Political Thought Midterm
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264 Terms
Where in the world were the Polis and the Sophists?
ancient Greece
Who was the beginning of Western thought ascribed to?
Greeks
Who were the first to leave tons of written work on philosophy?
Greeks
What philosophical information did the Greeks leave?
decision making/ government/ process of questioning
What was the first civilization to document philosophical questioning?
Greeks
What kind of government did ancient greece have?
democracy, but not what we think of now
Where you were born determines…
view of world
What is a polis?
community
What is the organizing unit of Ancient Greek life?
The Polis
How was The Polis different from the neighboring Persian Empire?
The Persian Empire was much larger
What government were Greek neighbors?
monarchial or oligarchial
The Polis was designed to be…
communcal
What was the only important identity the Greeks had?
Polis
What is the direct English translation of Polis?
no direct English translation, but similar to a city-state
How are city states and the polis similar?
totally self contained
What is the most important thing about the polis?
the smallness
The smaller a group…
the easier it is to get along
What are the 4 ideals for polis according to Plato?
5,040 families, 1,000 man army, should be able to see in a single frame, should be able to be summoned by a single herald
Smallness of the polis communities allowed for far more people to participate in…
administration of society
What was the largest Polis?
Athens
How many people did Athens have?
nearly 300,000
Where could all male citizens of Athend fit today?
modern sports stadium
How many poleis were there?
at least 158
What Polis has the most documentation?
Athens
What Polis said “man is a political animal”
Athens
What was the first polis where a man should fully take part in democratic governance
Athens
In Athens, who was eligible for most offices?
all male citizens
Why were many people involved in Athenian government?
those offices had frequent turnover and large membership, which made engagement among the average citizen common
Why do people stay more engaged in Athens?
they could get chosen to be in government
What city state was not a democracy with more extreme ideas?
Sparta
But even in autocratic city-states…
public affairs were important
What did rules of Sparta consist of?
military conscription and closed borders
Did women have more or less informal freedom in Sparta than Athens?
more informal freedom in Sparta than in Athens, though they could not fully participate in public affairs
What was women’s main roles in Sparta?
give birth to sons
Why were boys born in Sparta?
to become soldiers
Why did Sparta work?
because it was small
An idea that accompanied each polis was the belief that they had…
a valid set of morals
How can morals be implemented in polis?
through law
Morals are usually the result of…
religious of traditional beliefs that are not designed to be thoroughly examined
One of the ways formal political philosophy emerges is in the form of…
criticizing the traditional values
What allowed tradition values to be overcome?
democracy
What does ethical relativism refer to?
experienced differently by people
What does “sophia” mean?
wisdom
Sophists were a class of…
raving teachers in Ancient Creece
Who became the target of Plato’s ise?
The Sophists
What is rhetoric?
how to communicate
What was Plato’s ise aimed to do?
specifically aimed to teach people how to make a weaker argument stronger than a stronger argument?
Who was Gorgias?
an extreme skeptic, had pretty radical beliefs about nature of life
What were Gorgias 3 ideas?
nothing exists
if anything does exist, it cannot be known
even if existence is known, knowledge of it cannot be communicated
Who was an extreme of ethical relativism?
Gorgias
What is the precursor to nihilism?
the power of rhetoric is more or less boundless
Who is Protagarus?
a sophist
What did Protagarus claim he taught?
virtue
What did Protagarus argue?
only opinion matters- objective moral right and wrong do not exist
According to Protagarus…
what you think is good is what is good
Who has the most important view on moral value?
Antiphon
What is central to discussions of Antiphon?
nomos vs physis
What does nomos translate to?
convention (norms)
What does physis translate to?
nature
What does nomos represent?
the laws and customs of a society
Who is morality created by?
people
What does physis refer to?
a higher order of morality
What determines higher order of morality?
divine forces
What is Antiphon’s reputation built on?
the idea that people should do what is most naturally advantageous to them
According to Antiphon, should nomos take precedence?
no, do not follow norms follow what make you the most successful
Does Antiphon have radical interpretations of his philosophy?
yes, people could argue even crimes are not objectively wrong
What does Antiphon believe overall?
you can be bad as long as you have a good reputation, that is all that matters
Who is Plato’s teacher?
Socrates
Did Socrates leave any writings behind?
no, he was exclusively an oral teacher
Who was a polarizing figure in Athens?
Socrates
How did Aristophanes describe Socrates?
scoundrel and a charlatan
How did Xenophon describe Socrates?
boring and conventional
How did Plato describe Socrates?
he was uniquely brilliant and wholly original
Who descended on Plato and his teachings?
Athenian authorities
What did Athenians claim Plato was guilty of?
refusing to recognize the gods and guilty of corrupting the youth
What was the penalty of Socrates’ crimes?
death by being forced to drink poison (hemlock)
What did Socrates believe his prosecution was motived by?
politics
Was there a judge in Socrates’ trial?
no, he was prosecuted by other Athenians
Was Socrates apart of an established school?
no
What was the mission of Socrates’ work?
discover your own ignorance
There is immense value in…
self reflection (Socrates)
What is Socrates’ famous quote?
“the unexamined life is not worth living”
What is the modern antithesis of Socrates’ mission?
Dunning-Kruger effect
What is elenchos?
the way to learn
What was the main contribution of Socrates to modern life?
the socratic method
What is a refutation or system of education?
socratic method
What does the socratic method ideally lead to?
moral autonomy
What does auto mean?
self
What does nomos mean?
convention
How does the Socratic method teaching style work?
teacher asks a question, discuss, and ask another question
What does the Socratic method force one to do?
engage in the process of thought
What are the 5 parts of the Socratic method?
subject expresses belief
through elechnos, your belief is shaken
subject realizes you do not know what you think you know
subject begins to search for moral knowledge
subject arrives at new moral opinion
Can belief be different after Socratic method?
yes, but it will always be new because once you realize alternatives, you can justify your position or change your opinion
Socratic morality is that his belied was that the more examined your views are…
the better they become
What was Socrates accused of?
moral relativism
Why was Socrates accused of moral relativism?
people used his tactics as license to believe that conventional views were not based on anything
Did Socrates have a set moral system?
no
Socrates life was more of a search for the right as to live rather than…
an expression of the right way to live
What did Socrates center his thought on?
psyche
What did psyche lead to?
asserting that material achievement was not what was most important
Note 
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