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Rome contributed little to the literature of political thought. Roman political institutions and legal system, however, exerted a tremendous influence on political evolution; and for many centuries after her fall the idea of the state was based upon the institutions that Rome had established. Rome first appeared as a city-state, formed by a union of … Read more
Aristotle and the Decline of Greece. The Greek ancient & philosopher and scientist, one of the greatest intellectual figures of Western history. Aristotle made significant and lasting contributions to nearly every aspect of human knowledge, from logic to biology to ethics and aesthetics. Though overshadowed in classical times by the work of his teacher Plato, … Read more
The life of Plato is Classical period in Ancient Greece. Founder of the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Plato has also often been cited as one of the founders of Western religion and spirituality He is widely considered a pivotal figure in the … Read more
Socrates The Sophist philosopher. The contribution to the political philosophy of Socrates and of his pupil Plato must be viewed in the above light. They believed that these new and corrosive doctrines were responsible for the disintegration of Greek society, which was taking place all around them. To prevent this, society had to be pulled … Read more
The Sophist’s Philosophy. Traces of political thought appear in the earliest literature of the Greeks. Homer portrayed a patriarchal regime in which kings were descended from the gods, exercised despotic authority, and held the mass of the people in contempt. In Hesiod and the fragmentary writings of the Seven Sages, the support of monarchy was … Read more
Nature of Greek Political Thought. Perhaps the chief characteristic of Greek thought was its concern for first principles or the central rules controlling the universe. One early Greek philosopher, as evidence of this spirit, declared that he would rather discover one causal law than be king of Persia. The Greeks conceived the universe as the … Read more
Other factors were equally important in shaping Greek political thought. Foremost among these were a sense of community and a spirit of camaraderie which have few modern parallels. The lives of Athenians were not as compartmentalized as ours often are. Distinctions between public and private interests melted away into a common concern for the community. … Read more
Greek and Roman cities were political communities, which possessed the institutions required for autonomous collective decision-making. This remained a characteristic of ancient cities from one end of antiquity to the other, even if under monarchical or imperial rule the autonomy of poleis and civitates was somewhat more restricted. The Greek City-State Although the political ideas … Read more
Ancient Theory of International Relations. Certain principles of interstate relations may also be found in ancient literature or may be deduced from the external dealings of early peoples. Although the modern idea of international law among sovereign and independent states did not develop until the rise of national monarchies at the close of the Middle … Read more
Hebrew Political Thought. Like most Oriental peoples, the Jews held a theocratic conception of the state, believing that political authority was divine in origin and sanction; but they early reached the conception of a single deity, worshiped in common by all their tribes. Their god, Jehovah, was not associated with a particular place; on the … Read more