December ARISTOTLE: POLITICS [Book I] Vol. 9, pp. 445-455
PLUTARCH: THE LIVES OF THE NOBLE GRECIANS AND
ROMANS [Lycurgus, Numa Pompilius, Lycurgus and Numa Com-
pared, Alexander, Caesar] Vol. 14, pp. 32-64, 540-604
(Oh goodness! Plutarch! Let's (me) get reading this so that we can really soak it up.)
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ReplyDeleteHey I see no post about the Plato Republic and Nicomachean Ethics discussion on Nov 19th, but I just want to add something to the online discussion (or start one.) I was reading in the Bible, specifically Malachi chapter 3 today. And I found that the verses 13, 14 and 15 might have been written by Thrasymachus: that it is vain to serve God; that those that are wicked are better off; those that are proud (not humble) are happy, etc. Different cultures and times and people - but same issues that Thrasymachus and Socrates were discussing.
ReplyDeleteYes, very interesting. People saying (or being quoted saying) that they question what profit there is in doing good. Similarly, I noticed, in verse 5, something that our society - particularly the mainstream materialistic culture which I can get lost in - says that it is acceptable that we do profit when we do things like "oppress the hireling in [their] wages" . I think that we often forget the hireling far away that we can't see and just buy products without considering how the far away person making it is being treated or paid. It's nice to be in a town that generally values buying things locally & knowing how and where they are produced.
ReplyDeleteI also have a thought on the Plutarch readings that I am currently studying. Lycergus' (pronounced Lie-kur-gus, I believe) society is highly interesting and unusual! Reading this makes me want to more thoroughly study and compare it to Plato's Republic. Some people say that Spartan society is where Plato/Socrates got his ideas for the Republic. I kind of like a lot of it. I don't think I would want to live in it as a forced situation, but the people seemed to like it and agree it was best for the most part. Allan Bloom says that the things that are most strange about a society are often the things they have most thoroughly made a case for as a society and which they don't recognize as unusual. I wonder what will one day be considered particularly insane when people in the future study our culture. My suggestions: Industrialized farming/processed food plus the amount of sugar we eat, our education system, our disrespectful & often hateful sport competition and political debates for example.
Then I want something more positive to say about our society. So I'll suggest a few things future students of our culture (as history) may say that we were prolific in our advances in sharing information and educating through the internet for free so that it is available at all income levels. Ability to live relatively civilly with a great variety of religions and cultures. Finally, our ability to recognize and at least try to overcome our dietary problems through documentaries and campaigns for healthier foods.
I guess it's a little ironic to try to point out our most unusual cultural perspectives if we are least aware of them, but it is certainly worth a try. What do you guys think? I'd love to see your perspectives on the topic. I'll be thinking more about it, too.
I'm not going to get around to getting a bunch of questions about the readings up, but I hope everyone will post some insights they had, or things they took from the readings. It might be after Christmas for me.
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