assembly of Ecclesia. The Council of
50 was made up of 50 members chosen from the Council of 500. The second class of people in the city-states was the Metics. This class was made up of people that were not citizens, either because they were not born in the city-state, or they were prevented from being citizens. The third class were the slaves.
These people were captured from wars and subject to serve the city-state without pay. The interesting observation in the organization of the Greek city-state is that only one-third the population had any power. The other two thirds (made up of metics and slaves) were subject to the decisions derived by the citizens, and contained no power nor voice in the political system. Athenian Democracy had such a division of classes. This democracy had a minority who ruled over the majority, each citizen participated directly in the affairs of the city. The
Greek city-state contained a body of up to 500 jurors who would try cases.
There also existed a body of ten elected generals who would oversee foreign policy and war. One such elected general of Athens was a political id... ... middle of paper ...

...Aquinas distinguishes four forms of law : eternal law, natural law, divine law, and human law. The pursuit of happiness is a search for the good life, which is composed of virtuous actions and falls under the realm of divine law. Generosity consists in giving neither too little nor too much. Aristotle also describes intellectual virtue and moral virtue, which correspond to the soul, or as Aquinas classified it, part of the Eternal law. The effort to perform virtuous acts creates the desire to do the right thing for its own sake and also creates practical wisdom. Because human beings are not purely rational a flourishing, happy, human life demands the exercise of both the intellectual and the moral virtues, all of which are interpreted by Aquinas and classified accordingly. Works Cited

1. (E.E.)Introduction to Political Thinkers William Ebenstien and
Alan O. Ebenstien Harcourt Brace College Publishers ©1992 by Holt, Rinehart and
Winston, Inc.

2. (NAB) The New American Bible for Catholics World Catholic Press ©1970 by the
Confraternity of Christian Doctrine

3. (Manning) Dr. Kerry James Manning

4. (GME) Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia ©1995 by Grolier Electronic Publishing,
Inc.

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