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.
Our ideas about laws and philosophy are borrowed from those of Justinian’s code, which was the main set of laws of the empire. For example, the Declaration of Independence says the “unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” (Doc. D) This is similar to the “maxims of law... to live honestly, to hurt
a law made by God, called the Law of Reason. This law gives humankind liberty,
such that it is so closely tied to the virtuous activity in which a good life consists?
...he path of God’s goodness. Although a person cannot reach all the goals of the Law, it is in our best nature to put our faith in front of us in order to pursue the Law. After all, it is the command of God.
Perhaps the most well known is Aquinas Natural Law Theory which states that human beings are both at the mercy of and have admittance to natural law. “God is the end of each thing, and hence, as far as it is possible to it, each thing intends to be united to God at its last end” (Cahn pg. 225, Chp XXV line 9 -11). Aquinas bases multiple natural law precepts on the primary principal, which is simply to achieve or carry out good and avoid evil. Numerous precepts have derived from this including his secondary precept, which has four parts that consist of community, knowing the truth about God, self preservation, procreation and the care of offspring. You achieve true happiness by thoroughly considering and reflecting the truth internally through God you cannot achieve happiness externally. In natural law all your actions have meaning and everything in its entirety has an eventual
Since the beginning of the economy’s development, the population has been divided in three main social classes: the upper class, the middle class, and the lower class.
happiness is found by living in accordance with human dignity, which is a life in accordance
... divine law and letting reason govern one’s actions, they can achieve complete happiness. One must not totally disregard temporal goods, but their actions should be based on their goods of the will, not temporal goods.
...tional elements of the person. Aristotle tries to explain what this harmony consists in by exploring the psychological foundations of moral character. A person is good if he has virtues and lacks vices. A series of good choices can change a vicious character if he becomes virtuous by performing virtuous acts. Aristotle says, "We become just by performing just acts, and temperate by performing temperate acts" (N.E.18-19). In order to perform virtuous acts virtuously “the agent also must be in a certain condition when he does them; in the first place he must have knowledge, secondly he must choose the acts, and choose them for their own sakes, and thirdly his actions must proceed from a firm and unchangeable character" (N.E.30-33). Teaching also provides knowledge of why certain acts are virtuous to people with the right habits, the well-brought-up (N.E. 2-17).
Even the most moral person in the world should do unjust things if they knew they could never be caught, because they have the opportunity to gain something with no repercussions. People in society would see one as a fool if they knew some person had the chance to do something beneficial towards oneself without the chance of getting in trouble, and did not pursue. People do not believe that acting morally benefits one personally, only the status of being a moral person; when the opportunity appears, people will choose to act immorally because they feel it advances them from their current state. One does not strive for true morality, but instead attempt to be perceived as a moral person, to gain status in society, through unjust acts. This goes to show that people truly see morality not as an intrinsic good, but rather as an instrumental good, used to acquire more material goods and resources. People view the choice to act morally as a nuisance, not because that is their first choice of action. People will choose the action that benefits them over not receiving any benefit, unless they feel they can be caught or have to suffer injustice in the future and consequently would put them in a worse situation in the long
Virtue, then deals with those feelings and actions in which it is wrong to go too far and wrong to fall too short but in which hitting the mean is praiseworthy and good….
All throughout history and literature, many people fight for what they believe in, but it does not always mean that it is for a good cause. Knowing right from wrong is crucial when it comes to people within a virtuous society, because it gives them a sense of justice. The people of a society must first know what is right and what is wrong before being able to act upon a situation, assuming that they will do it in a fair and just manner. Once having acquired a virtuous state of mind, these people know that it would be morally just to help those in need, and to help them, it often requires a degree of fortitude. A society is virtuous when its people strive to have good morals and seek the benefit of others.
It has more to do with character and the nature of what it is to be. human, than with the rights and wrongs of our actions. Instead of concentrating on what is the right thing to do, virtue ethics asks how. you can be a better person. Aristotle says that those who do lead a virtuous life, are very happy and have a sense of well-being.
...f our acts do not have an impact on the ultimate goal. In regard to this response, I would say that it is in our nature to do what makes us happy, whether it is true happiness through virtues or happiness from material things. Either way one is going to do whatever they can to obtain what pleasures their soul. Our acts shape and mold us whether we know it or not. Our acts and decisions shape us, which can change our goals as well. If we perform virtuous acts then our goal will be virtuous which is why all of our acts should be aimed towards that goal.
reasoning, spirit, and natural wants are all part of human nature. In book 1 of The