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ASSI
GNMENTNo.1

Q.1Whatar ethenatureandelement sofearl

yrel
igi
oustheor
ies?Di
scussi
n
det
ail
.
natureworship,
system of
 rel
i
gion basedont hev
enerat
ionofnatur
al
phenomena—f orexample,cel
esti
al obj
ectssuchasthesunandmoonand
ter
restr
ial
objectssuchaswat erandf i
re.

Inthehi stor yofr eligionsand  cul tures,natur e wor shi p asadef i

niteand
compl exsy stem ofbel ieforasapr edomi nantf orm ofr eli
gionhasnotbeen
wel ldocument ed.Amongt he  i
ndi genouspeopl es  ofmanycount ri
es, the
conceptof  nat ure asat ot ali
tyi sunknown; onl yi ndiv i
dual natural
phenomena—e. g.,stars, rain, andani mals—ar ecompr ehendedasnat ur al
object sorf orcest hati nf l
uencet hem andar et husi nsomewaywor thyof
beingv ener atedor  placat ed.Nat ureasanent ityi nitsel f
, i
ncont rastwi th
humansoci et yand  cul ture orev enwi t
hGod, i
saphi losophi calor
poet i
c  concept ion thathasbeendev el
opedamongadv ancedci vi
li
zat i
ons.
Thisconceptofnat urewor shi p,ther ef
ore, i
sl imi tedpr i
mar il
yt oschol ars
i
nv olv edi nori nf l
uencedbyt hemoder n(especi all
yWest ern) 
studyof
reli
gion.
Nat ureasa  sacr edt ot ality
Tost udent sofr eligion, thecl osestexampl eofwhatmaybet er mednat ure
wor shi pi sper hapsmostappar enti nancientcul t
ur esi nwhi cht herei sa
highgodast hel ordi nheav enwhohaswi thdr awnf rom t hei mmedi ate
detailsoft hegov erningoft hewor l
d.Thiski ndofhi ghgod—t he deus
otiosus, Latinf or“ hidden, ori dle, god”—isonewhohasdel egatedal lwor k
onear tht owhatar ecal led“ nat ur espiri
ts,”whi char ethef orcesor
per soni f
icat i
onsoft hef orcesofnat ur
e.Hi ghgodsexi st, f
orexampl e, in
such  indigenous  religionsonAf rica’swestcoastast hatoft heDy olaof
Gui nea.I nsuchr eligionst hehumanspi rit
ual  env ironment  i
sf unctionally
struct uredbymeansofper soni fiednat ural power s, ornat urespi ri
ts.

Pantheism  (abeli
efsystem inwhi chGodi sequatedwi ththeforcesoft he
universe)or Dei
sm  (
abel iefsy stem basedonanoni nterveni
ngcr eatorof
theuni ver
se),aswasadv ocat edi nt
her at
ional
isti
c philosophyofr eli
gion 
of
west ernEuropef r
om the16t ht othe18thcentury,i
snotappr opriatein
studiesofnat ureworshipi npr eli
ter
atecultur
es.Wor shipofnatureas
an omni potent 
enti
ty,i
nt hepant hei
sti
csense, hasnotasy etbeen
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document
edany
wher
e.

Thepowerorf orcewi thinnaturet hathasmostof tenbeenv enerat

ed,
wor shi
ped, orhel dinhol yawei s mana.Of tendesi gnat edas“ impersonal
power ”or“super natural power,”thet erm  mana  used
by  Polynesians and Mel anesians wasappr opr i
atedby19t h-century
West ernant hr
opol ogistsandappl iedtot hatwhi chaffect edt hecommon
pr ocessesofnat ure.Manawasconcept ual l
yl i
nkedt oNor t
h  Ameri
can
I
ndi an 
termst hatconv eyedthesameorsi mi larnotions—e. g., or
enda ofthe
I
r oquoi s,
 wakan  oftheDakot as, and mani t
ou  oftheAl gonqui n.Neither
“i
mper sonal power ”nor“ supernat uralpower ”impliest het r
uemeani ng
of  
mana, howev er,because  mana  usuallyissuesf rom per sonsori susedby
them, andt heconceptofasuper natural spher easdi stinctorsepar ate
from anat uralspher eisseldom r ecogni zedbyt hepeopl eswhouset he
ter m.

Thus, abet ter desi

gnation for 
mana  is“superf orce”or“ extraordinary
efficiency.”Aper sonwhohas  mana issuccessf ul,fort
unat e,and
demonst rat esext r
aordinaryski ll
—e.g.,asanar ti
san, war r
ior,or
chief .
 Mana  canalsobeobt ainedf r
om t he atuas( gods) ,providedt hatt
hey
themsel vespossessi t.Derivedf rom ar oott ermt hathas
aristocratic connot ati
ons, mana  corr
espondst oPol ynesiansoci al
classi f
ications.The  ari
ki,
or  
alii
, t
henobi lit
yofPol ynesia,hav e
mor e mana  thancommoner s, andbot ht heirlandandt heinsignia
associ atedwi ththem hav e mana.Besi desar easandsy mbol i
cel ements
thatar eassoci atedwi t
ht he ariki
,manyobj ect sandani mal shav ingspecial
relationshipswi thchiefs,war r
iors,orpriestshav e 
mana.

The  I
roquoian t
erm orenda,li
ke mana, designat esapowert hat
i
s inherent i
nnumer ousobj ectsofnat ur
ebutt hatdoesnothav eessential
personifi
cationorani misti
celement s. 
Orenda, howev er,
isnot
a coll
ective 
omni potence.Power f
ul hunters,priests,andshamans
hav e 
orenda tosomedegr ee.The wakanda, or  
wakan, ofthe 
Sioux  i
s
descr i
bedsi mil
arly
,butas Wakan- Tankai tmayr efertoacol l
ect iv
euni t
yof
godswi t
h greatpower  
(wakan).The  manitou oft he Al
gonquin isnot ,
l
ike wakan, mer el
yani mpersonal powert hatisi nherentinallthingsof
naturebuti salsotheper sonif
icat
ionofnumer ous  manitous(power s),wit
h
a GreatMani tou(Kitchi
-Manitou)att hehead.These  mani t
ousmayev enbe
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desi
gnatedaspr otect
ivespi
rit
sakintothoseofotherNort
hAmeri
can
Indi
ans,suchast he 
digi
 oft
heApache, boha 
oftheShoshone,
and maxpe oft
heCr ow,aswel last
he si
la 
oftheEski
mo.

Thesuperf orces( suchasMul ungu, Imana, Jok, andot hersi nAf r

ica)t hat
West ernschol arshav enot edout sideoft heAust ronesianandAmer ican
peopl esar eof tenwr ongl yi nter pretedasconcept sofGod.Onl y
the bar akah  (derivedf rom t hepr e-Isl
ami ct houghtwor ldoft heBer berand
Arabs) , t
he  cont agi ous  super power( orhol iness)oft hesai nts, andt he
power  
Ny amai nt hewest ernSudant hatwor ksasaf orcewi thinlargewi l
d
animal s, cer t
ainbushspi rit
s, andphy sicallyhandi capped
peopl e—appear ingespeci allyasacont agi ouspowerofr evenge—maybe
addedwi thacer tai nj ust i
ficat iont othatf orceofnat uret hatisdesi gnat ed
by mana.Ast rikingsi mi laritywi t
h mana  mayal sobenot edint heconcept s
of heil 
(goodomen) ,
 sael l 
(for tunat e),and  hami ngja (l
uck)oft heGer manic
andScandi nav ianpeopl es.
Heav en and  ear t
h  assacr edspaces, f orces, orpr ocesses
Heav enandear t
h, asper soni fiedpower sofnat ureandt huswor t
hy
of wor shi p,areev ident lynotofequal age.Al thoughf rom ear l
iesttimes
heav enwasbel iev edt obet her esidenceofahi ghbei ngorapr omi nentgod,
theear thasaper soni fiedent ityismuchr ar er;itpr obablyf i
rstoccur red
among  ar chaic agr ar ianci vi
lizat i
ons, andi tcont i
nuest ooccuri nsomel ess
i
ndust ri
al i
zedsoci etiesi nwhi chagr i
cultur ei spr act i
ced.Godsofheav en,
howev er, arechar act erist i
cspi rit
ual beingsofear lyand
cont empor ary  
hunt ingandgat heringsoci eties andar ef oundi nal most
all
 cul t
ur es.

Somewor ldvi
ewsgener al
lyassumet heear t
ht obesi mpl ygiven( i
.e.
,as
continuouslyexi
st i
ng) .Somet i
mest heear t
hi sbelievedt ohaveemer ged
outof  
chaos orapr i
mal seaort ohavecomei ntoexistencebyt heactofa
heavenlygod, t
ransf ormer ,or demiurge (
creator).Eveni nthesewor l
dviews,
howev er,theearthusual lyremai nswi t
houtadi vineowner ,
unlesst hrough
agri
cultureandt hecul toft hedeadt heear thisconcei vedast hesour ceof
therenewi ngpower sofnat ureorast heunder world.
Heav en
Thef actthatheav eni sani matedbyr ain-
givingclouds( withli
ght ningand
thunder)andbyar egularchor usofwar mingand  i
ll
uminat i
ng celesti
al
bodies(sun, moon, andst ars)ledtoconcept soft heper sonif
icationof
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heav enf rom ear liestt imes.Heav enlydei ties, ast heper sonificat i
onoft he
phy sical aspect soft hesky ,appeari nv ar i
at ionst hatar eadapt edt othe
typesofcul turesconcer ned.Thel i
stingof fer edbel owdoesnotr epresenta
uni l
ineardev elopmentt hatisappl i
cabl eev ery wher e.
Thef at heroft hef ami l
y
Thegodofheav eni sof tenv iewedasanev eract i
v ef atheroft hef ami ly,
of t
encal l
eduponbutr arelyther ecipientofsacr if
ices.Hei sabl et o
i
nt erv enei nhumanandnat ural affairswi thoutt heai dofan
i
nt ermedi ary—e. g., priest, 
medi cineman, orancest or s.Asanumi nous
(spiritual )bei ng, hei scl osert ohumani tyt hanot herspi ri
tualpower sar e.
Hesendsl ightningandr ainandr ulest hest arst hatar eatmostessent i
al
aspect sofhi msel forar emember sofhi sf ami l
ysubj ectt ohi m.Hei st he
creat orandt her ecei veroft hedead.Moder nschol arshav edesi gnated
suchabei ngast he“ highgod, ”“supr emegod, ”the“ highestbei ng”oft he
“original monot hei sm”( accor dingt ot het heor i
esoft heGer manschol ar
P. W.Schmi dt),thei deal izedgodofheav en( accor dingt ot hev i
ewsoft he
Itali
anhi st orianof  
religion Raf fael ePet t azzoni ),ort hef ami l
iarf atherdeity
(accor dingt othev iewsoft heBr i
t i
shant hropol ogist Andr ewLang) .Very
human, oftencomi cal ,orev enunet hical andr epul sivet rai
tsofsuchdei ties
ar eof tenr epresent edi n my ths  t
hatal sosomet imesi nclude legends  of
ani mal orhumanancest ors.

Thi st ypeofdei tyisgener all

yfoundi ni tsmostdev elopedf orm amongt he
oldhunt i
ngandgat her i
ngpeopl esoft het emperateandar i
dar eas( e.g.,
the Nor thAmer i
ca  f
or estdwel lers,t
heFuegi ansof Sout hAmer ica,
the indi genous  peopl esofAust rali
a,andt heAf ri
canKhoi san)andoft he
tropi cal pri
mev al forest s,wherehei susual l
yconcei v
edasast orm and
thunderbei ng(e. g.,
Tor eoft heBambut ioft heI
turiForest ).Hei sal so
wor shi pedamongt hepast oralpeopl esast he“blue”or“ whi te”skyoft he
wi depast uresint hest eppesofnor theasternAf r
ica(e.g., Wakaoft he
Or omo)andofCent r
al andNor thAsi a(e.g.,Tor
em, Num, andTengr iofthe
Ugr ians, Nenet s, andMongol s).Amongsuchpeopl es, heav eni sof ten
mer gedwi t
hanol dhunt i
ngdei ty,t
he  l
ordoft heanimal s,orital lowst he
l
at tert oexistasahy postasisbyhi ssi de.
Thewi thdrawngod
Thegodofheav enmaybea  deusot iosus, whohas, aftercompl etingt he
creat ion, withdrawni nt oheav enandabandonedt hegov ernmentoft he
wor ldt ot hehumanancest orsort onat urespiri
tsthatar edependenton
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him andactasmedi ators.Thi st ypeoft hegod, whoi sabl etointerv

ene
dir
ect l
yonl yint imesofgr eatneed, suchasdr ought ,pestil
ence,orwar ,can
bef oundpr imar i
lywher ewor shipoft hedeadorwor shipofi ndivi
dual l
ocal
“earthspi rit
s”—noty et 
integr ated  intoanal l
-i
nclusi veear t
hdei t
y—obscur es
everythingel se.Thi st y
peofgodoccur sespeci allyinareasofso- call
ed
pri
mi tiveagr icul ture( e.g.,largepar tsofAf ri
ca, Mel anesia,andSout h
Amer ica) .
Thef irstamongequal s
Thegodofheav enal somaybet heheadofapant heonofgods, thefirst
amongequal s, ort heabsol uter uleri na hierarchy  
ofgods.Thi soccurs
i
n poly theism  (bel i
efi nmanygods)i nit
spur estf orm.Thedei ti
es
associ atedwi thhi m ar eof tenr elat edt ohim byf amilyties(genealogiesof
gods) .Occasi onal ly,theheav enlyphenomenaar edi stri
butedamong
member soft hecl anofgods, thegodofheav enhi mselfthusbecomi ng
ratherv ague.Thedi v i
nepai rheav en- earthrepresent sonl yoneamong
manypossi blecombi nations—e. g.,Dy aus-pitr
i (
=heav en,mal e)andPr it
hiv
i
(=ear th,femal e)i nVedi cIndi aor ,wi thanunusual di
stri
but i
onoft hesexes,
Nut( =heav en, woman)andGeb( =ear t
h,man)i n ancientEgy pt.

Occasional
ly,asi nthepantheonsofGr eeceandwest ernAsi a,gener
at i
ons
ofgodssucceedeachot her.Insuchinstances,themor euni ver
salgodof
heavenisoftenr eplacedbyt heyoungergodoft hunder storms
(e.
g.,
 Zeus 
oft heGr eeks,
 Teshub oftheHi t
ti
tes,or
 Hadad  oftheWest ern
Semiticpeoples)ori seven r
elegated t
ot hebackgroundbyagoddess, such
as I
nanna-I
shtar (theloveorferti
l
itygoddessi nBabylonia)or Amaterasu,
the 
sungoddess  ofJapan.

Inanci ent China,heav en( tian)ruledov ert hemanymor epopul argodsand

wasev encl oselyrelatedt ot herepresent ati
vesoft hei mper ial household.
Deifi
cat ionoft hecel estialemper orisacul ti
cpracticet hatext ends
from  Korea toAnnam ( par tofVi etnam) .Ther ootsoft hewor shipofheav en
i
nAsi aar eprobabl ythebel iefsofcent ralandnor ther nAsiannomadsi na
solit
ar ygodofheav en.Godsofheav en, abov eorbehi ndapant heon,
probabl yor i
ginatedi nareaswher eat heocr atic
strat
ified bureaucracy  existedorwher e sacr alki
ngdoms  existorhav e
existed—e. g.,i
nt he Sudanornor theasternAf ri
ca(Akan- Baule, Benin,Yoruba,
Jukun, Buganda, andnei ghbour i
ngst ates) ,westernI ndonesi a, Polynesi
a
andMi cronesia,andt headv ancedci vi
lizationsofpr e-Columbi an
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Mesoamer icaandSout hAmer i

ca.
Heav enandear thdei tiesaspar t
ners
Thegodofheav eni nmanyar easisapar tnerofanear thdeity
.Insuch
cases, othernumi na( spir
its)ar emi ssingorar esubj ecttooneoft hetwo
asspi r
itsofnat ur eorancest ors. 
My t
hs depi cti
ngt heheav en-earth
partnershipusual l
ydescr ibet hefoundat ionsoror i
ginsofthepar tnershipin
termsofasepar ati
onofapr imev al 
chaos  int oheav enandear thorint er
ms
ofal atersepar ationofheav enandear tht hator iginall
ylaycloset ogether,
andt heydescr ibet hei mpr egnat ionoft heear thbyt heseedoft hegod
(e.
g., 
hierosgamos, Gr eekf or“ sacredmar riage”).Thi spartnershi
poft he
godofheav enandt hegoddessofear thmaybef oundi nareasofAf rica
thathav ebeeni nfluencedbyot hercivil
izat ions(especi all
ytheSudanand
northeast ernAfrica),ineast er nIndonesi a, andi nsomear easofAmer ica
undert hei nfl
uenceofEur opeanci vil
i
zat i
ons.

Noti nf r equent lyt hegodofheav enandt hegoddessofear t haref usedi nto

aher maphr oditichi gherdei ty.Thisaccor dswi thcer t
aint raitsofanci ent
civil
izat i
onst hatt ryt oshowi ncust omsandmy thst hatthe
dichot omi es—f orexampl e,ofheav enandear th, dayandni ght ,ormanand
woman—needt obesur mount edinaki ndofbi sexual spiritual f
or ce.
Cer tainmy thsexpr esst helossofanor igi nalbisexual ityoft hewor ldand
peopl e.I na  creat i
onmy th f
oundi nt he Vedas, f orexampl e, i
twas  Pur usha,
an andr ogy nous  primal human, whosepar atedt hrougha  pr i
mor di al self-
sacr ificei ntomanandwomanandf rom whom t hewor l
dwascr eat edwi t
h
allitscont rasts.Anot hersuchcr eat ion  my t
h i
st hecosmi cegg, whi chwas
separ at edi ntot hemal eskyandt hef emal eear th.
Thegodofheav env i
eweddual istical ly
Insev er al religionst hegodofheav enhasanant agonist i
cev i
ladv ersar y
whodel ight si ndest royingcompl etel yorpar ti
al lythegoodcr eat i
v edeeds
oft hegodofheav en.Thi shel pstoexpl aint hei nsecur it
yofexi stenceand
concept sof  
ethical  dualism.Inmostsuchcases, thecont r astsexper ienced
i
nt her elat ionshi pbet weenheav enandear thdei ti
eshav ebeenr eev aluated
alonget hi cal li
nesbymeansofexal tingt heheav enlyel ement satt he
expenseoft heear thlyones( especi allyi n Jewi sh, 
Chr isti
an,
and  Islami c sect sinEur ope,west -cent r
al andnor t
her nAsi a, andcer tain
areasofnor thernAf ri
ca) .Thef i
gur eofanant agoni sti
c tr
ickst er or
demi ur get hathasasomewhatet hi cal componentmaybet her esul t
of diffusi on  andi sr atherr areinsuch  cultures ast hoseoft heKhoi sanand
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the i
ndi genous  peopl esofAust rali
aand  NorthAmer ica.
Thegodofheav env iewedmonot heistically
Thegodofheav en, v i
ewedi nhi sethical aspect,isal way sanactive, si
ngle
god—e. g.,asi nChr ist i
an,Jewi sh, andI slamic monot hei sm.
Earth
Althoughi npol ytheist i
crel i
gionst heear t
hi susual lyr epresentedasa
goddessandassoci atedwi tht hegodofheav enasherspouse, onlyr arely
i
st hereanel abor at eori ntensi v ecultofear t
h wor shi p.Ther eareinmany
reli
gions  mot hergoddesses  whohav eel aboratecul t sandwhohav e
assumedt hef unct ionoff ertil
ityforl andandhumanbei ngs,buttheyhar dly
hav eacht honi c( ear th)basi s.Somemot hergoddesses, suchasI nanna-
Ishtar,insteadhav eaheav enly ,astralorigin.Ther ear e,
howev er, 
subor dinat e fi
gur esofv ar i
ouspant heons, suchas  Nerthus  i
n
Ger mani c reli
gi on or  Demet er and  Persephone  (earthmot herandcor ngirl
)
i
n Gr eekr eligion, whohav epl ay edgr eaterrolest han  Gaea  (t
hewor ld
mot her ).AmongI ndo- Europeans, west ernAsi ans( despi t
etheirvarious
ferti
li
tydei ties), Chi nese, Kor eans, andJapanese, thegodsofheav en, sun,
andt hunder stor mshav ehel dapar amounti nterest.

Whent hecommonpeopl ehav edi splayedintensi veattentionto“ mot her

ear t
h”( suchast hepr acticeofl ayingdownnewbor nbabi esont heear t
h
andmanyot herr i
tes),thispar ti
al l
yr efl
ectsol der  cul
ts thathav eremai ned
relati
velyf r
eef r
om war ri
orandnat ion-buil
dingpeopl eswi ththeiremphasi s
onwar( asint hewest ernSudan, pre-VedicIndi a, andt heIndianagr ar
ian
areaofnor ther nMexi co) .TheAndeanear th-mot her
fi
gur e,
 Pachamama  (
PachaMama) ,worshipedbyt hePer uv i
ans, standsi n
shar pcont rastt othesunr eligionoft heInca( t heconquer inglordoft he
Andesr egion) .Earthdei ti
esar emostact ivelyv ener atedinar easi nwhi ch
peopl ear ecl oselyboundt oancest orsandt ot hecul ti
vationofgr ain.
Mount ains
Especi allypromi nentmount ainsar efavourit
epl acesf or  
cult
sofhi gh
places, particularl
ywhent heyar eisolatedasi slandmount ai
ns, mount ains
withsnowcaps, oruninhabi tedhi ghmount ai
nr anges.Thepsy chol ogical
rootsoft hecul tsofhi ghpl acesl iei nthebel i
eft hatmount ai
nsar ecloset o
thesky( asheav enlyladder s),thatcl oudssur roundi ngt hemount aintops
aregi versofr ai
n,andt hatmount ainswi t
hv olcanoesf orm approachest o
the fi
ery  
insidesoft heear th.
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Mount ains,
therefor
e,ser veast heabodesoft hegods, asthecent
resof
thedeadwhol iveunderground, asburialplacesf orrainmakers(medici
ne
men), andaspl acesofor aclesforsoothsay ers.In cosmogenic(ori
ginof
thewor l
d)my ths,mount ainsaret hefi
rstlandt oemer gefrom t
heprimeval
water.Theyf r
equentlybecomet hecosmicmount ain(i.
e.,t
heworl
d
conceivedasamount ain)t hati
ssy mbolicallyrepresent edbyasmallhil
lon
whichaki ngstandsatt hei naugurati
on.Pilgrimagest omountainal
tarsor
shri
nesar efavourit
epract icesofcultsofhi ghplaces.

Thelar
germount ainrangesandcany onsbet weenv ol
cani c
mountains—especial
lyinEur asiafr
om t hePy r
eneest ot heAl ps,
the 
Carpathi
anMount ains,the CaucasusMount ains,t
heHi mal ayas,
the
mountainousareasofnor thernChina,Kor ea,andJapan, andt he
mountainousareasofNor t
handSout hAmer i
ca( t
he RockyMount ai
ns,t
he
Andes)—aremostof tencent resof 
cults ofhi
ghpl aces.El evationsofthe
EastAfri
canRiftVall
ey( Kenya,Tanzani a,Uganda),volcani cisl
andsof
the 
Pacifi
cOcean (e.
g.,Hawai i)
,andthemount ainsoft heI ndianDeccan
havealsoservedascent resoft hecult
sofhi ghpl aces.

Inear l
ycivi
lizat
ionst hecul tsofhighpl aceswer ecl osel
ycombi nedwi t
h
thoseoft heear th;e.g.,
 MountOl ympus  i
nGreece, themount ai
nsofEnl i
lor
ofthe“ Mount ai
nMot her,
”Cy bel
e,inwest er
nAsi a,andtheMer umount ain
i
nI ndiawer ebelievedt obr ingheavenandear thintoacl oserel
ationshi
p
andwer eoftenv iewedast hemi ddlepillarofthewor ldpil
lar
suphol di
ngthe
sky.Bushandwi ldspi r
its(suchast he lordoftheani mals)of
the cul
tures ofthehunt ersandgat hererswer eof t
enbelievedtoresidein
i
naccessi blemount ainousar eas(e.g.
, t
heCaucasus) .

Mor eFr om Br i
tannica
 
West ernt heatre:Naturewor ship
I
naddi tiontoot hermount aindei tiesofamor erecentdat e(e.g.,thegodof
the12mount ai
nsandt heone- leggedmount ai
ngod) ,t
heJapanese
mount aindei t
y yama-no- kami  hasbeendemonst r
atedt ohav ebeenadei t
y
ofthehunt( i.e.
, godoft hef orest ,l
ordoft heanimals)inanci ent Japan.
Throught he wor ship 
off armer s,the yama- no-
kami assumedt heelements
ofagoddessofv eget
ationandagr i
cult
ure.Themount aingoddesses( ear
th
mot hers)ofnon- Vedi
c I
ndi a stil
lincorporatenumer ousf eat
ur esofhunt
deit
ies,and, becauseof  indigenous  infl
uences,theVedi cgodsandt hei
r
Co
urs
e:So
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lTh
eor
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9) Se
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:Aut
umn,2022

wives(e.
g.,
 
Parvati
,Uma, and 
Durga)havetheirabodesonmount ai
ns.The
i
solatedmountainsof
 EastAfri
ca,sur
roundedbycl ouds,
arebeli
evedtobe
thedwell
ingpl
acesoft heheavenandr ai
ngods, andinZi
mbabwe
pil
gri
magesaremadet omount ai
nsanctuari
est hatar
eviewedastheseats
ofthegods.

Pre-Islami cpeopl esof  Nor thAf ri

ca  andt heext inctinhabitant sof
the Canar yIslands  (
the Guanches  peopl e)associ atedmount ainwor shi p
withacul tof goat sandsheep, which, whenpr acticedinr i
t uals, was
believedt osecur er ainandt hunder stor msi nt heof tenar i
dl andscape.
Simi l
arcul tsar eal sof oundi ntheBal kansandi nthev all
ey soft he
sout hernAl ps.
Ear t
hquakes
Accor dingt ot hebel i
efsofmanypeopl es,ear thquakesor iginat ei n
mount ains.I nar easofAf ricawher et heconceptof  
mana  ispar ticul arly
strong, manybel i
ev ethatt hedeadi nt heunder wor l
dar ethecausesof
earthquakes, thoughi nt heupperNi lebasi nof  SouthSudan  andi nEast
Africaanear thdei t
yissomet i
mesbl amed.I nsomear easabear erwho
holdst hewor ldup—aconceptt hatpr obabl ycamef rom Ar abi a, Per sia, or
India—i sbel iev edt ocauseanear thquakewhenhechangeshi sposi tionor
whenhemov eshi sbur denf rom oneshoul dert ot heot her.Wor ldbear ers
oftenar egi antsorher oes, suchas  At las,butt heyal somaybeani mal s: an
elephant( India) ,aboar( Indonesi a) ,abuf falo( Indonesi a),af ish( Ar abi a,
Geor gia, andJapan) ,
at ur t
le( Amer i
ca) ,ort heser pentgodNdengei (Fiji
).In
theAr abwor ld, ont heeastcoastofAf ricaandi nNor thAf rica, anox
gener all
yi sv iewedast hebear er,somet imesst andingonaf ishi nt he
wat er.Gener ator sofear thquakesal somaybet hegodsoft heunder wor ld,
suchas  Tui l,t
heear thquakegodoft hei nhabi tant softhe Kamchat ka
Peni nsula, whor i
desonasl eighundert heear th.Theear thquakei sdr iven
awaybynoi se, loudshout i
ng, orpoki ngwi tht hepest l
eofamor t
ar .Among
peopl eswi theschat ologi cal (l
astt i
mes)v iews, ear t
hquakesannouncet he
endoft hewor ld( Europe, west ernAsi a) .
Tides
Thev i
ewt hatt het i
desar ecausedbyt hemooncanbef oundov eral most
alltheear th.Thi sr egularnat uralphenomenonsel dom gi v
esr iset ocul ts,
butt heebbandf l
owoft hecoast al wat ershav est imulatedmy thol ogi cal
concept s.Noti nfrequent l
yt hemoonacqui rest hest atusofawat erdei t
y
becauseoft hisphenomenon.The  Tl ingit ofthenor thwest er n Uni ted
Co
urs
e:So
cia
lTh
eor
yI(
466
9) Se
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:Aut
umn,2022

States vi
ewt hemoonasanol dwoman, t
hemi stressoft het i
des.The
animal heroandt ri
ckster 
Yetl,t
her av en,i
ssuccessf ulinconquer i
ng(with
theai doft hemi nk)theseashor efrom t hemoonatl owt ide, andt husan
extendedar eai sgainedf ornour i
shmentwi thsmal lseaani mal s.
The sun
Gener all
y,thesuni swor shipedmor ei ncolderregionsandt he  moon  i
n
war mr egions.Al so, t
hesuni susual lyconsi deredasmal eandt hemoonas
femal e.Except i
onst othesegener alizati
ons, howev er,arenot able:the
prevalent 
wor ship ofthesuni nhot ,aridancient Egypt andi npar tsof
west ernAsi a;the concept i
on ofthemoonasaman( whof requent l
yis
beli
ev edtobet hecauseofmenst ruation)amongmanyhunt ingand
gather i
ngsoci eti
esaswel lascertainpast oralandr oy al
 cultures ofAfrica;
andt heconcept i
onoft hefemal esunr uli
ngnor thernEur asiaeast wardt o
Japanandpar tsof NorthAmer ica.

I
nmanyst atecul
tsofancientci
vi
lizati
ons,t
hesunplay
saspecialr
ole,
part
icul
arl
ywhereithasrepl
acedanol dgodofheaven(e.g.
,Egy
pt,
Ethiopi
a,
SouthIndi
a,andtheAndes)andespeci al
l
ywhereiti
sviewedasamar ker
ofti
me.
Thesunast hecentr
eofast atereli
gion

InAf rica anci entEgy pt

 wast hemai ncent r
ef rom whi ch solar
deity concept s emanat ed.Thesol ar r
eli
gion, promot edbyt hest ate, was
concer nedwi ththesungod  Re (At um-Re, Amon- Re, Chnum- Re), t
hesun
falcon  Hor us, t
hescar abChepr e,andadi vineki ngdom t hatwas
det ermi nedbyt hesun( e.g.,
 phar aoh Akhenat on’ssol ar monot hei sm  c.
1350  BCE) .Thesunr eli
gi onr eached—bywayofMer oe, a
sun  sanct uary  
until t
he6t hcent ur y CE,andt heupperNi l
e—asf aras
west er nEt hiopia( e.g.,theHegocul ti
nKef aandt hesunki ngsi nLi mmu)
andNi ger i
a( e.g.,Jukun) .InAsi at hesuncul tcul mi natedi nther eligion
of Mi t
hr a ofPer sia.Mi thr awast r
anspor tedbyRomanl egionnairest o
west er nEur opeandbecamet he“ Unconquer ableSun”oft heRoman
mi l
itaryemper ors.I nJapant he  imper i
al 
deityi n stateShi ntō i
s Amat erasu,
thesungoddessf r om whom  JimmuTennō, thef i
rsthumanemper or ,
descended.I nI ndonesi a, wher et hedescentoft hepr incesf r
om t hesun
alsoi saf eature, t
hesunof t
enr eplacesthedei tyofheav enasapar t
nerof
theear th.InPer uther uling Inca  wasbel i
ev edt obet hesuni ncar nat e(Int
i)
andhi swi fet hemoon.Asunt empl einCuzcocont ainsar epresent ati
onof
Co
urs
e:So
cia
lTh
eor
yI(
466
9) Se
mes
ter
:Aut
umn,2022

Intiastheol destsonoft hecr eatorgod.The  Natchez Indiansofthe

sout heastern UnitedStates,whoar eculturall
yconnect edwi th 
Central
Amer i
ca,calledt hei
rking“ GreatSun”andt henobl emen“ theSuns. ”
Thesunasasubor dinatedeit y
Thesun, withinapol ytheist
ic pantheon,of t
enisrev er
edasaspeci al dei
ty
whoi ssubor dinatetot hehighestdeity,usuallyt
hegodofheav en.Thi s
maybeobser vedinthegr eatcivil
izati
onsofanci entEur opeandAsi a:
Hel i
os( Greece) ;Sol(Rome) ;Mi t
hra(Persia);Sur
y a,Sav i
tr
, andMithra
(India);
Utu( Sumer )
;andShamash( Baby loni
anandot herSemi ti
careas).

Thesunnoti nfrequent l
yi sconsi der edf emale—ShamsofsomeAr abs,
Shaphofanci entUgar itinPal est ine, SunofAr i
nnaoft heHi t
tites, aswel l
as
thef emal eSunoft he  Ger mani cpeopl es.Siberianpeopl esuchas
the Taymy rSamoy ed( whosewomenpr ayinspr ingt othesungoddessi n
ordert or ecei v efer tili
tyorar ichcal v i
ngoft her eindeer )or
the Tungus  wor shi psungoddesses.Theymakesacr i
ficest ot hesun
goddess, andhersy mbol sar eembr oi deredonwomen’ scl othes.
Thesunandmoonasadi v
inepai r
Asungodi sof tenr elatedt oa  moongoddess  asonememberofadi vine
pair(int hepl aceofheav enandear thas“ wor l
dpar ents”).Asun- moongod
existsamongt heMundai nI ndi a( Singbonga) ;asun- moon( ear th)pai r
,
par t
ial
lyseenasbi sexual ,exi stsi neast er
nIndonesi a;andNy ambe( t
hesun)
amongt heLozi i
nZambi aisr epresent edasuni tedwi t
ht hemoongoddess
ast her ulingpai r.
Thesunasanat tribut eoft hehi ghestbei ng
Thesunsomet imesi sv i
ewedasacoor di
nateorsubor dinateat t
ribute, or
hypost asi s,oft hehi ghestbei ng.Thi smaypossi blyoccurbecauseofa
par t
ial
lyweakenedi nf l
uenceofast rongersol arism inar easof
older i
ndi genous  peopl es,suchast hoseofSudan,  BurkinaFaso, Ni ger
ia,
nor t
hern  EastAf ri
ca, andAust ralia.
Thesunasamy thi calbei ng
Thesuni nsomer eligionsi sconcei vedasapur elymy t
hical bei ng, cult
icall
y
recogni zedi nsundancessuchast hoseofpr airi
e-dwel li
ngNat i
v e
Amer i
cansandi nv ar i
ouscel ebr at i
onsoft hesol stice.Theser i
tesmaybe
eithersur v i
v alsofanear lierlocal cul tofasundei t
yori nfluencesofsucha
cult.
Themoon
Themooni sof tenper soni f
iedi ndi f
f erentway sandwor shiped
Co
urs
e:So
cia
lTh
eor
yI(
466
9) Se
mes
ter
:Aut
umn,2022

wi t
h ritual cust oms; nev ertheless, incont rastt ot hesun, themooni sl ess
frequent l
yv iewedasapower fuldeit y
.Itappear st obeofgr eatimpor tance
ast hebasi sofa  lunarcal endar  butnoti nmor eadv ancedagr ari
an
civi
lizat i
ons.Themoon, inf r
equent lyassoci atedwi t
ht hehighestgod, is
usual lypl acedbel owheav enandt hesun.Whent hemoonwi ththesun
toget her( insteadof“ heav enandear t
h” )
 const i
tut e 
ani mpor t
antpai rof
gods( wor l
dpar ents), i
tf requent lyassumest hef eaturesofanear thdei ty.
Intropi cal Sout hAmer ica, thesunandmoonar eusual lypurelymy thical
fi
gur es. Bet weent he Tropi cofCapr icorn andt heTr opicofCancer , t
he
mooni spr edomi nant lyf emal e.Onl ysomer emai nder sofanci enthunt ing
peopl esv iewt hemoonasamal ebei ng.I nthef ewsi gnif
icantmal emoon
gods, suchasbot h Khons  and  Thoth inEgy pt, Sin-Nanna  i
nBaby l
onia, and
Chandr ai nI ndia—i ncont rastwi t
ht hef emal e Selene  andLunai nt heGr eek
andRomancul ture—amor eanci entsubst ratum maybepr esent.Wher et he
mooni sconsi deredasmal e,heof tendet erminest hesexual lif
eoft he
woman, especi all
yamongt he indigenous  peopl eofAust rali
a.

Thephenomenonoft hemoont hatattr

actsallpeopl eisthesequenceof
i
ts phases.Thewaxi ngandwani ngofthemooncr escentisoften
i
nt erpretedasgai ni
ngorlosi
ngwei ght(eati
ng,dieting).Thus,
the Taulipang 
i
nBr azi
lbel
iev
et hatt
hemooni sfirstnour i
shedwell and
theni nadequatel
ybyhi stwowi ves,VenusandJupi ter
.Wher ethemooni s
viewedasf emale, t
hephasesrepresentpregnancyanddel iver
y.Elsewhere,
peopl eseechildhood, matur
it
y,anddy i
ngast hephasesoft hemoon: the
fi
rstcr escenti
st hustherebi
rthorther epl
acementoft heoldbyanew
moon.

Q.
2 Whati sthefundamentaldif
fer
encebetweentheSocr at
esappr oach
towardsmanandpr e-
Socrat
esphil
osopher
sapproaches?Elabor
atethe
Socrati
cmethodstoexaminegoodandjust
ice.
Pr
e-Socr
ati
cs

Theunder
lyi
ngassumpti
onsoft
heear
lyphi
l
osopher
s,t
heear
lysci
ent
ist
s
ofGr
eekcult
urewere:

 Ther
eisani
ntel
l
igi
blecoher
encei
nthephenomenal
wor
ld
Co
urs
e:So
cia
lTh
eor
yI(
466
9) Se
mes
ter
:Aut
umn,2022

 Theuni v
ersei
sanintel
l
igi
blewhole
 Thereisanorder
,acosmos, t
hatunderl
iesthechaosofour
percepti
onsandthat
 TheOr deroft
heuniv
erseiscomprehensibl
etoreason

Inthewor ksofthepr e-
socr ati
cst hereisobv i
ouslytheprogressi
onf rom
my thopoeti
cthoughtt oapr imiti
vesci entif
icthi
nkingintheform of
speculati
veinquiryandf rom thatform oft houghttophil
osophyasr ati
onal
i
nqui r
y.Thesethinkerwer esear chingf orthe 
arche ort
hev er
yf i
rstormost
fundament alpr
inciplesorcauses.Theywonder edaboutt heimmanentand
l
astinggroundf orexi stence.Theywer ecr i
ti
calofthecosmogonyt heyhad
i
nt hemy thopoetictales.Theywer elookingforacosmol ogy(an
explanati
onfortheor deroft heuni verse)thatdidnotrel
yont hegods. They
didnotbaset heirthi
nki ngonbel i
efbutonr eason.

Theset hinkerswer enatural

ist
sandmat er
ial
i
stsast heysoughtanswersto
physicalquest i
onst hatwererootedi nthephysicali
tsel
f.Theywerelooki
ng
forthestuf foutofwhi chtheuniversewascomposedandt heywantedan
answert hatwasi tselfmadeoft hesamest uff
.Themat teroftheuni
verse
wouldhav eitsexplanati
oninmat ter.Theywer e,f
orthemostpar t
,
mater i
ali
sts,rej
ectingspiri
tualorreli
giousexplanati
onsforthecausesand
stuf
foft heuni ver
se.

I
ntr
oduct
iont
othePr
esocr
ati
cs

Thal
es

Thal eswasl ookingfort hebasicst uff(

physis)outofwhi chall elseismade.
Heexpr essedhi si
deaconcer ni
ngt hebasicstuf fi
nhi sclaimt hat“ All
thi
ngsar emadeofwat er”Nowatf i
rstyoumi ghtt hinkthathisi deais
prettysillyanddefini
telywr ong,howev er,
thatwoul dbet hewr ong
appr oach.Whatdoy ousupposewasmeantbyt hatclai
m?Thal eswas
attempt ingtoexpressani deaatat imewhenhi slanguagewasnot
dev elopedt othepointwher ehecoul dexpr essanabst r
action.Wear e
accust omedt othi
nkingi nabstracti
onandwear et hatwayinpar tbecause
wehav eal anguagewi thmanywor dsthatarelinkedwi thabst ractions.The
Greeksatt histi
medi dnothav ethattowor kwith.Forexampl e, ifsomeone
want edt ocallforj
ustice,theywoul dcallupont hegoddesswhoi nthei
r
Co
urs
e:So
cia
lTh
eor
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9) Se
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ter
:Aut
umn,2022

talesrepresent
edwhattodayweconsideri
ntheabstr
actasjusti
ce.So
i
nst eadofsay i
ng”Iwantj
ust
ice”or“
Givemejusti
ce”theymightsay
somet hingofthissor
t”MaythegoddessThemisset
tl
et hi
sbysendingusa
sign”

Thalescl aimi smostl i

kelythecl aimt hattherei s“ Unityi
nDi ff
erence”In
otherwor ds, Thaleswasat tempt ingt oclai
mt hatt herewassomebasi c
stuffoutofwhi challthingsar emade.Hesel ect swat erperhapsbecausei t
haspr oper t
ieswhi chenableal lthepeopl eofhi stimeandourt imeto
experiencewat erinthreedifferentstates:Liqui d,soli
dandgas.Nowi fone
thi
ngsuchaswat ercanexi stinthreev erydiffer entformst hentheremust
besomet hing, li
kewat er,t
hati sthebasi cstuf f,physics,oftheuniverse.
Today ,scientistsmakeasi milarclaim.Allreal it
y ,
allthatexist
sinthe
universeismadeoforcomposedoformani fest sas: energy.Sofrom
Thalescomest heideat hatnomat terhowt hi ngsmayappear ,al
lthi
ngsar e
madeupoft hesamest uff
:Ev eryt
hingisonet hing!

Anaxi
mander
:(ca.612-
545BC)

Anaximanderr eject
edThal esbasicst uff
,water,andspeculatedthatthe
ult
imater eal
itycouldnotbei denti
fiedwithanyonepar t
icularelement .He
cameupwi t
ht hebasicst uffbeingtheboundar i
esortheinf i
nit
eort he
unli
mi t
ed.Thisbasi cst uf
fwasi nfinit
eandwi thoutabeginning.Heal so
conceivedoft het heoryofspeciesev ol
vi
ngfrom oneanot herthrought i
me
i
nr esponset ot heneedt oadapt .Het houghtoftheearthasr evolv
ing.He
speculatedthatal ll
if
eor i
ginatedint heseaandmov edontot heland.Wi t
h
thi
st hi
nkerabst racti
onandmat eriali
sm devel
opedf ur
ther.

Anaxi
menes(
585-
528BC)

Anaximeneshy pothesizedt
hatitwasnotwat erbutAI
Rthatwasthe
fundamental
st uffoftheuni
verseandthataircanbecondensedorrar
efi
ed
totakeonthepr operti
esofwhatappeartobeot herel
ements.Hesoughtt
o
simpli
fyandclarif
ythemodel oftheuni
verse.

Anaxagor
as(
500-
428BC)

Anaxagor
asappearstohav
etaughtthatal
lthati
scanbeexpl
ainedwi
tha
combinat
ionofnousandmatt
er.Forhimtheuniver
seofmatt
erwasset
Co
urs
e:So
cia
lTh
eor
yI(
466
9) Se
mes
ter
:Aut
umn,2022

i
ntoitsf orm andmot i
onsbyNousormi nd.Thi smi ndi simmor tal,
homogeneous, omni pot ent ,omnisci
entandor dersall phenomena.Hedi d
notbeliev ei
ngodsandgoddesses.Hedi dnott hinkthatt hesunwasagod
andthemoonagoddess.Het houghtt hesunwasabal loffir
eandt he
moonar ockwhichref lect edli
ghtfrom thesun.Hewast obeexecut edfor
bl
asphemybyt heAt heni ansbutescapedt oanot herl and.Socr ateswas
i
nterestedi nhistheoriesunt il
Socrateslear nedt hatforAnaxagor ast he
nousact edatt hebegi nni ngoft heuniverse, setti
ngal l i
nmot ion,andwas
noti
nv okedbyAnaxagor ast oexplainmot i
onsi ncludingt hoseofhumans.
Socrateswast ofocusont heacti
onsofhumansandbel ievedthatt heir
mindshadagr eatdeal todowi t
htheiractions.

Par
meni
des(
540-
470BC)

Parmenidestaughtthatall t
hatishasal way sbeenandal wayswill
be.
Reali
tyisthatwhichneverchanges.Real i
tyis being andnotbecoming.
Changelessnessisthenat ureofallreali
ty.Thisisnotobv ioustoour
senses.Parmenidestrustedinhisreasonov erhi ssenses.Theappearance
ofthingscanbedeceiv i
ng, sotr
ustinr eason.Al lchangeisill
usi
onfor
Parmenides.Changecannotber eal.Thet ruthiswhati sarri
vedatby
thoughtandthetruthissetov erandagai nstopi nionsbaseduponsense
i
mpr essionsandcommonbel i
efs.TheREALi schangel ess.

Hearr
ivesathi
sideast
hroughapr
ocessofr
easoni
ng.Consi
dert
he
f
oll
owing:

 Ifsomet hi
ngexi sts,i
tmustcomef rom something.
 Somet hingcannotcomef r
om nothi
ng.Ifther
eev erwer
enot hi
ng,
therewoul dneedt obenot hi
ngforever
.
 Somet hingcannotcomef r
om nothi
ng.
 Ther eissomet hingnow.
 Thesomet hingfrom whichthepresentsomethingcomesmust
alway shavebeen.
 Ther emustal way shavebeensomet hi
ng,becausesomet hi
ngcan
notcomef rom not hi
ng.
 Sot hatwhichi shasal way
sbeenandwi l
lalwaysbe.
 Changei sani l
lusion.
Co
urs
e:So
cia
lTh
eor
yI(
466
9) Se
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:Aut
umn,2022

 Per
manenceisr
eal
.
 Al
li
sone,per
manentandatr
est
.

Bei
ngnevercomesintoexistence,nordoesitceasetobe.Beingalwaysis.
I
tcannotbeaddedtoordivided.Iti
swhol eandcompl et
einit
self
,one.Itis
unmovedandunchangeable.Beingis.Bei
ngdoesnotbecome.Becomi ng
i
snot.Becomingi
sunreal.Beingisandisself-
ident
icalanduncaused.

Absol
uteI
deal
i
sm

Sowi t
hParmeni desPhi losophycomest otrusti
nr easonov erthesenses.
Hist houghtli
beratesr easonfrom thesenses.Thereisinhiswor kthe
recogniti
onoft heaut onomyoft houghtandt heuseofi ndependentcrit
eri
a
forjudgingthought ;
namel y
,coherency&consistencyov erprobabi
li
ty.

Phi l
osophyisbornintherecognit
ionoftheimportanceofabstr
actgeneral
principl
es.Phil
osophydevelopsasar i
gorousprocessofinqui
ryinv
olvi
ng
i
nsi ghtsanddeducti
vereasoning.InPhi
losophythehumanmi ndcomest o
recognizeitsowncreati
on.

Socr
ates

Wenowwi l
lnowt urntolookatthel i
feandt houghtofSocr ates.Itwashe
whodev elopedt hephil
osophicalprocessoft houghtandwhof ocusedon
mat tersofgr eatconcerntohumans.Hewasconcer nedwit
ht hequest ion:
HowdoIl iv
eaGoodLi fe?Hewasconcer nedwi t
hquest i
onsofknowl edge,
truth,beautyandGoodness.Hewasexecut edf orhisbeli
efsandv i
rtues.An
i
nt eresti
ngst oryandal i
fethatproducedsuchagr eatimpactont hewor l
d
thatitist r
uet osaythatwhatSocr atesdidchangedt heworld.IfSocr ates
hadnotl i
vedashedi dyouandIwoul dnotbeaswear et
oday .Infactwe
probabl ywoul dnotexistatall
.SocratesledtoPl atowhol edtoAr istotl
e
whot ogetherproducedani mpactonhowpeopl ei ntheWestt houghtabout
l
ifeandt hewor l
dandr eali
tyandet hi
cs.Thei deasf orwhichtheypr ov i
ded
thef oundationandmet hodol
ogyl edtomov ement sandactionsand
creat i
onofi nsti
tut
ionsthatshapedt hehist
or yoft heworld.

Socrat
esspentmostofhi
sli
fespeaki
ngwit
hhi
sfell
owAtheni
ansand
anyoneel
sewhowi shedt
ospeakwithhi
m.Hespokeaboutmatt
ersof
Co
urs
e:So
cia
lTh
eor
yI(
466
9) Se
mes
ter
:Aut
umn,2022

greati
mpor tancet ohim, hesoughtaf teranswerst oimportantquesti
ons.
HewasnotaSophi stashenev erchar gedanyonef oranylessons
concerningany t
hing.Hedi dnotcl aimt oknowtheanswer s.Hedi dnot
attempttowi ncont est
swi thprizes.Hewasser iouslyint
erestedinlearni
ng
abouttruth,beauty,goodnessandv i
rt
ue.Heenter edthepublicspacesof
Athenseachdayt ospeakwi thandquest ionhi
sf ell
owsandpur sueaf ter
wisdom t oknowt hedifferencebet weenwhatheknewandwhathedi dnot
know.

Socratesseeksaf terthewisetolear
nwhatt heirwi
sdom i
sandhowone
coul
dacqui reit.Hequestionsthosewhocl ai
mt ohaveknowledge.In
the 
Ion Socrat
esi squesti
oningsomeonewhohaswonapr izeforpubli
c
speaking(reci
tationandwhot hinksthatbecausehehasmemor i
zedsome
l
inesonasubj ectthathereall
yunderstandswhatiti
sall
about.Socrates
questi
onsshowt hathedoesn' t
.

Socr atesl
eftt
hetownlimitsofAthensonlythreet
imesinhisenti
reli
fe.Al
l
threet i
meswasasasol di
ertodefendAthens!Socr
atesactsheroi
call
y.
Alcibiadesisahandsomey oungmanandgr eatwar
ri
or,asoldi
eroffort
une,
whoenj oyshi
mselfagreatdeal
.

Eut
hyphr
o

Onhi swayt othetrialSocratescomesacr ossay oungmannamed,

Euthyphro,whoisr eturni
ngf or
mt hecourthouse.Socr at
eslearnst hatheis
ret
urningfrom postingchar gesagai nstsomeoneandsoSocr atesinquires
astot hedefendant.Hei sshockedt olearnthatthey oungmanhasbr ought
chargesagainsthisownf ather!Socr at
esinquir
esast owhyhei sdoi ngthis
anddoeshet hi
nkt hathei scorrectindoingso.They oungmani nforms
himt hathehaschar gedhisfatherwi thmurderf orall
owi ngaser vantwho
kil
l
edanot herservantt odiewhi l
et i
edupawai t
ingf ortheauthor i
ti
est o
arr
ivetoarresthim.

Socratesaskstheyoungmanwhyhet hinksiti
sagoodt hi
ngtobring
chargesagainsthi
sownf at
her
.Theyoungmanr epl
iesthatiti
sthepious
thi
ngt odo.Socrat
esaskshimifheknowswhatpi etyi
s.Euthyphro
respondsbysay i
ngthathebel
i
evesthatpiet
yistopleasethegods.
Socratesaskshowweknowhowt odot hatandEuthyphrorespondsthatt
o
Co
urs
e:So
cia
lTh
eor
yI(
466
9) Se
mes
ter
:Aut
umn,2022

doast hegodsdoi st opleaset hem.Heci tespassagesf rom t heepict ales

thatdescr i
beagodt akingactionsagai nsthi sownf at
herandpr ov
idest his
asaj ust i
ficati
onf ordoi ngwhathei sdoi ng.Socr at espressesonwi thhis
quest ions.ForSocr at esthisisamosti mpor tantmat t
er.Socr atesis
attempt ingt olearnhowoneknowswhati sgood.Howdoy ouknowwhat
ther i
ghtt hingtodowoul dbe.I tmustbegood.Weal lwanttodogood.We
wantgoodanswer s, goodf ri
ends, andagoodl if
e.Sohowdoy ouknow
whati sgood.Eut hyphr ot hi
nksheknowswhati st hegood.I tiswhat everis
pleasi ngt ot hegods.Thegodsar et hest andar df orgoodness.Now
Socr ateshasamaj orpr oblem wi t
ht hisappr oach.Ther earepr oblemswi th
i
t.Socr atesasksEut hy phrothekeyquest i
ons.Whi chgodsar ewet opl ease.
Notal lthegodsagr ee.Thest oriesr epor tt
hatt heywaramongt hemsel ves.
Sowhati spleasingt oonemaybedi spleasingt oanot her.Ther ewere
storiesofgodsr espect ingtheirpar entsandst oriesoft hegodski ll
ingt hei
r
ownpar ent s.Likewi set herewer est oriesoft hegodski l
li
ngt heirown
children, commi t
tingmur der,l
y i
ng, rapingandev eryot herhorr i
bleact .

Sowhati sthebasi
sf orthegood.Her
eisthequest
ionthatsetSocrates
apartfr
om allot
hersofhi sday
.Aquesti
onthatset
sPhilosophyapartfr
om
rel
igi
onandaquest ionthatSocrat
escoul
dnotanswer.Hedi edwit
houtan
answer.Platodevi
sedananswerbutSocrateshadnotreachedthatpoint
athisdeath.

Dowecal lthoseact
sgoodbecausethegodsdot hem ordothegodsdo
them becausetheyar
egood?Areact
sgoodj ustbecausethegodsdothem
andwhat everagoddoesisgoodj
ustbecausethegoddi di
t?Or,ar
e
cert
ainactsgoodandthatiswhyagoddoesi t
?

Euthyphrocan’ tev enunder standt hequestionandst atest hathemustbe

goingandt husendst hedi alogue.Mostpeopl eofSocr atest i
mecoul dnot
understandt hei mpor tanceoft hequest i
on.Ift hegodsdowhatt heydo
becausei tisgoodt hent her ewoul dbeast andar dforgoodness, which
eventhegodswoul danswert oandi twouldexi stapartfrom t hegodst obe
heldovert hem f orthesakeofj udgment .Butf ortheGr eekst herewas
nothi
ngabov et hegods.Thet heorythatEuthy phroputf orwar discalledthe
Divi
neCommandTheor y.Manypeopl ewhobel ieveinasi ngledeityalso
holdforsuchat heory.Perhapsy outhinksot oo.
Co
urs
e:So
cia
lTh
eor
yI(
466
9) Se
mes
ter
:Aut
umn,2022

TheTr
ialofSocr
ates

Socrat
esisjustover70y ear
sofageatt heti
mehei saccusedofacr ime.
Hehadnev erbeforebeenaccusedofany t
hingwr ongorcriminal.Hehad
serv
edasaj usti
cebutnev erbeenadefendant.Hewasv er
ywel lknown.He
wasatleastregardedasagr eatt
hinker
,somethingofasci enti
stforhis
musingsont henatureoftheuniv
erseandasamor al
i
stforallhistal
k
aboutvi
rt
ue.Whower ehisaccusersandwhydi dtheychargehi m?

Theaccuser,Mel
etus,
wenttothetownhal
landpresent
edthechargeal
ong
wit
har equest
edpenalt
y.Thechar
gewasimpiet
y-di
sbel
iev
ingi
nt hegods
oftheAtheni
ansandcorrupt
ingt
heyoung,
thepenalt
ywasdeath.

Whent heDemocr ati

cPar t
yov erthrewt het y r
ant s,the“ Thi
rty”,theyneeded
tobr ingaboutahar monywi thint hepol is.Theydecl aredanamnest yfor
anyandal lcr i
mest hatmayhav ebeencommi tt
eddur i
ngthepr evi
ousf ew
yearst hatthet y r
ant shadbeeni nducingpeopl eintocr i
mesi nor derto
sil
encet heircri
ticismsandgai nt heirsuppor t.Noonewast oment ion
any t
hi ngt hathadoccur redoranyone’ sr elationt othet hir
tyty rant
s.Now
thedemocr ati
cor derdi dnotr estupont hel eader sbei ngnoblebor n.Itdi
d
notr estupont hepoweroft hemi lit
ary.TheAt henianshadgov ernment s
runbyki ngs, mili
tarycommander sandweal thypeopl e.Nowt heywer e
rul
ingt hemsel ves- -Democr acy .Theyr estedt hatfor m ofgover nmenton
thewi l
l ofthepeopl eandt hei rwi l
lingnesst oacceptt hatwhat ev erthe
maj or i
tywant edwoul dbet hecor rectthingt odo.Thi sdemocr acydi dnot
i
nv olvet hev oti
ngofal lAtheni ans.Thev otingi nAthensi ncludedonl y:
mal es, bor nofAt henianmot her s, bornf ree,andbor nl egit
imat e,no
bast ards.Thosemenwoul dv oteonal lmat t
er sandt hemaj oritywoul drul
e.

Socratespr esentedat hreatt otheDemocr aticPar tyandf orm of

government .Socrateshadf ormanyy earsbeenaski ngquest i
onsandhe
keptaski ngquest i
onshopi ngt ogetthecor rect,f
inal andt r
uthful answer.
Heaskedaser iesofquest ionsthatwer ethreateningt othepoliticalorder
becauset heyfocuseddi rectl
yont hebasicpr i
ncipleunder lyi
ngt he
democr at i
cr ul
e.Theanswer stothequest ionsbelowwer ethesamei n399
BCast heyar etoday .Ev entodayt opusht hisissuewoul dresultin
someonebecr iti
cizedf orbeingant i
-democr ati
corant i
-Amer i
can!Socr ates
wouldaskquest i
onssuchas:
Co
urs
e:So
cia
lTh
eor
yI(
466
9) Se
mes
ter
:Aut
umn,2022

Ist
her
eanyguaranteet
hatwheneveramajor
it
yofthepeoplev
oteson
somet
hingdecl
ari
ngthati
tist
rue,
thatt
hatvotemakesitt
rue?

Theanswerwas,
NO,
ther
eisnosuchguar
ant
ee!

Ist
her
eanyguaranteet
hatwheneveramajor
ityoft
hepeopl
evoteson
somet
hingdecl
ari
ngthati
tisbeaut
if
ul,
thatt
hatvot
emakesitbeaut
if
ul?

Theanswerwas,
NO,
ther
eisnosuchguar
ant
ee!

Ist
her
eanyguaranteet
hatwheneveramajor
it
yofthepeoplevot
eon
somet
hingdecl
ari
ngthati
tisgood,t
hatt
hatvotemakesitgood?

Theanswerwas,
NO,
ther
eisnosuchguar
ant
ee!

Ist
her
eanyguaranteet
hatwheneveramajor
it
yofthepeoplev ot
eson
somet
hingdecl
ari
ngthati
tisj
usti
ce,t
hatt
hatvot
emakesi tjusti
ce?

Theanswerwas,
NO,
ther
eisnosuchguar
ant
ee!

Nowthiswasat hr
eattot hesystem ofgov ernmentandSocrateswasseen
asadangertothestate,aclearandpr esentdanger,
thatneededtobedeal
t
wit
handr emov
edi namannert hatwoul dnotinj
urethest
ate.Socr
ates
quest
ioni
ngwasat hreattonationalsecurit
y.

Whatwasatst akeherewasacl ashbet weent hewayofadv enturethathad

characteri
zedthehistor yofAthenswi t
hi t
sopendoorpol i
cyandt hewayof
safetythathadcharact eri
zedt hedev el
opmentoft hest ateofSpar tawit
h
i
tsr i
giddisci
pli
neandnar rowr angeofv ar
iat
ionspermitted.Socrateswas
thepastofAt hensandnowi napr ecariouscondit
ion,someAt henians
wantedt omaket hest atemor esecur eandt hequestioningoft heoldman,
Socrates,wasthreateningt otheor derandsecur i
tyofthepeopl e.

Socr ateswasnotaccusedofcr i
mesbecauseofhi sassoci
ati
onwiththe
thi
rtyy oungt y
rants.Alt
houghseveral
ofthet hi
rtyhadknownSocratesand
hadl istenedtohim, hedidnotencour
ageort eachthem tobetyr
ants.In
factwhent heyattemptedtosil
encehimf orhiscri
tici
smsofthem he
refusedt oarrestLeonofSalamisont hei
rordersandher ef
usedtoobser v
e
theirbanagai nstteachi
ngpeopletospeaki npubli
c.
Co
urs
e:So
cia
lTh
eor
yI(
466
9) Se
mes
ter
:Aut
umn,2022

So,whywasheindi
ctedandwhywashef oundguilt
yandsent
encedtodi
e?
Therear
eanumberoff act
orsthatpr
obablycontr
ibutedt
oasizabl
e
amountofpubl
i
copinionbeingsetagai
nstSocrat
es.

1.Socr ateswasseenasadanger ousi ntellect ualinnovat or,ontheor der

ofAnaxagor as,whohadbeendr ivenoutofAt hens.
2.Socr atesspeculatedaboutt heuni verse.Hewaspr acticingthe“ new
science”andwassuspect edofat heist i
ct endenci es.
3.Socr atesdidquest ionpeopl ei namannersi mi l
art otheSophi sts.He
crossexami nedmanywhocl aimedt ohav eknowl edgeorwi sdom i n
thehopeofgai ningwhatt heyhad.Socr atesusedt hedi alecti
cal
met hodofi nquiry.He, unfortunat ely,showedt hatmanypeopl ewho
claimedt oknowt hingsact ual lydi dnot .Heembar rassedt hepoet s,
statesman, andartisansofhi sday .Manypeopl et houghtofSocr ates
ast heydi dtheSophi sts,althoughhewasnotoneoft hem.
4.Socr ateswasi ndiscriminat einhi sassoci ations.Hewoul dall
ow
any onet oquestionhi m andobser vehi m.Hedi dnotcar ewhot hey
wer e.Ov ertime,foreigners,mat hemat i
cians, t
hey oung, theThi r
t y
whol aterbecamet yr
ants, Sophi sts,pol i
ticiansal lwoul dcomet o
speakwi thSocrates.ManyAt heni ansmi ghthav ehar bor ed
suspi ci
onsordi strustofSocr at esassoci atesandwonderabout
Socr ates’tr
uepl ansorr oleint heiract ions.
5.Socr atesquest i
oningpr ocesswasat hreatt othedemocr ati
cideal ,
thef oundationoft hepol i
tical andsoci alor der.

Whatwasreal
lyontri
alt
henwer et
hesoci
alv
aluest
obef
oundi
nthe
act
ionsandi
nquir
iesofSocr
ates.

BothPlatoandXenophonr eportont het ri

al i
tsel
f.Ther eisnot ext
i
ndicati
ngt hatPlatohasdi stort
edwhatoccur redatt het r
ial
.The
prosecutorpresentedhischar gesandt henSocr ateswasgi venhi schance
tospeak.Heknewt hathehadunt i
lsundownoft hatdayt opr esent
whateverhewant edtopr esent.Hehast akenanoat h, sworntot hegods, t
o
tel
lthetruth,t
hewhol etr
uthandnot hingbutt het ruth.Hehasswor nan
oathtoacceptt hev erdi
ctoft hejur
yandt hepenal tyimposedbyt hejury.I
t
i
shi sdesir
et okeept heseoat hsthatwi llbehi sundoi ng.Hisdesi r
et obe
fai
thfult
ohi soathsmakehi m sayt hingst hatdisturbmanyoft hej uror
s
Co
urs
e:So
cia
lTh
eor
yI(
466
9) Se
mes
ter
:Aut
umn,2022

andmakehi
mremai
ninpr
isont
odi
ewhenhecoul
dhav
elef
tandgonei
nto
exi
le.

Socr atesopeni ngpoi ntsoutt hati tishi sdut yt ospeakt het r

ut handi tis
thedut yoft hej uryt opr ovidef orj ustice.Socr ateswi llspeaki nhi snor mal
mannerandhemai ntainst hathei snotacl ev erspeaker( int hef ashionof
theSophi sts).Hei snotaccust omedt odeal i
ngwi thcour ts, ashehasnev er
beenadef endant .Heat tempt st odeal wi tht het woset sofchar ges.He
fearst hatt her umor sconcer ni nghi m ar emor edamagi ngt hant hechar ges.
Hecan’ tdeal witht hem, ashewoul dwantbecauset hechar gesar enot
madespeci fic.Het hinkshei st her eduet ot hesuspi ci
onssur roundi nghim
thathei sinv olvedi nst rangei nv estigationsandt hathei sassoci atedwi th
sophi stry.Ther ewer enowi tnessest osuppor tthesechar gesandno
evidencet oshowt hatSocr at esev erchar gedmoneyf ori nstruct i
onas
Sophi stsdi d.Thegod, theor acl eatDel phos, hasgi venhi m hi sbusi ness.
Whent heor aclesai d,“Ther eisnoonewi sert hanSocr at es” ,het ooki ttobe
givinghi mt hechar get oseekaf terwi sdom.Hebegant oquest ional lwho
mayhav ehadwi sdom i nanyf or m onl yt of i
ndt hatitwasnotso.Hi s
quest ioningoft hest atesmen, poet sandar ti
sansdi dfindt hem gui lt
yof
pride( hubris)f ort hinkingt hatt heywer ewi sewhent heywer enot .Thi s
alsowonSocr atest heirenmi ty.Socr atesdoesnotbel ievet hathecandeal
withal l t
heant agoni smsbywhi chhewasdi slikedbysomany .Hedoesnot
believet hathecandeal witht hepr ejudicesofsomanyi nsoshor tat ime
all
ot t
ed.Sohet urnst othespeci ficchar ges.

Cor
rupt
ionoft
hey
oung

SocratesquestionsMeletosconcerni
ngthischarge.Appar
entl
y,Melet
os
bel
ievest hatSocrat
esistheonlyguil
tyofthi
s.Socratesmakesli
ghtofthat
i
dea.Socr atesinqui
resastowhetherornott heall
egedcor
rupti
onis
del
iberateoraccidentalandnot
esthateitheropti
onleadstoacourseof
act
ionot herthantochargesandadeat hpenalty
.

Mel
etoscoul
dnamenoindi
vi
dualsthatSocr
ateshadcor
rupt
ed.Noonei
n
t
hecourtr
oom namedasi
nglecorr
uptedchi
ld.
Co
urs
e:So
cia
lTh
eor
yI(
466
9) Se
mes
ter
:Aut
umn,2022

I
mpi
ety

Thechargei sexplai
nedbyMel et
ostomeant hatSocrat
esi sanatheistand
beli
evesinnogods.Socr atespointsoutt
hathei snotli
keAnaxagor aswho
didnotbeli
ev ei
nt hegods.Mel et
osadmitsunderquestioni
ngt hatSocrat
es
teachesabout“spiri
tual
”thingsandwhenhedoesso, Socratesforces
Meletostoadmi tthatSocratesmustthenbel
ieveinspiri
tsifheteaches
aboutspir
itualt
hingsandt hatspir
it
saregodsandsoSocr atesmust
beli
eveinthegods.

HadSocr at esconcl udedhi sdef enseatt hispoi nt,hemi ghthav ebeen

acqui tted, ast hejur ywasmostl ikelyl aughi ngatt hepr osecut or.But
Socr atesdi dnotst opt her e.Underoat ht ot el lthewhol et rut h,Socr ates
proceededt oi nformt hej uryast ot her eal r easonshebel iev edhewas
char gedwi thcr imes.Hei nf ormedMel et osandt heJur yt hatMel etosand
hisconspi rat or sdidnotknowhet r
uechar get oplaceagai nsthi m.They
coul dnotev enbr i
nguphi slooseassoci ationwi t
hsomeoft het hirty
tyrantsduet ot heamnest y.Socr atesknowswhyhei sdi slikedbysomany
andnowbegi nst omakeadef enseoft het ypeofl ifehehasl i
v ed.Hehas
onlyt oconsi derwhet heronedoesr ightorwr ong.Thegodhaspost edhi m
tobeaphi l
osophert ot esthi msel fandot her s.Hedoesnotf eardeat h.Itis
unknown.Hef earsdi sobey inggod, thisi sdef init
elybad.Hei snotaf r
ai dto
speakt het ruthassomanyot hersar e.Hewi llactast hegodhaspost ed
himt oact .Hewi l
lal way sbeaphi l
osopher ,aseekeraf terwi sdom.Hewi l
l
dot hisandobeygodr at hert hant hemob.Hewi l
lalway squest ionot hers
concer ningt rut handv irtuesandper suadet hem t ocar ef ori tssoul andi t
s
vir
tuer at hert hanf orf ameormoneyorpower .Hehasact edal way s
accor dingt owhathet houghtt ober ight .Ifheconsi dereddoi ngot herwise,
ani nnerv oice( daemon)woul dspeakt ohi mt owar nhim awayf rom doi ng
wrong.Hehasdonesoandshal l cont i
nuet odosoi nhi spr ivateandpubl ic
l
ife.Inpubl ichehasnev erdonewr ong.Henev ertookmoneyandhi s
fi
nancesshowi t.Inpubl icher efusedt hedemandoft hemobf orat rialof
tengener al st oget herandi nsteadi nsi stedonsepar at
et rial s.Her efused
thet yrant sor dert oar r estLeonofSal ami s.Hedoesnotbel ievet hathehas
donewr ongany wher e.Hedoesnotbel ievet hathecor rupt edany one.

Socr
atesi
nfor
mst hej
uryt
hathei
saskingf
orj
ust
iceandnotmercyor
char
it
y.Hewouldnotr
esortt
oappeal
sformer
cyasmanyother
shaddone
Co
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beforehi
m.Hewoul dnotbringhiswifeandsmallchi
l
drenouttoremi nd
them ofhi
sfamil
yobligat
ions.TheseappealsmakeAthenslookri
diculous
i
nt heeyesofot
hers.Thisencouragesthejur
orstodi
srespectt
heiroaths
toprovi
deforj
usti
ce.Thesear eoathstheysworetot
hegodsasj uror
s.

Nev
ert
hel
ess,
Socr
atesi
sfoundgui
l
ty.281t
o219!

Att hispoi ntt hepr osecut orwast opr esentapenal t

yandt hedef endant
coul dei theraccepti torhewoul dof feranal ternati
v eanddef endit .
Mel etosasksf ordeat h.Socr ates’ f ri
endsar ehor r
ifi
ed.Theyencour agehi m
topr oposeanal ter native.Socr at esspeaksal oudwonder ingwhati st he
puni shmentbef ittinghi scr ime.Ashedoesnotbel ievet hathehasn’ t
commi ttedacr i
me, howcanhepr oposeapuni shment ?Socr atesst ates
thati twoul dappeart hathi s“true’ crimewasnothav i
ngt hesenset ol ivean
i
dlel ife; negl ectinghi sownhousehol daf fairs,notmaki ngmoney ,not
pursui ngmi li
taryappoi nt ment sandf orbel iev i
nghi msel ftoohonestt o
i
nv olv ehi msel fint awdr ybusi nessaf fai
r sandpol iti
cal plotsassomany
other shaddone.Fort hat“ cri
me”het hi
nkst hef it
ti
ngpuni shmentshoul d
bef reer oom andboar df orhe, hiswi feandchi l
dreni nthet ownhal lfort he
restoft hei rlives!Hecoul dnotr ecommendany t
hingt hatwasnegat iveasa
consequenceofl eadi ngagoodl ife.Manyoft hejurorsbecomei ncensed
overt hi sof fering.Socr at es’friendsont hej uryencour agehi mt opr opose
anot herpenal ty.Socr at esconsi der sal t
ernat ives.Deat hi snott hat
upset tingsi nceSocr at esdoesnotknowf orsur ewhatt hati s,pri
son, fi
nes
andexi lear econsi der ed.Exi l
ei snotaccept ablesinceSocr ateswoul dbe
l
abel edasacr imi nal andwher ev erhewenthewoul dnotbeabl etof oll
ow
thei nst ructionoft hegodf orhewoul dnotbeal l
owedt ospeakwi thot hers
andcont inuehi spur sui tofwi sdom.Socr atesr econsider saf inebuthehas
nomoney .Hi sfriendst akeupacol lecti
onandheof ferst opayt hatamount
asapenal tyf orhi scr imes.Thej ur yv otesandhei ssent encedt odiebya
l
argerv otet hanf oundhi m gui lty.360- 140! .Thatmeantt hattherewer e
menont hej urywhov ot edt hathewasnotgui ltyandt henv ot edtoputhi m
todeat hany way !Theol dmanhadof fendedt hem wi t
hhi sbr azenst ance
affi
rmi nghi sv i
rtueov ert heirpr act ices.

Socr
atesnowchasti
sesthejur
orswhoar eputt
inghimtodeath,poi
nti
ng
outt
hatthei
rdeedwil
lall
ownon-At
henianstocrit
ici
zet
hem.Theywi llcal
l
Socr
ateswiseandAthensfool
i
sh.Heisanol dmanandt heycouldnotwait
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forhimt odie.Theyneededt ogooutoft heirwayt okillhi

m.Socr ates
spoket ohisfriendsandencour agedt hem nott of el
lsobadl yforhim.He
wasnotaf r
aidofdeat hbutofwi ckedness.Hei sconf i
dentthatther esul
t
hasbeenagoodonesi ncethatinnerv oiceordaemonhadnotspokent o
him andwar nedhi m awayf rom attendingt hetrialsandspeaki ngashedi d.
Hesay sitisfarhar dert ooutrunwi ckednesst handeat h.Deat hcomest o
usal l
butwi ckednessi swhatweshoul dbeconcer nedwi thandav oid.We
can’tavoiddeat h.Deat hwasei t
heradr eamlesssl eeporaj ourneyto
anotherplace.Ifitwasadr eamlesssl eep, Socratesthoughtt hati
twoul d
notbebadatal l
.Ifi
twer eaj our
neyt oanot herpl acewher ethegodsand
goddessesandher oeswer ehewoul dbehappyt obewi ththem and
questionthem andl earntheanswer sthathadel udedhim.

Socrat
eswasconvincedthatnoharm cancometoagoodmaneitherl
iv
ing
ordead!Hewastakenawayt opri
sontoawaithi
sexecut
ion.I
npr
isonheis
i
nvit
edtofl
eeandliveinexil
ebutref
usestodoso!

Q.
3Cr
it
ical
l
yanal
yzet
hecent
raldoct
ri
nesofPl
ato.Towhatex
tenthi
s
t
hought
shel
pedt
hemanunder
standt
hewor
ldi
nhi
sti
me?
Plato (c.427- 347B. C. E.)dev elopedsuchdi sti
nctar easofphi l
osophyas
epistemol ogy ,met aphy sics,et hics,andaest hetics.Hi sdeepi nfl
uenceon
West er nphi losophyi sasser ted i nt hef amousr emarkofAl fr
ed Nor th
Whi tehead:“ the saf estchar acter i
zation oft he Eur opean phi l
osophical
traditi
oni st hati tconsi stsofaser iesoff ootnotest oPl ato.”Hewasal so
thepr ot
oty pi calpol i
ticalphi losopherwhosei deashadapr ofoundi mpact
onsubsequentpol it
icalt heor y.Hi sgr eatestimpactwasAr i
stotle,buthe
i
nf l
uenced West er
n pol i
ticalt houghti n manyway s.TheAcademy ,t he
schoolhef oundedi n385B. C.E. ,becamet hemodelf orot herschool sof
higherl earni ngandl at erf orEur opeanuni versit
ies.Thephi losophyofPl ato
i
smar kedbyt heusageofdi alect i
c,amet hodofdi scussioni nvolvi
ngev er
mor epr ofoundi nsightsi ntot henat ureofr ealit
y,andbycogni ti
veopt i
mi sm,
abel iefint hecapaci tyoft hehumanmi ndt oat t
ai nthetruthandt ouset his
truthf orther at i
onalandv irt
uousor deringofhumanaf fair
s.Pl atobelieves
thatconf lictingi nt
erest sofdi ffer entpar tsofsoci etycanbehar moni zed.
Thebest ,rat ionalandr ight eous, politi
cal order,whi chhepr oposes, l
eadst o
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ahar moni ousuni tyofsoci etyandal lowseachofi tspar tst of lour i

sh,but
notatt he expense ofot her s.The t heor eticaldesi gn and pr act ical
i
mpl ement at i
onofsuchor der, hear gues, ar ei mpossi blewi thoutv irtue.
1.Li fe–f rom Pol i
t i
cst oPhi losophy
Platowasbor ni nAt hensi nc.427B. C. E.Unt il hismi d- twent ies, Athenswas
i
nv olv edi nal onganddi sast rousmi litar yconf lictwi thSpar ta, knownast he
Peloponnesi anWar .Comi ngf r
om adi st i
ngui shedf ami l
y–onhi sf ather ’s
sidedescendi ngf rom Codr us,oneoft heear l
yki ngsofAt hens,andonhi s
mot her ’
s si de f rom Sol on,t he pr omi nentr ef or meroft he At heni an
const i
tution–hewasnat urallydest i
nedt ot akeanact i
v er olei npol itical
l
ife.Butt hi snev erhappened.Al thoughcher ishi ngt hehopeofassumi nga
signif i
cantpl acei nhi spol it
icalcommuni ty,hef oundhi msel fcont inual ly
thwar ted.Asher elat esi nhi saut obiogr aphi cal  
Sev ent hLet t
er ,hecoul dnot
i
dent if
y hi msel fwi th any oft he cont endi ng pol iti
calpar ties ort he
successi onofcor ruptr egi mes,eachofwhi chbr oughtAt henst of urther
decl i
ne( 324b- 326a) .Hewasapupi lofSocr ates,whom heconsi der edt he
mostj ustmanofhi st i
me,andwho,al t
houghdi dnotl eaveanywr itings
behi nd,exer tedal argei nf l
uenceonphi losophy .ItwasSocr ateswho,i n
Cicer o’swor ds,“ cal l
eddownphi l
osophyf rom t heski es.”Thepr e-Socr atic
philosopher swer emost lyi nterest edi ncosmol ogyandont ology ;Socr at es’
concer ns, i
ncont rast ,wer eal mostexcl usivel ymor alandpol iti
cali ssues.I n
399whenademocr at i
ccour tv ot edbyal ar gemaj orityofi t
sf i
v ehundr ed
andonej ur or sf orSocr at es’ execut iononanunj ustchar geofi mpi ety, Plat o
camet ot heconcl usi ont hatal lexi stinggov ernment swer ebadandal most
bey ondr edempt ion.“ Thehumanr acewi l
lhav enor espit efrom ev il
sunt i
l
thosewhoar er eal l
yphi losopher sacqui r
epol iticalpowerorunt i
l,thr ough
somedi vinedi spensat i
on, thosewhor uleandhav epol i
ticalaut hor i
tyi nt he
citi
esbecomer eal phi losopher s”( 326a- 326b) .
Itwasper hapsbecauseoft hisopi ni ont hather etreat edt ohi sAcademy
andt oSi cilyf ori mpl ement i
nghi si deas.Hev isitedSy racusef i
rsti n387,
theni n367, andagai ni n362- 361, wi tht hegener al pur poset omoder at et he
Sicil
ian t y rant swi th phi losophi caleducat ion and t o est ablish a model
politicalr ule.Butt hisadv entur ewi thpr act icalpol i
ticsendedi nf ai l
ur e,and
Plato wentbackt o At hens.Hi sAcademy ,whi ch pr ov i
ded a base f or
succeedi nggener at i
onsofPl at onicphi losopher sunt i
litsf inalcl osur ei n
C.E.529,becamet hemostf amoust eachi ngi nst itut i
onoft heHel leni stic
wor ld.Mat hemat ics,r het or i
c,ast ronomy ,di alect ics,andot hersubj ect s,al l
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seenasnecessar yf ortheeducat ionofphi l

osopher sandst atesmen,wer e
studiedthere.SomeofPl ato’
spupi l
sl at
erbecamel eaders,ment ors,and
const i
tut
ionaladv i
sersinGr eekci ty-st
ates.Hismostr enownedpupi lwas
Ar i
stot
le.Platodiedinc.347B. C.E.Dur i
nghi sl
if
etime, Athensturnedaway
from hermi li
tar
yandi mper i
alambi t
ionsandbecamet heintel
lect
ualcent er
ofGr eece.Shegav ehostt oal lthef ourmaj orGreekphi l
osophicalschool s
foundedi nt hecour seoft hef ourthcent ury:Pl
ato’sAcademy ,Aristot
le’s
Ly ceum,andt heEpicureanandSt oicschools.

2.TheThr eef oldTaskofPol iticalPhi losophy

Although t he Republ ic, t he  St atesman, t he Laws  and a f ew shor ter
dialoguesar econsi der edt obet heonl yst r
ictl
ypol iti
caldi aloguesofPl at o,
i
tcanbear guedt hatpol it
icalphi l
osophywast hear eaofhi sgr eat est
concer n.I nt heEngl i
sh- speaki ngwor ld,undert hei nfluenceoft went i
et h
cent ur yanal y ti
cphi losophy ,t hemai nt askofpol i
t i
calphi losophyt odayi s
stil
lof t
en seen as concept ualanal ysis:t he cl ar ifi
cat ion ofpol i
tical
concept s.Tounder standwhatt hi
smeans,i tmaybeusef ult ot hi nkof
concept sast heusesofwor ds.Whenweusegener alwor ds,suchas
“table,”“ chai r,”“ pen,” or pol iti
calt er ms,such as “ state,”“ power ,”
“democr acy ,
”or“ f
reedom, ”by appl y i
ng t hem t o di f f
er entt hings,we
under stand t hem i n a cer tain way ,and hence assi gn t ot hem cer tain
meani ngs.Concept ualanal ysist henisament alcl earance, thecl arificat i
on
ofaconcepti ni tsmeani ng.Assuchi thasal ongt raditionandi sf irst
i
nt roduced i n Pl atonic di alogues. Al though t he r esul ts ar e most ly
i
nconcl usi ve,i n“ early”di aloguesespeci all
y ,Socr atest r
iest odef ineand
clarifyv ariousconcept s.Howev er,in cont rastt o whati ti sf orsome
anal yticphi losopher s,forPl at oconcept ualanal ysisi snotanendt oi t
sel f,
buta pr el
imi nar yst ep.The nextst ep i scr i
ticalev aluat i
on ofbel ief s,
deci dingwhi choneoft hei ncompat i
blei deasi scor r ectandwhi chonei s
wr ong.ForPl at o,maki ngdeci sionsaboutt her i
ghtpol iticalor derar e, along
wi t
ht hechoi cebet weenpeaceandwar ,themosti mpor tantchoi cesone
canmakei npol i
ti
cs.Suchdeci si onscannotbel eftsol elyt opubl icopi nion,
hebel ieves, whi chi nmanycasesdoesnothav eenoughf or esightandget s
i
tsl essonsonl y postf actum  from di sast ersr ecor ded i n hi story .I n hi s
politicalphi losophy ,thecl arificat ionofconcept sist husapr el
imi nar yst ep
i
nev aluat i
ngbel i
efs,andr ightbel i
efsi nt urnl eadt oananswert ot he
quest i
on oft he bestpol iticalor der.The mov ementf rom concept ual
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anal ysis, t
hr oughev aluat ionofbel iefs,tot hebestpol i
ticalor dercancl ear ly
beseeni nt hest ruct ur eofPl at o’s  Republ i
c.
3.TheQuestf orJust i
cei nTheRepubl i
c
Oneoft hemostf undament alet hicalandpol i
ticalconcept si sjust ice.I ti sa
compl exandambi guousconcept .Itmayr efert oi ndi vidualv irt
ue, theor der
ofsoci et y,aswel lasi ndividualr i
ghtsi ncont rastt ot hecl aimsoft he
gener alsoci alor der.I n Book Iof t he Republ i
c,Socr ates and hi s
i
nt erl
ocut orsdi scusst hemeani ngofj ust i
ce.Fourdef initi
onst hatr epor t
how t hewor d“ j
ust i
ce”( dikai osune)i sact ual l
yused,ar eof fer ed.Theol d
manofmeansCephal ussuggest st hef irstdef inition.Just i
cei s“ speaki ng
thet ruthandr epay ingwhatonehasbor rowed”( 331d) .Yett hi sdef inition,
whi chi sbasedont radi ti
onalmor alcust om andr el atesj usticet ohonest y
andgoodness;i .e.pay ingone’ sdebt s,speaki ngt het ruth,l ov ingone’ s
count ry ,hav inggoodmanner s, showi ngpr operr espectf ort hegods, andso
on,i sf oundt obei nadequat e.I tcannotwi thst andt hechal lengeofnew
ti
mesandt hepowerofcr i
ti
calt hi nking.Socr at esr ef utesi tbypr esent inga
count er exampl e.I fwet aci tl
yagr eet hatjust icei sr elat edt ogoodness,t o
returnaweapont hatwasbor rowedf r
om someonewho,al thoughonce
sane,hast ur nedi ntoamadmandoesnotseem t obej ustbuti nv ol vesa
dangerofhar mt obot hsi des.Cephal us’sonPol emar chus,whocont i
nues
thedi scussi onaf t erhi sf atherl eav est oof ferasacr if
ice,gi veshi sopi nion
thatt hepoetSi moni deswascor recti nsay ingt hati twasj ust“ tor endert o
eachhi sdue”( 331e) .Heexpl ai nst hi
sst at ementbydef i
ningj ust i
ceas
“tr
eat ingf r
iendswel landenemi esbadl y”( 332d) .Undert hepr essur eof
Socr ates’obj ect i
onst hatonemaybemi st akeni nj udgi ngot her sandt hus
har m goodpeopl e,Pol emar chusmodi fi
eshi sdef initiont osayt hatj ust i
ce
i
s“ tot reatwel laf riendwhoi sgoodandt ohar m anenemywhoi sbad”
(335a) .Howev er,whenSocr at esf i
nallyobj ect st hati tcannotbej ustt o
har m any one,becausej ust icecannotpr oducei nj ust ice,Pol emar chusi s
compl etelyconf used.Heagr eeswi t
hSocr atest hatj ust i
ce,whi chbot h
sidest acitlyagr eer el
at est ogoodness,cannotpr oduceanyhar m,whi ch
canonl ybecausedbyi njust i
ce.Li kehi sf ather ,hewi thdrawsf rom t he
dialogue.Thecar efulr eaderwi l
lnot et hatSocr at esdoesnotr ejectt he
def i
nitionofj ust icei mpl iedi nt hesay i
ngofSi moni des, whoi scal ledawi se
man, namel y ,that“ justicei sr ender i
ngt oeachwhatbef itshim”( 332b) ,but
onlyi tsexpl icat i
ongi venbyPol emar chus.Thi sdef initioni s,nev er theless,
founduncl ear .
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Thef ir
stpar tofBookIoft he Republ ic endsi nanegat iveway ,wi t
hpar ties
agreei ngt hatnoneoft hedef init
ionspr ov i
dedst andsupt oexami nat i
on
andt hatt heor i
gi nalquest ion“ Whati sj ustice? ”ismor edi ffi
cul tt oanswer
thani tseemedt obeatt heout set.Thi snegat iv eout comecanbeseenasa
l
ingui sticandphi losophi calt her apy .Fi rstly,al thoughSocr at es’obj ect ions
togi vendef ini ti
onscanbechal lenged, itisshown, asi tstands, thatpopul ar
opinionsaboutj ust icei nv olvei nconsi stenci es.Theyar einconsi stentwi th
otheropi nionshel dt obet r
ue.The  repor ti
ve  def initionsbasedonev er yday
usageoft hewor d“ justice”hel pusper hapst ounder standpar tiallywhat
j
ust i
cemeans,butf ailt opr ovideacompl eteaccountofwhati sj ust ice.
Thesedef ini t
ionshav et obesuppl iedbyadef initiont hatwi llassi stcl ar i
ty
and est abl ish t he meani ng ofj ust ice.Howev er ,t o pr opose such an
adequat edef ini ti
ononehast oknowwhatj ust icer eal lyis.Thewaypeopl e
defineagi venwor di sl argel ydet er mi nedbyt hebel iefswhi cht heyhol d
aboutt het hi ngr ef erredt obyt hiswor d.Adef initiont hati smer elyar bitrary
orei thert oonar row ort oobr oad,basedonaf alsebel i
efaboutj ust ice,
doesnotgi v et hepossi bili
tyofcommuni cat i
on.Pl at onicdi aloguesar e
expressi onsoft heul ti
mat ecommuni cat i
ont hatcant akepl acebet ween
humans;andt ruecommuni cationi sl ikel yt ot akepl aceonl yi fi ndi vidual s
canshar emeani ngsoft hewor dst heyuse.Communi cat i
onbasedonf al se
beli
ef s, suchasst at ement sofi deol ogy , i
sst illpossi ble, butseemsl imi ted,
divi
di ngpeopl ei nt of actions,and,ashi storyt eachesus,canf i
nal lyl ead
onlyt oconf usi on.Thedef i
nitionofj ust i
ceas“ treat ingf ri
endswel land
enemi esbadl y ”isf orPl atonotonl yi nadequat ebecausei ti st oonar row,
butal sowr ongbecausei tisbasedonami st akenbel iefofwhatj ust icei s,
namel y,ont hebel iefgr oundedi nf act ional i
sm,whi chSocr atesdoesnot
associ at e wi tht he wi se ones butwi tht y rant s( 336a) .Ther ef ore,i n
the Republ ic,aswel lasi not herPl atoni cdi al ogues,t her ei sar elationshi p
betweenconcept ualanal ysisandcr i
ticalev aluat ionofbel i
ef s.Thegoal sof
theseconv er sat ionsar enotmer elyl i
ngui st ic,t oar riveatanadequat e
verbaldef inition,butal so subst ant i
al ,t o ar ri
v e ata r ightbel ief.The
quest ion“ whati sj ust i
ce”i snotonl yaboutl ingui st i
cusageoft hewor d
“j
ust i
ce, ”butpr imar ilyaboutt het hingt owhi cht hewor dr efers.Thef ocus
oft hesecondpar tofBookIi snol ongercl arifi
cat i
onofconcept s,but
evaluat ionofbel i
ef s.
InPl at onicdi alogues,r at hert hant elli
ngt hem whatt heyhav et ot hink,
Socr atesi sof tenget tinghi sint er
locut orst ot ellhi m whatt heyt hink.The
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nextst ageoft hedi scussi onoft hemeani ngofj usticei st akenov erby
Thr asy machus,asophi st ,whov i
ol ent lyandi mpat i
ent lybur st si nt ot he
dialogue.I nt hef i
fthandf our thcent ur yB. C.E.,t hesophi st swer epai d
teacher s ofr het oric and ot herpr act icalski l
ls,most l
y non- Atheni ans,
offer ingcour sesofi nstr uct i
onandcl aimi ngt obebestqual ifiedt opr epar e
youngmenf orsuccessi npubl icl ife.Pl at o descr ibest hesophi st sas
i
tiner anti ndividual s, knownf ort hei rr het or icalabi l
ities,whor ejectr el igious
belief sandt r
adi tionalmor ali
ty ,andhecont rast st hem wi thSocr ates,who
asat eacherwoul dr efuset oacceptpay mentandi nst eadoft eachi ngski ll
s
woul dcommi thi msel ft oadi si nterest edi nqui ryi nt owhati st rueandj ust .
Inacont empt uousmanner ,Thr asy machusasksSocr atest ost opt al king
nonsenseandl ooki ntot hef act s.Asacl ev ermanofaf fairs,hegi v esan
answert ot hequest ionof“ whati sj ust ice”byder ivingj ust i
cef rom t heci t
y ’
s
conf igur ati
on ofpowerand maki ng i tr el ativet ot he int er est s oft he
domi nantsoci alorpol iti
calgr oup.“ Just icei snot hingel set hant hei nt er est
oft hest ronger ”( 338c) .Now, bycont rastt owhatsomecomment ator ssay ,
the st at ementt hatThr asy machus of fer s as an answert o Socr ates’
quest ionaboutj ust i
cei snotadef i
nit i
on.Thecar ef ulreaderwi llnot icet hat
Thr asy machusi dent if
iesj ust i
cewi thei thermai ntenanceorobser vanceof
l
aw.Hi sst atementi sanexpr essi onofhi sbel i
eft hat ,int hewor ldi mper fect
asi ti s,t her uling el ementi nt heci ty,oraswewoul dsayt odayt he
domi nantpol iticalorsoci algr oup,i nst itut esl awsandgov er nsf ori tsown
benef it( 338d) .Thedemocr atsmakel awsi nsuppor tofdemocr acy ;t he
aristocr atsmakel awst hatsuppor tt hegov er nmentoft hewel l
-bor n;t he
proper t i
edmakel awst hatpr ot ectt hei rst atusandkeept hei rbusi nesses
going;andsoon.Thi sbel i
efi mpl i
es,f irst ly,t hatj ust i
cei snotauni v ersal
mor alv aluebutanot i
onr elativet oexpedi encyoft hedomi nantst at usquo
group;secondl y,t hatj ust icei si nt heexcl usiv ei nterestoft hedomi nant
group;t hirdly,t hatj ust icei susedasameansofoppr essi onandt husi s
har mf ult ot hepower l
ess;f ourthl y,thatt her ei snei theranycommongood
norhar monyofi nt erestsbet weent hosewhoar ei naposi ti
onofpowerand
thosewho ar enot .Al lt her ei s,i sadomi nat ion byt hepower fuland
privilegedov ert hepower l
ess.Themor all anguageofj ust i
cei susedmer ely
i
nst rument al
lyt oconcealt hei nt erest soft hedomi nantgr oupandt omake
thesei nt erestsappearuni versal .Thepower ful“ decl arewhatt heyhav e
made–whati st ot heirownadv antage–t obej ust ”(338e) .Thear rogance
withwhi chThr asy machusmakeshi sst atement ssuggest st hathest rongl y
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bel
ievest hatt
ohol
dadiff
erentv
iew f
rom hi
sownwoul
dbet
omi
slead
oneselfaboutt
heworl
dasi
tis.

Af t
erpr esent i
nghi sst atement ,Thr asy machusi ntendst ol eav easi fhe
believ edt hatwhathesai dwassocompel lingt hatnof urtherdebat eabout
j
ust icewasev erpossi ble( 344d) .Int he Republ ic heexempl i
fiest hepower
ofadogma.I ndeedhepr esent sSocr ateswi thapower f
ulchal l
enge.Yet ,
whet herornotwhathesai dsoundsat tract ivet oany one,Socr at esi snot
conv inced byt hest atementofhi sbel iefs.Bel iefsshapeourl ivesas
i
ndi vidual s,nat i
ons,ages,andci vil
izat ions.Shoul dwer eallybel iev et hat
“justice[ obey i
ngl aws]i sr eal lyt hegoodofanot her ,theadv ant ageoft he
strongerand t he r uler ,har mf ult ot he onewho obey s,whi lei njust ice
[disobey ing l aws]i si n one’ s own adv ant age”( 343c) ?The di scussi on
bet weenSocr atesandhi si nt erlocut or si snol ongeraboutt hemeani ngof
“justice. ”I tisaboutf undament albel iefsand“ concer nsnoor dinar yt opi c
butt hewayweoughtt ol ive”( 352d) .Al thoughi nBookISocr at esf inal ly
succeedsi nshowi ngThr asy machust hathi sposi t
ioni ssel f-cont radi ct or y
and Thr asy machus wi thdraws f rom t he di al ogue,per haps not f ul ly
conv inced,y etr ed- faced,i nBookI IThr asy machus’ar gumenti st akenov er
byt woy oungi ntellect uals,Pl at o’sbr ot her s,Gl auconandAdei mant us,who
fort hesakeofcur i
osi tyandapl ay fuli ntel l
ect ualexer ci
sepushi tt ot he
l
imi t( 358c- 366d) .Thr asymachus wi thdr aws,buthi s st atement :mor al
skept i
cism andr elat i
v i
sm,pr edomi nanceofpoweri nhumanr elat ions,and
non- exi stenceoft hehar monyofi nter ests, hov er sov ertheWest ernmi nd.I t
takeswhol egener ationsoft hinker st ost ruggl ewi thThr asy machus’ belief s,
and t he debat e st il
l cont inues. I tt akes t he whol er emai nder of
the Republ ic topr esentanar gumenti ndef enseofj ust i
ceasauni ver sal
valueandt hef oundat ionoft hebestpol itical or der .
4.TheBestPol i
ti
calOr der
Al t
houghl argepar tsoft he  Republ ic ar edev otedt ot hedescr i
pt ionofan
i
dealst at er uledbyphi l
osopher sandi tssubsequentdecl ine,t hechi ef
themeoft hedi al oguei sj ust ice.I ti sf airl
ycl eart hatPl at o doesnot
i
nt roducehi sfant ast i
calpol iticali nnov ation, whi chSocr atesdescr ibesasa
cityi n speech,a modeli n heav en,f or t he pur pose of pr act ical
i
mpl ement ation( 592a- b).Thev isionoft hei dealst atei susedr at hert o
i
llustr atet he mai nt hesis of t he di alogue t hat j ustice,under st ood
traditional l
yasv i
rtueandr elat edt ogoodness,i st hef oundat ionofagood
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pol iticalor der ,and assuchi si nev ery one’ si nter est .Just i
ce,i fr ight ly
under stood,Pl at oar gues,i snott ot heexcl usi veadv ant ageofanyoft he
city ’
sf actions,buti sconcer ned wi tht hecommongood oft hewhol e
pol iticalcommuni ty ,andi st ot headv ant ageofev er yone.I tpr ov i
dest he
citywi thasenseofuni ty,andt hus,i sabasi ccondi t
ionf ori tsheal th.
“Injust i
ce causes ci vi
lwar ,hat red,and f i
ght i
ng,whi lej ustice br i
ngs
friendshi pandasenseofcommonpur pose”( 351d) .Inor dert ounder stand
fur therwhatj ust i
ceandpol i
ticalor derar ef orPl ato, itisusef ultocompar e
hispol iti
calphi losophywi t
ht hepr e-phi l
osophi cali nsi ght sofSol on,whoi s
ref erredt oi naf ewdi alogues.Bi ogr aphi cali nf or mat ionaboutPl atoi sf airly
scar ce.Thef actt hathewasr elatedt hr oughhi smot hert ot hisf amous
At heni anl egisl ator,st atesmanandpoet ,r egar dedasoneoft he“ Sev en
Sages, ”maybet reat edasmer elyinci dent al.Ont heot herhand, taki ngi nto
consi der ationt hati nPl ato’st imeseducat ionwoul dhav ebeenpassedon
tochi l
dr eni nfor mal lyathome,i tseemshi ghl ypr obabl et hatPl atowasnot
onl ywel lacquai ntedwi tht hedeedsandi deasofSol on,butt hatt hese
deepl yi nfluencedhi m.
Theessenceoft heconst i
tut ionalr ef orm whi chSol onmadei n593B. C.E.,
ov eronehundr edandf ift
yy ear sbef orePl at o’ sbi rth,whenhebecamet he
At heni anl eader ,wast her est orationofr ight eousor der, 
eunomi a.I nt he
ear lypar toft hesi xt hcent uryAt henswasdi sturbedbyagr eatt ensi on
bet weent wopar t
ies:t hepoorandt her ich,andst oodatt hebr i
nkofa
fi
er ceci vilwar .Ont heonehand,becauseofaneconomi ccr i
si s,many
poor erAt heni answer ehopel essl yf all
ingi nt odebt ,andsi ncet hei rl oans
wer eof tensecur edbyt heirownper sons, thousandsoft hem wer eputi nto
ser fdom.Ont heot herhand, luredbyeasypr of i
tsf rom l oans, ther ichst ood
fi
r ml yi n def ense ofpr i
vat e pr oper t
yand t hei ranci entpr i
vil
eges.The
par tisanst rif
e,whi chseemedi nev i
table,woul dmakeAt hensev enmor e
weakeconomi cal l
yanddef ensel essbef or eext ernalenemi es.Appoi ntedas
amedi atori nt hisconf li
ct,Sol onenact edl awspr ohi bit
ingl oansont he
secur i
ty oft he per son.He l ower ed t he r at e ofi nterest,or der ed t he
cancel lati
on ofal ldebt s,and gav ef reedom t o ser f
s.He act ed so
moder atelyandi mpar tial
lyt hathebecameunpopul arwi t
hbot hpar ti
es.
Ther ichf el thur tbyt her ef orm.Thepoor ,unabl et ohol dexcessi ncheck,
demandedacompl et er edist r
ibut i
onofl andedpr oper tyandt hedi vidi ngof
i
ti nt oequalshar es.Nev erthel ess, despi tet hesecr iti
ci smsf rom bot hsi des,
Sol onsucceededi ngai ningsoci alpeace.Fur ther,byi mpl ement i
ngnew
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const i
tut ionall aws,hesetupa“ mi ght yshi el dagai nstbot hpar t
iesanddi d
not al low ei ther t o wi n an unj ust v ict ory”( Ar i
stotle, The At heni an
Const itution) .Hei ntroducedasy st em ofchecksandbal anceswhi chwoul d
notf av oranysi de,butt ooki ntoconsi der at i
onl egi ti
mat ei nt erest sofal l
soci algr oups.I nhi sposi tion,hecoul deasi lyhav ebecomet het yrantov er
theci ty,buthedi dnotseekpowerf orhi msel f.Af t
erhecompl et edhi s
refor m,hel eftAt hensi nor dert oseewhet heri twoul dst andt het estof
ti
me,andr et urnedt ohi scount ryonl yt eny ear sl at er.Ev ent houghi n561
Pisist ratussei zedpowerandbecamet hef irsti nasuccessi onofAt heni an
tyrant s,andi n461t hedemocr aticl eaderEphi altesabol ishedt hechecks
uponpopul arsov erei gnty ,Sol on’sr efor m pr ov i
dedt heanci entGr eekswi th
amodelofbot hpol i
t i
call eader shi pandor derbasedoni mpar ti
al i
t yand
fairness.Just icef orSol oni snotanar ithmet icalequal ity:gi vingequal
shar est oal lal i
kei rrespect iveofmer it,whi chr epr esent st hedemocr at i
c
conceptofdi stri
but ivej ust ice,buti ti s equi t y orf ai rness based on
difference:gi v
ingshar espr opor tionat et ot hemer itoft hosewhor eceive
them.Thesamei deasofpol iti
calor der ,l eader shi p,andj ust icecanbe
foundi nPl at o’
sdi al ogues.
ForPl at o,l i
kef orSol on,t hest ar ti
ngpoi ntf ort hei nquiryaboutt hebest
politicalor deri st hef actofsoci aldi v ersityandconf l
icti
ngi nt erest s,whi ch
i
nv olv et he dangerofci vilst ri
fe.The pol it
icalcommuni tyconsi stsof
differentpar t
sorsoci alcl asses,suchast henobl e,t her ich,andt hepoor ,
eachr epr esent ingdi fferentv alues,i nter ests,andcl aimst or ule.Thi sgi v es
ri
set ot hecont rover syofwhoshoul dr ulet hecommuni ty ,andwhati st he
bestpol iti
calsy stem.I nbot ht he  Republ i
c andt he  Laws,Pl atoasser tsnot
onlyt hatf act ional i
sm andci vilwarar et hegr eat estdanger st ot heci ty,
mor edanger ousev ent hanwaragai nstext ernalenemi es,butal sot hat
peaceobt ainedbyt hev i
ct or yofonepar tandt hedest ructionofi t sr ival
si s
nott obepr eferredt osoci alpeaceobt ainedt hrought hef riendshi pand
cooper at ionofal lt heci ty’spar ts( Republ ic 462a- b, Laws  628a- b).Peace
forPl at oi s,unl i
kef orMar xi stsandot herr adi calt hi nkers,notast at usquo
not i
on,r elat edt ot hei nter estoft hepr ivil
egedgr oup,butav aluet hatmost
peopl eusual lydesi re.Hedoesnotst andf orwarandt hev i
ct oryofone
class,butf orpeacei nsoci aldi ver sity.“ Thebesti snei therwarnorf action
–t heyar et hingsweshoul dpr ayt obespar edf rom –butpeaceandmut ual
goodwi ll
”( 628c) .Bui ldi
ngont hepr e- philosophi cali nsight sofSol onand
hisconceptofbal anci ng conf l
icting i nterest s,i nbot ht he  Republ ic 
and
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the  Laws,Pl ato of ferst wo di fferentsol uti

onst ot hesamepr obl em of
soci alpeacebasedont heequi li
brium andhar moni ousuni onofdi fferent
soci alcl asses.I fi nt he  Republ ic i
ti st hemai nf unct ionoft hepol i
tical
l
eader ship of phi losopher -
ruler st o make t he ci vilst rife cease,i n
the  Laws  thismedi atingf unct ioni st akenov erbyl aws.Thebestpol i
tical
orderf orPl at oist hatwhi chpr omot essoci alpeacei nt heenv ironmentof
cooper ationandf ri
endshi pamongdi ffer entsoci algr oups,eachbenef it
ing
from andeachaddi ngt ot hecommongood.Thebestf orm ofgov ernment ,
whi ch he adv ances i nt he Republ ic,i s a phi losophi calar istocr acy or
monar chy ,butt hatwhi chhepr oposesi nhi sl astdi aloguet he  Laws  i
sa
tradi ti
onalpol i
ty:t he mi xed orcomposi te const itution t hatr econci l
es
differ entpar ti
san i nter ests and i ncl udes ar i
st ocr at ic,ol igar chic,and
democr aticel ement s.
5.TheGov er nmentofPhi losopherRul er s
Itisgener allybel iev edt odayt hatdemocr acy ,“gov ernmentoft hepeopl eby
thepeopl eandf ort hepeopl e,”i st hebestandonl yf ul lyjust ifi
abl epol i
tical
sy stem.Thedi st i
nctf eat uresofdemocr acyar ef reedom andequal i
ty.
Democr acycanbedescr ibedast her ul eoft hef reepeopl ewhogov ern
themsel ves,ei therdi rect l
yort hought hei rr epr esent at i
v es,i nt heirown
i
nt er est .Why does Pl ato notconsi derdemocr acy t he bestf or m of
gov ernment ?I nt he  Republ i
c  he cr iti
ci zes t he di rect and unchecked
democr acyofhi st imepr ecisel ybecauseofi tsl eadi ngf eatur es( 557a-
564a) .Fi rstly,al though f reedom i sf orPl atoat rue v alue,democr acy
i
nv olvest hedangerofexcessi vef reedom,ofdoi ngasonel i
kes,whi ch
l
eadst oanar chy .Secondl y,equal ity,rel atedt ot hebel ieft hatev er yonehas
ther ightandequalcapaci tytor ule,br ingst opol i
ticsal lki ndsofpower -
seeki ngi ndi v i
dual s,mot ivatedbyper sonalgai nr athert hanpubl i
cgood.
Democr acyi st hus hi ghlycor rupt i
bl e.I topens gat es t o demagogues,
pot ent ialdi ctator s,andcant husl eadt ot yranny .Hence, al thoughi tmaynot
beappl i
cabl et omoder nl iber aldemocr acies,Pl ato’ smai nchar geagai nst
thedemocr acyheknowsf rom t heanci entGr eekpol iticalpr acticei st hati t
i
sunst able,l eadi ngf rom anar chyt ot y ranny ,andt hati tlacksl eader swi t
h
properski llandmor als.Democr acydependsonchanceandmustbemi xed
wi thcompet entl eader shi p( 501b) .Wi thoutabl eandv irtuousl eader s,such
asSol onorPer i
cl es,whocomeandgobychance,i ti snotagoodf or m of
gov ernment .Butev enPer icles, whoasSocr atessay smadepeopl e“wi l
der ”
rathert hanmor ev i
rtuous, isconsi der ednott obet hebestl eader( Gor gias,
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516c) .Ifr ulingast at ei sacr af t

,i ndeedst at ecr aft,Plat oar gues,t hen
politi
csneedsexper tr ulers, andt heycannotcomet oi tmer elybyacci dent,
butmustbecar efullysel ect edandpr epar edi nt hecour seofext ensi ve
traini
ng.Maki ngpol iti
caldeci si onsr equi r esgoodj udgment .Pol iticsneeds
compet ence, atl easti nt hef or m oft oday ’sci v
ilser vants.Whot henshoul d
theexper tsbeandwhy ?WhydoesPl at oi nt he Republ i
c deci det ohandt he
steeringwheel oft hest atet ophi losopher s?
Inspi teoft hei deal ism wi thwhi chhei susual lyassoci ated,Pl at oi snot
politi
callynai ve.Hedoesnoti deal ize,buti sdeepl ypessi mi sticabout
human bei ngs. Most peopl e,cor rupt ed as t hey ar e,ar ef or hi m
fundament allyi rrational ,dr iv enbyt hei rappet ites,egoi st icpassi ons,and
i
nf ormedbyf alsebel i
efs.I ft heychooset obej ustandobeyl aws, i
tisonl y
becauset heyl ackt hepowert oactcr imi nal lyandar eafrai dofpuni shment
(Republ i
c,359a) .Nev erthel ess,humanbei ngsar enotv iciousbynat ure.
Theyar e soci alani mal s,i ncapabl e ofl iv ing al one ( 369a- b) .Li ving i n
communi tiesandexchangi ngpr oduct soft hei rlabori snat ur alf ort hem, so
thatt heyhav ecapaci ti
esf orr ational ityand goodness.Pl at o,asl ater
Rousseau,bel iev est hatoncepol i
ticalsoci etyi spr oper lyor der ed,i tcan
cont r
ibut et ot he r est or ation ofmor als.A good pol iti
calor der ,good
educat i
onandupbr ingingcanpr oduce“ goodnat ures;and[ these]usef ul
nat ur
es,whoar ei nt urnwel leducat ed,gr ow upev enbet t
ert hant heir
predecessor s”( 424a) .Hence,t her ear ei nPl at o suchel ement soft he
i
deal i
sticorl iber alwor ldv iewast hebel iefi neducat ionandpr ogr ess, anda
hopef orabet t
erf ut ure.Thequal i
t yofhumanl ifecanbei mpr ov edi f
peopl el ear nt ober at i
onalandunder st andt hatt heirr eali nt erest sl iei n
har moni ouscooper at ionwi thoneanot her ,andnoti nwarorpar ti
sanst ri
fe.
Howev er,unl i
keRousseau,Pl at odoesnotseet hebestsoci alandpol it
ical
orderi nademocr at i
cr epubl ic.Opi ni onsov ercomet ruthi nev er ydayl i
fe.
Peopl es’l ivesandt hel ivesofcommuni t i
esar eshapedbyt hepr ev aili
ng
beliefs.I fphi losopher sar et hosewhocandi st i
ngui shbet weent rueand
falsebel iefs, whol ov eknowl edgeandar emot iv atedbyt hecommongood,
andf inal l
yi ft heyar enotonl ymast er-theor eticians,butal sot hemast er-
practiti
oner swho canhealt hei l
l
soft hei rsoci ety,thent hey ,andnot
democr atical l
yel ect edr epr esent atives,mustbechosenasl eader sand
educat or soft hepol i
ticalcommuni tyandgui dei ttopr operends.Theyar e
requiredt ocount eractt hedest abi l
izingef fect soff alsebel i
ef sonsoci ety.
Ar ephi l
osopher si ncor rupt ibl e?I nt hei dealci tyt herear epr ov i
sionst o
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minimi zepossi bl
ecor r
uption,evenamongt hegood- l
ovingphilosopher s.
Theycannei t
herenj oypr i
vatepropert
ynorf ami l
yli
fe.Al t
hought heyaret he
rul
ers,t heyreceiveonl yamodestr emuner ationfr om thest ate,dinei n
commondi ninghal l
s,andhav ewi vesandchi l
dreni ncommon.These
provisionsarenecessar y,Platobeli
eves,becausei ft hephi l
osopher-r
uler s
weret oacqui repri
v ateland,luxur
ioushomes, andmoneyt hemselves,they
wouldsoonbecomehost ilemast er
sofot hercitizensr at
hert hant heir
l
eader sandal l
ies( 417a-b).Theidealcitybecomesabadone,descr ibed
as t
imocr acy,preciselywhent hephil
osopher sneglectmusi candphy sical
exercise,andbegi nt ogatherwealth(547b).

Q.
4Makeacr it
icalanal
ysi
sofAr i
stot
le’
stheoryoff
orm andmat
ter
.How
doest
hist
heorydiff
erf
rom t
hetheoryofPlat
o?
 
Ar i
st otlebel ievest hatal l sensi bl
esubst ancescanbeanal yzedi ntomat t
er
andf or m, butsuchananal ysisisnotr est rictedt ot het hingshecal ls
subst ances.Mat tercani tsel fbedi v i
dedi ntomat t
erandf orm: f orinst ance,
bri
cksar emadeofcl ay , shapedi nt ocuboi dbl ocks.Agai n,clayhasi tsown
mat ter—mud, say—andsoon.Ev ent ual l
y ,ifonepur suest hi
shi er archyof
mat terf arenoughdownwar ds, Aristot l
ebel i
ev est hatonewi l
l reacht he
fourel ement s, earth,ai r,fireandwat er.Heagr eeswi thEmpedocl est hat
every thingi nt hesub- l
unarwor ldisul timat elymadeupofdi fferentr atiosof
thesef ourel ement s.Mat tert henshoul dr eal lybeunder stoodasar elat i
ve
notion—i tisal way sthemat ter 
of somet hing.Ar istotl
edi sti
ngui shes
betweenat hing’spr oxi mat emat ter ,thest uf fitismosti mmedi at elymade
of,andi tsl esspr oximat emat ter,i.
e. ,themat terofi t
smat t
er, orev en
furt
herdownt hehi erar chy , culminat ingi ni tsul ti
mat emat t
er, t
heel ement s.
Theor gani cbodywhi chi sahumanbei ng’ spr oximatemat terisessent ial
ly
ali
ve, butt hisneednotappl ytoal loft heot hermat t
erf ur t
herdownt he
chain.Ar istot ledistingui shesbet weenhomoi omer ousandhet er omer ous
parts( Par tsofAni mal s i 1,640b25–30) .Homoi omer ouspar tsar est uffs,
l
ikebr onzeorf l
esh, whi chAr istotl
ebel iev eshav enoi nt ernal structur e.
Everypar tofahomoi omer ousst uf fist hesameasev eryot herpar t,
contai ningt hesamer at ioofel ement s.Thi sv iewofhomoi omer ouspar t
sis
consi stentwi thAr i
st otle’ sdeni alofat omi sm; hebel i
ev est hatmat ter,as
well asspaceandt ime, ar ei nfi
nitelydi v i
si ble.Thebodi lyor gans, hands,
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feet,ey es,hearts,etc.,
areheteromer ous, si
ncet heydohav einternal
structur e,withdif
ferentpartsoft hem madeupofdi fferentstuffs.A
person’ shand, forinstance,i
smadeoff lesh, bones,bloodandot hersuch
biological mat t
er,whichinturnar emadeofear t
h,ai
r,fir
eandwat er.Itmay
bet hatf leshtooisf uncti
onall
ydef i
ned, sot hatdeadf leshisonl ycall
ed
“fl
esh”homony mouslyaswel l.Eveni fnot hingbi ol
ogicalcanexi stwhen
notal i
v e,itseemscl earthattheel ement satl eastmustbeabl etodoso.
Ther efor etherewillbesome, low- l
evel mat tertoserveast het hingthat
under l
iest hecomi ngt obeandpassi ngawayofor ganisms, event houghan
organism’ sproximat ematterexistsf orpr eciselyaslongasi tdoes.
2.Pr
imemat
ter
Oneobv iousquest i
onper tainst ohowl owsuchunder lyingl ev elsmi ghtgo.
Infactt her eisconsi der ablecont roversyconcer ninghowt oconcei vet he
bottom r ungofAr i
st ot l
e’shi erar chyofmat ter.Ar ist otlebel iev est hat
ever ythingi smadeofear th,air, f
ireandwat er.Theseel ement sar edef ined
byt heirpossessi onofoneofeachoft hetwof undament al pai r
sof
opposi t
es, hot /coldandwet /dry .Ar i
stot l
eal sot hinkst hatt heseel ement s
canchangei ntooneanot her( Ont heHeav ens  ii
i 6, 305a14–35) .Ifhi s
anal ysisofchangei scor r
ect ,whensomewat erchangesi nt osomeai r,
theremustbesomet hi ngunder lying,somesubst rat e, whi chper sists
throught hechange, initiall
yhav ingt heessent ial pr oper ti
esofwat er( bei ng
wetandcol d, onAr istot le’sv i
ew)andt henl atert hoseofai r(bei ngwetand
hot).Thet hingt hatunder li
est hi ski ndofchangecannotbeanyoft he
element s, sincei tmustbecapabl eofpossessi ngt hepr oper ties
char acter isticofeachoft heel ement ssuccessi v ely ,capabl eofbei ngf irst
coldandt henhot ,
forexampl e.Thet raditi
onal i
nt erpr etationofAr istot l
e,
whi chgoesbackasf arasAugust ine( DeGenesi cont raMani chaeos  i5–7)
andSi mpl icius( OnAr ist otl
e’sPhy sics i7),andi saccept edbyAqui nas( De
PrincipiisNat urae §13) ,hol dst hatAr i
st otl
ebel iev esi nsomet hingcal led
“primemat ter”,whi chi st hemat teroft heel ement s, wher eeachel ementi s,
then, acompoundoft hismat terandaf orm.Thi spr imemat terisusual l
y
descr ibedaspur epot ent i
ality,justas, onthef orm si de, theunmov ed
mov ersar esai dbyAr i
st otletobepur eact uality,for m wi t houtanymat ter
(Met aphy sics  xii6).Whati tmeanst ocal lprimemat t
er“ pur epot ential i
ty ”is
thati tiscapabl eoft aki ngonanyf orm what soev er ,andt husi scompl etel y
withoutanyessent i
al proper t
iesofi tsown.I texi stset ernal l
y, since, ifit
wer ecapabl eofbei ngcr eat edordest royed, ther ewoul dhav et obesome
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evenl owermat tertounder l

iethosechanges.Becausei ti
sthemat t
erof
theelement s,whicharet hemsel vespresentinallmorecompl exbodies,i
t
i
somni present,andunder l
iesnotonl yelementalgenerati
onand
destructi
on, butall
physical changes.Asacompl etel
yindetermi
nate
substratum, pri
memat terbear ssomesi milar
it
iestowhatmoder n
phil
osophyhascal leda“bar eparticul
ar”(seeSider2006),alt
hough,not
beingapar ticul
ar,i
tmayhav emor eincommonwi thso-call
ed“gunk”(see
Sider1993) .
Asi milari
deai
stobefoundinPlato’s 
Timaeus,49–52,
wher e,inaddi
ti
on
tohisFor msandthepart
icul
arswhichinst
anti
atethem,hear guesfort
he
existenceofathi
rdcat
egoryofthi
ng, “
areceptacl
eofallcomingt obe”
(49a5–6) :
i
tmustalway sbecalledbyt hesamet er m.Fori tdoesnotdepartfrom i
ts
owncharacteratall
.Itbothcont i
nuall
yr ecei
v esallt
hings,andhasnever
takenonaform simil
artoanyoft hethingst hatenteritinanyway.Fori
tis
l
aiddownbynat ureasar ecipientofimpr essionsforev ery
thi
ng,bei
ng
changedandf or
medv ar
iouslybyt hethingst hatenteri
t,andbecauseof
them i
tappearsdif
ferentatdiffer
enttimes.( 50b6–c4)
Platoal
somot i
vateshisrecept
aclebyappeal ingt
othephenomenonofthe
el
ement schangi
ngi nt
ooneanot her
, and,alt
houghheref
erstoi
tas“space”
andnot“matter”
,thetradi
ti
onali
nterpretat
ionhasitt
hat,
asheoftendoes,
Arist
otl
ehasadopt edanideafi
rstdev el
opedbyhismentor.
Morer ecentl
y,opponent sofat t
ributi
ngadoct ri
neofpr i
memat terto
Ari
stotlehavecompl ainedt hattherei si
nsuffici
entev i
denceforhishol di
ng
thi
skindofv iew,andt hatitissophi l
osophi call
yunappealingthat
pri
nciplesofcharit
ymi li
tateagai nstitasani nter
pretati
on.Suchschol ars
poi
ntoutt hatArist
otleactuallycr i
ti
cizesPlato’saccountfrom the Ti
maeus,
i
n OnGener ationandCor ruption ii
1:
whatPlatohaswr it
teninthe 
Timaeus 
isnotbasedonanypreci
sel
y-
art
icul
atedconception.Forhehasnotstat
edclearl
ywhetherhi
s
“Omnireci
pient”exi
stsinsepar
ati
onfrom t
heelements;
nordoeshemake
anyuseofit.(329a13–15)
AlthoughAristot
lei
sclear
lycr
iti
cizi
ngPlatohere,
itmaybethathi
spointi
s
simplythatPlatowasnotsuff
icient
lycl
earthatpri
mematteri
snevertobe
foundexisti
ngapartfr
om theelements,andthathedi
dnotgivegood
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enoughr
easonsf
ori
tsi
ntr
oduct
ion,
nott
hathewaswr
ongt
obel
i
evei
nit
.
Natureispri
memat t
er(andthisi
ntwoway s,eit
herprimeinrel
ati
ontothe
thi
ngorprimei ngeneral;
forexample,
int
hecaseofbr onzeworksthe
bronzeispri
mei nrelat
iontothem,butpr
imei ngeneralwouldbeperhaps
water,i
fevery
thingthatcanbemel t
ediswater).(1015a7–10)
HereAr
istot
lei
sref
err
ingtohispr
edecessorThal
es’
viewt
hatev
ery
thi
ngi
s
ul
ti
matelymadeofwater,
whichheinfactrej
ect
s.
InotherpassagestooAri
stot
leseemst ol
eavethequesti
onofwhetheror
notthereispri
memat t
erdeli
berat
elyopen.I
n Metaphy
sics 
i
x7,heusesa
condit
ionalt
ot al
kaboutt
hepossibil
it
y:
i
tseemst hatwhatwecal l notthis,butthat-en—forexampl e,wecal lthe
boxnotwood, butwooden, nordowecal lthewoodear th,butearthen,and
agai
nearth,i
fitisthisway, wedonotcal lsomet hingelse,butthat-en—that
i
salwayspot ent
ial
lywithoutqual if
icati
onthenextt hi
ng…But  
if
 t
her eis
somethi
ngpr imary,whi
chi snol ongercalledt hat-
enwi threspectto
somethi
ngelse,thisispri
memat ter.Forexampl e,ifeart
hi sai
ry,andai ri
s
notf
ir
ebutf i
rey,fi
reisprimemat ter,bei
ngat hi
s.(1049a18–22…24–27)
HereArist
otl
eusesthegeneri
cadjecti
ve“ that-
en”(ekei
ninon),awordt
hat
hecoins,t
omeanmadeof  
that
 materi
al.Ifamat er
ialcouldnotbeso
descr
ibed,i
twouldbepri
memat t
er.Again, heshowshimsel fawareof
pri
memat terasapossi
bil
it
y,wit
houtwant i
ngtocommi ttoither
e.
Anot
herkeypassagewher
eAri
stot
lehasbeenthoughtt
ocommithi
msel
f
moredeci
siv
elytopri
mematt
eris 
Metaphy
sics 
vi
i3.Herewear
etol
d:
By“mat ter”Imeant hatwhichi
ni t
selfisnotcal l
edasubst ancenora
quantitynoranythingelsebywhichbei ngiscat egorized.Foritis
somet hingofwhi cheachofthesethingsispr edicated, whosebei ngis
dif
ferentfrom eachofitspredi
cates( f
ortheot hersar epredicatedof
substance, andsubstanceispredi
catedofmat ter).Thereforethislasti
sin
i
tselfneithersubstancenorquanti
tynorany thingel se.Norisitthedenials
ofanyoft hese;
forevendenial
sbel ongtothingsacci dental
ly.
(1029a20–26)
Althoughtheword“pri
me”doesnotoccurhere,
Aristot
leisevident
lytal
king
aboutprimematter.Anatur
alwaytoreadt
hispassagei sthatheissaying
thereisawholl
yindeter
minateunder
lyi
ngt
hing,whichhecal l
s“matter”
,
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anditisnotasubst ance.Thosewhowi sht oavoidatt

ri
butingadoctri
neof
pri
memat t
ertoAristotl
emustof feradi f
ferentint
erpr
etat
ion:t
hatifwe
weretomaket hemi st
akeofr egardingmat t
er,asopposedt of
orm, as
substance,wewoul dbecommi tted( absurdly)t
otheexist
enceofawhol l
y
i
ndeterminateunderlyi
ngthing.
Inaddi t
iont odi sput ingt hecor recti nterpretat i
onoft hesepassageswher e
Aristot l
eexpl icitlyment ionspr imemat t
er,muchoft hedebat ehascent ered
around, ont heonehand, whet herwhathesay saboutchanger eal ly
commi tshi mt oi t, ont heot her ,
whet hert hei deai sr eall
yabsur d.Some
opponent sofpr imemat terhav ear guedt hatAr istotledoesnot , afterall
,
wisht oinsi stt hatt her ei sal way ssomet hingwhi chper si ststhr ougha
change( seeChar lton1970, Appendi x,and1983) .Inpar ticular,whenoneof
theel ement schangesi ntoanot her ,therei sanunder lyi
ngt hing—t heinit
ial
element —buti nt hi scasei tdoesnotper sist.Theypoi ntoutt hati nt hekey
passageof  Phy si cs  i7, wher eAr i
st ot l
egi veshi saccountofchangei n
gener al
,heusest heexpr essi ons“ under l
yingt hing”and“ thi
ngt hat
remai ns”.Whi ler eader shav eusual lysupposedt hatt heset er msar eused
i
nt erchangeabl yt or ef ert ot hesubst ance, incasesofacci dent al change,
andt hemat teri nsubst ant ial changes, t
hisassumpt i
oncanbechal lenged.
Int heel ement al gener at ioncase, per hapst herei snot hingt hatr emains,
j
ustani nitialel ement st hatunder l
ies.Thewor ryaboutt hi sinter pretati
oni s
whet heri tisconsi st entwi t hAr i
stot l
e’ sbeliefthatnot hingcancomet obe
outofnot hi ng.I ft her ei sno“ thingt hatr emai ns”i nacaseofel ement al
gener ati
on, howi sani nst anceofwat erchangi ngint oai rtobe
distingui shedf rom t hesupposedl yi mpossi blesor tofchangewher eby
somewat erv ani shesi nt onot hing, andi si nstant l
yr eplacedbysomeai r
whi chhasmat er ializedoutofnot hing?
Themai nphilosophi calobject
ionstoprimemat t
eraret hatiti
s,atbest,a
mysteriousent i
tythatwecannotknowany thingabout ,sincewenev er
perceiveitdirectly,butonlythet hi
ngsi
tunder lies.Ofcour se,t
herecanbe
goodt heoretical r
easonsf orbelievi
nginthingst hatwenev eractuall
ysee.
Noonehasev erseenaquar k,butwecanst i
l
l knowt hingsaboutt hem,
basedont heki ndoft heoreti
cal workt
hattheyar erequiredtoper f
orm.Stil
l
,
Ari
stotle’
st heor ywillbemor epar si
monious,ifhecanmanagewi thout
positi
ngsucht heor eti
calentit
ies.Atworst,pri
memat t
eri ssai
dt obe
outri
ghtcont radictory.I
tissupposedt obecapabl eoft akingonanyf or
m
whatsoev er,andt hust ohav enoessentialproper t
iesofi tsown.Thei dea
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thatithasnoessent i
al proper ti
esofi tsownseemst omakei tdi ffi
cultfor
ust ochar act er
izei tposi t i
velyinanyway :howcani tbei nv i
sible, oret ernal
,
ortheul ti
mat ebear erofpr oper t
ies, i
fthesear enotpr oper ti
est hatbel ong
toitessent ially
?Mor eov er, i
fitiswhatul t
imat elyunder liesal lpr operties,it
seemst hati tmustbeabl etot akeonpr opert i
est hatar ei nconsi stentwi th
whatwewoul dl i
ket obeabl etot hinkofasi tsownnat ur e: whenSocr at es
turnsblue, therei sal sosomepr imemat terthatunder l
ieshi m, whi chal so
turnsblue.Buthowcanpr imemat terbesi mul taneousi nv isibleandbl ue?
Togetar oundt hesepr obl ems, i
tlooksast houghpr oponent sofpr ime
mat terwillhav et odi stingui shbet weent wodi fferentki ndsofpr opertythat
pri
memat terhas, orper hapst wodi fferentway si nwhi chi thaspr oper ti
es.
Ther earei t
sessent ialpr oper t
ies, whichdef i
net heki ndofent i
tyt hati ti
s,
andwhi chithasper manent ly,
andt hent her ear eitsacci dent al proper ti
es,
whi chitgainsandl osesasi tunder l
iesdi ff
er entsor tsoft hing.Awor r
y
aboutt hissol utioni s,ifonecandi sti
ngui shbet weent hepr i
memat terand
i
tsessent i
al proper ties,thi smi ghtsuggestt hatt herei saneedf oraf urther
entitytoactast heunder l
y i
ngt hingf ort hosepr operties, andt hent his
furtherent i
tywoul dneedt ohav ei t
sownnat ur e,andsomet hingt ounder l
ie
thatnat ure,andsoon.I tseemsbestt ot r
yt oav oidsuchani nf init
er egress
byi nsi
stingt hatpr imemat tercanunder li
eitsownessent i
al pr oper t
ies,
withoutbei ngacompoundoft hosepr oper ti
esandsomef urthermat t
er.
3.Thepr
inci
pleofi
ndi
vi
duat
ion
Anotherreasont hatsomeschol arshavethoughtthatAristotleneeds
somethinglikeprimemat t
eristoserveasaso- call
ed“principleof
i
ndivi
duation”.Whi lethepredomi nantvi
ewhasbeent hatthisr ol
eis
reser
vedf ormat ter,otherschol
ar shavemaintai
nedei t
hert hatArist
otl
e
meansi ttobef orm, orthathedoesnotseet heneedf orapr inci
pleof
i
ndivi
duationatal l.Someoft hiscontrover
syseemst ohav eresultedfr
om a
fai
lur
etobecl earaboutwhatapr i
nci
pleofindi
viduati
onis, orwhat
probl
em itissupposedt osol
ve.
Toseewhyt hi
sisso,
onemayf ocusonacont rov ersyabouti ndi
viduati
on
whichPoppersoughttodissolve,bypoint
ingoutt hatitder i
vedfr
om af alse
opposi
tion.Thi
swasacont roversybegott
enbyadi sagreementbet ween
AnscombeandLukasi ewi
czr egardi
ngthepr i
ncipleofi ndivi
duati
oni n
Ari
stot
le(seeAnscombeetal .1953).Popperpoi ntsoutt hatthei
r
di
sagreementisonlyapparent,duetothefactthatt heyar eanswer i
ng
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differentquest ions: Lukasi ewiczi nsistst

hatf orm shoul dbecount edast he
“sour ceofi ndividuality”becausei texplai
nshowat hi
ngwi thmanypar tsis
asi nglei ndivi
dual andnotapl uralit
y, i
taccountsf ortheuni t
yofi ndi v
iduals.
Hehasi nmi ndquest ionsl i
ke“ Howdoal lthesebr i
cksconst itut
easi ngle
house? ”or“ Whatmakest hiscollectionoff l
eshandbonesSocr ates?” ,
and
hereAr i
st otl
edoesi ndeedappeart omakeuseoff orm.Ont heotherhand,
Anscombesay st hati tismat terwhi chmakesani ndividualtheindiv i
dual i
t
i
s, numer ical
lydistinctf rom otheri ndivi
dualsoft hesame( andot her )
speci es.Yett hisisani ssueaboutnumer i
caldistinctnessrat herthanuni ty.
Itisper fectlyconsist entt osayt hatSocr atesisonemanbecauseofhi s
form, whichuni fi
eshi smat terintoasi nglewhol e, andhei sanumer i
cally
distinctindi v
idual f
rom Cal l
iasbecausehi smat teri snumer i
cal l
ydi st
inct
from Cal lias’mat t
er .
Ithasbecomeconv enti
onal t
ocall ananswert oLukasi ewicz’
spr oblem a
principleofuni t
y,andananswert oAnscombe’ spr oblem aprinci
pleof
i
ndi viduat i
on.Thetraditi
onalviewhasbeent hatindividuati
oni sa
met aphy sicali
ssue: whatisitthatmakesonei ndividualdif
ferentfrom
anot her( ofthesameki nd)?Howev er,someschol arshav earguedt hat
Aristot l
eatnopoi ntaddr essesthisissue,butisinsteadconcer nedwi ththe
epistemol ogi
calquestionofhowwet elloneindi
v i
dual fr
om another( see
Char lton1972) .
Itiswor t
hconsi der i
ngwhyonemi ghtt hinkt hatt hemet aphy si
cal i
ssueis
notwor thpur suing.Theobv i
ousr easoni si fonet houghtt hatt herewasno
answert ot hequest i
on“ whatmakest hisi ndiv
idual numer icall
ydisti
nct
from t hatone? ”—thatnot hi
ng makes  them di stinct ,t
heyj ustar e.An
adv ocat eoft hi
sv iewmi ghtpointoutt hatev eni fweacceptt hatmat teri
s
whatmakest hisindividual di
sti
nctf rom t hatone, west il
l havenoanswer
tot hequest i
on“ whatmakest hispor ti
onofmat ternumer ical
lydisti
nct
from t hatone? ”.Ther ewi ll
alway sbecer tainoft hesenumer i
cal
distinctnessf actst hatremai nunexpl ainedonanyt heory .Butifexplanati
on
hast ostopsomewher e,whynotst opatt hebegi nni ng?Whynotj ustsay
thati tisabar ef actthatSocr atesi snumer i
call
ydi stinctfrom Cal l
ias,and
l
eav emat teroutofi t
?
Onemightthi
nkthatonecouldrespondtothisar
gumentbyi
nsi st
ingthat
ther
eisananswertothequesti
onwhatmakesSocr at
es’matter
numeri
cal
lydi
sti
nctfrom Cal
l
ias’matter
:iti
sthematt
erit
sel
f.Ifmattercan
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explainthedisti
nctnessofi ndividual substances,whyshoul ditnotal so
explainitsowndistinctnessf rom ot hermat t
er?Whet herornott hismov ei
s
l
egitimat ewil
ldependonwhi chf actsareandwhi chf actsar enoti nneedof
explanationbutmaycor rectlybeassumedt obepr imi ti
ve.Thepr oblem is
that“thi
smat teri
sdi sti
nctf rom t hatmat t
erbecausei tisthismat ter”
seemst obeav erysimi l
arsor tofexpl anati
ont o“Socr atesi sdistinctfrom
Call
iasbecausehei sSocr at es”—bot harecasesof  x explainingitsown
dist
inctnessfrom y.Eitherbot hshoul dcountasadequat eexplanat ionsor
neit
hershoul d.Buttheadv ocat eofmat terasprincipleofi ndividuat i
on
adoptedt hisvi
ewpr eciselybecauseshef oundt hissor tofexpl anat i
on
unsatisfact
ory,ornotanexpl anat i
onatal l
.Therefor ethisresponsedoes
notseem t obeopent oher .
Itseemst hatt hosewhoar ecommi tt
edt ot herebei ngsomet hingwhi ch
account sf orthenumer ical disti
nct nessofi ndivi
dual smustsayt hatther e
i
snot hingt hataccount sf orthenumer i
cal dist
inctnessoft hedi sti
nctness-
maker s.Theonl yalt ernat i
v ewoul dbet oi ntroducesome  fur
ther  
thi
ngt o
accountf or  
their 
dist i
nctness, andsoon; butt hisresul t
sinani nfini
te
regress, whi ch, aswel l asbei ngont ol
ogical l
ybloated, appearst obev icious,
sincewecannev ergr aspt hef ullaccountofwhatmakesSocr atesand
Calli
asdi stinct.Bothsi desagr eet hatexpl anat i
onmustst opsomewher e,
buttheydi fferov erwher ei tisappr opriatet ostop: i
si tabasic,inexpli
cabl e
factthatSocr atesisnumer i
callydi sti
nctf rom Cal l
ias,orthattheirmat teris
disti
nct ?( SeeMar kosi an2008, §8, foracont empor arydiscussionoft his
quest ion.)Atanyr at e,ev eni fitisdi ff
iculttopr ovet hatthereisan
i
mpor tantmet aphysical quest i
onher e,thet radit
ional i
nterpr
etationof
Aristotleist hathet hinkst hereis.
Therearetwomai nt
extswhichhav ebeent
houghttoshowAr i
stotl
e
advancingthevi
ewthatmatt
eri sthepri
nci
pleof
i
ndivi
duation:
 Met
aphysi
cs 
v6, 1016b31–2,andvi
i8,1034a5–8.Inthef
ir
st
ofthese,wearetol
d:
Moreov
er,
somethi
ngsareoneinnumber,
someinfor
m,somei
ngenus,
somebyanal
ogy
;innumberthosewhosemat
teri
sone…
Accordi
ngtothetradit
ionalinterpret
ation,herewehavetheclai
m
that
 x 
and 
y 
arenumer icall
yident i
cal(or“oneinnumber”
)if,
andonlyif
,
theyhavet
hesamemat ter(
ort hemat terof x 
is“
one”wi
ththematterof 
y).
Analter
nat
ivereadingtakest hispassaget obeaboutunityr
athert
han
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i
ndivi
duati
on:Ar
ist
otl
ewouldbesayi
ngthat 
x i
snumeri
cal
lyoneifandonl
y
i
f x’
smatteri
sone,whereathi
ng’
smatterbei
ng“one”meansthati
tisone
conti
nuouspi
ece(ofbone,f
orexampl
e).
Thesecondimpor
tantpassagefordetect
ingAr
ist
otl
e’
svi
ewsabout
i
ndiv
iduat
ioncomesatvii8,1034a5–8:
Andwhenwehav ethewhole,aform ofsuchakindint
hisfl
eshandin
thesebones,
thisisCal
li
asorSocr at
es;andtheyar
edif
ferenti
nvir
tueof
thei
rmatter(
forthati
sdif
ferent
),butthesameinform,f
orthei
rformis
i
ndivi
sibl
e.
Accordingt othetradit
ional i
nterpretat
ion,thesel i
nesar esay i
ngthat
SocratesandCal l
i
asar enumer i
callydisti
nctbecauseoft heirmat t
er,not
thei
rform, andont hef aceofi tthisistheclearestexampl eofAr i
stot
le
affi
rmingt hatmat t
eristhepr incipleofindivi
duat i
on.Wecanadoptan
alt
ernativereadi
ng, howev er,i
fwesupposet hat“ dif
ferent”meansnot
numer i
callydist
inct,butqualitati
velydiff
erent.Int hatcase,thepassage
couldbemaki nganepi stemol ogicalcl
aim abouthowwedi scernSocrates
andCal l
ias:supposeCal li
asi spal eandSocr atesdar k;theyarediffer
ent,
butnotdi ff
erentinform; theydifferbecauseoft heirmat t
er,si
ncepallor
anddar knessprimar i
lyqual i
fytheirski
n, i
.e.
,partoft heirbody.
Therei sadi ff
icultyforthei deathatmat t
ercanactast hepr inci
pleof
i
ndividuation,whi charisesoutoft hef ollowi ngpr obl em t hatcanber aised
forAristotl
e’shy l
omor phism (seeFine1994) .Itseemst hattwosubst ances,
e.g.,
Socr atesandCal l
ias, mayhav enumer i
callyt hesamemat terat
diff
erentt i
mes; thatitispossi ble(howev erunl i
kely )foral landonlythe
parti
cularel ement sthatnowcomposeSocr atest oendupcomposi ng
Calli
asatsomel aterdat e.Insuchacase, Socr atesandCal li
aswoul dhave
thesamemat ter,albeitatdiffer
entt i
mes.Mor eov er ,bothbei nghuman
beings,theywoul dhav et hesamef orm.Butt heyt hemsel v
esar e
compoundsofmat t
erandf orm,soi ftheirmat terandf orm ar enumerical
ly
thesame, theymustt hemsel vesbenumer icallythesame.
Putschemat
ical
l
y,t
hear
gumentl
ooksl
i
ket
his:

1.I
tispossi
blet
hatSocrat
esandCalli
asbecomposedofnumer
ical
l
y
t
hesamemat ter(
albei
tatdi
ff
erentt
imes)
.

2.Socr
atesandCal
l
iashav
ethesamef
orm.
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3.Socr
atesandCal
l
iasar
ecompoundsofmat
terandf
orm.

4.Ther
efor
e,i
tispossi
blet
hatSocr
atesandCal
l
iasar
enumer
ical
l
ythe
same.
Ofcour
set
wodiff
erentpeopl
ecannotbenumer
ical
l
ythesame.So,
ift
he
ar
gumenti
sval
i
d,atleastoneofi
tspremi
sesmustbefal
se.
Onepossi bler ejoi ndert ot hisar gumenti st hati tt urnsonanequi vocat i
on
i
nt hemeani ngof“ mat ter ”.Aswehav eseen, forAr i
stotlemat tercomesi n
diff
er entlev els.I nt hesi tuat ionenv isagedSocr at esandCal liaswoul dhav e
thesamer emot eorl ow- lev el mat ter( thesameel ement s)butt heymi ght
stil
lhav edi fferentpr oxi mat emat ter, sincet hepr oximat emat terofa
humanbei ngi shi sbody .Si nceasubst ancei sacompoundofasubst antial
form andsome  pr oxi mat e mat ter,wear enotent itledt oconcl udet hat
Socr atesandCal liasar et hesame.Al thought hi smaybeanef fect i
v eway
ofdeal ingwi tht hei nitial pr obl em, itcanber est at edsoast oav oi dt his
object i
ont hatt hear gumentequi vocat eson“ mat ter”.Eachl ev el ofmat ter
i
sacompoundoft hemat teratt hel ev el i
mmedi at el
ybel owi tandaf or m.I f
thepr oximat emat teroft wot hingsi st obedi f
f er ent,despi tet hei rlower -
l
ev elmat t
erbei ngt hesame, ther easonmustbet hatt hef ormsoft he
proximat emat ter sar edi f ferent .Wecanr edescr ibet hesi tuat i
onsot hatnot
onlyar eSocr at es’ andCal lias’ formst hesame, butt hef ormsoft heir
bodiesar eal sot hesame, andt hef or msoft hemat t
eroft heirbodi es, and
soonal lthewaydown.Al thoughi tisuncl earwhati ngener al isr equi redf or
themat teroft wot hingsoft hesamef or mt ohav et hesamef or m, e.g. ,for
Socr ates’andCal li
as’ bodi est ohav et hesamef or m,itseemsr easonabl e
tosupposet hati ti ssuf ficientf ort wot hingst ohav ethesamef or mt hat
theybequal itativel yt hesame.Sowecanensur et hatSocr ates’ andCal l
i
as’
mat tershav et hesamef or m, ifwesupposet hatt heyar equal itativelyt he
same.Onemi ghti nsi stt hatnot wot hingsar equal it
ativelythesame, but
therei slit
tl
er easont ot hi nkt hatAr ist otlei scommi tt
edt oLei bni z’s
doct ri
neoft hei dent i
t yofi ndi scernibl es.Whati smor e, alt
houghst rict
qualitativeident ity, i
.e.,hav ingal lthesamenon- rel ati
onal andr el ational
proper ti
es, mayr equi redemandi ngmet aphy sical assumpt ionssuchasan
eternallycy clicuni v erse, pr obabl yal lt hati sr equi redi sthatt her ebe
no relevant qual itativ edi ffer encebet weenSocr at esandCal l
ias, wher e
“rel
ev ant”meanssuchast or esultint hem ort hei rmat terhav i
ngdi fferent
forms.Whi leonemi ghti nsi stt hatt wot hingsmustbequal i
tativ elyt he
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samet ohav ethesameform,thi

salsodoesnotseem t
obeAr i
stot
le’
sview.
Soifwet ail
orourexampletothi
srequi
rement
,wecant hwar
tthechargeof
equiv
ocation.Theargumentthenisval
i
d,sowemustchooseoneofi ts
premisestor ej
ect
.
Onemi ghtt rytor ejectt hef irstpr emi seoft hear gument ,ont hegr ounds
thataper son’smat t
eri sessent ialtot hem.Wehav eseent hatAr istotle
plausiblydoesbel i
ev et hisaboutaper son’ s proximat e 
mat ter
—t hei r
body —si nceadeadbodyi sonl yhomony mousl ya“ body ”
.Nev ertheless, he
i
scommi t
tedt ot heirmor er emot emat ter—t heel ement st hatmaket hem
up,fori nstance—bei ngcapabl eofexi stingi ndependent lyoft hem.He
needst her et obesomet hingt ounder l
iet hechangewher ebyasubst ance
comesi ntoorgoesoutofex i
st ence, tomakei tconsi stentwi thhi saccount
ofchangei ngener alin Phy sics i 7.Ther eseemst obenor easont odeny
that,whenat ree,fori nstance, dies,theear th, air
,fir
eandwat ert hat
constitutedi tstil
l existint hedeadst ump.But ,i
fso, thereseemsnor eason
tothinkt heycoul dnotl eav et hest ump, andendupbecomi ngt hemat terof
somenewt ree.Thi si sall t
hati sneededf ort hepr oblem toar ise.Pr ime
mat t
er ,ifi
texi sts,wi l
l nothel p: iftheel ement sar eallowedt oescapet he
substancest hatt heyunder li
e, itseemst hatt hepr imemat tert hat
underlies them  shoul dal sobecapabl eofdoi ngso.I tissupposedt obe
capabl eofunder l
ying any thing; soi nsistingt hati tisconf i
nedt obei ngt he
primemat t
erofapar ticularsor toft hingmakesnosense.

Di
ff
erencesi
nCont
ri
but
ions
I
nPhi
l
osophy
Platobeli
evedthatconcept shadauni ver
sal f
orm, anidealfor
m, which
l
eadst ohisideali
sticphil
osophy.Ari
stotl
ebelievedthatuniversalf
orms
werenotnecessar il
yattachedtoeachobj ectorconcept ,
andthateach
i
nstanceofanobj ectoraconcepthadt obeanal yzedoni tsown.This
vi
ewpoi ntl
eadst oAr i
stotel
i
anEmpirici
sm.ForPl ato,thought
experimentsandr easoningwouldbeenought o"prove"aconceptor
establi
shthequaliti
esofanobj ect
,butAristotl
edismissedt hi
si nf
av or
ofdirectobserv
ationandexper i
ence.
I
nlogic,Pl
atowasmor ei
ncli
nedtouse i
nducti
ver
easoni
ng,whereas
Ari
stotl
eused 
deducti
vereasoni
ng.The 
syl
logi
sm,abasi
cunitoflogi
c
(i
fA=B, andB=C, thenA=C) ,wasdevel
opedbyAri
stot
le.
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BothAri
stotl
eandPl atobeli
evedt
houghtsweresuper
iort
ot hesenses.
However,whereasPlatobeli
evedthesensescoul
dfoolaperson,
Ari
stot
lestat
edt hatthesenseswereneededinor
dertoproperl
y
det
erminereali
ty.
Anexampl eofthisdi
fferenceisthe 
all
egoryofthecav e,creat
edby
Plato.Tohim, t
hewor ldwasl i
keacav e,andapersonwoul donlysee
shadowscastf rom theout si
delight
,sotheonlyreal
itywoul dbe
thoughts.TotheAr i
stoteli
anmet hod,t
heobv i
oussolut i
oni st
owal k
outoft hecaveandexper i
encewhatiscastingl
ightandshadows
direct
ly,r
atherthanrel
y i
ngsolelyonindir
ectorint
ernal experi
ences.

Q.5 Whati st hetheoryofcategori

espropoundedbyAr i
stotl
e?Howmany
ofthecat egorieshadbeenpr esentedinthi
stheory?Elaborateeach
category.
.Accordingt oAr i
stotl
e,quanti
tydivi
desintocontinuousanddi scret
e
quantit
ies;cont i
nuousquant i
tydiv
idesintoli
ne,surface,body,ti
me,and
place;anddi scretequanti
tydivi
desintonumberandspeech( 4b20–23)
.
Hence, wehav ethefoll
owinggenus/ speci
esstructure:

 Quant
it
y

o Cont
inuousQuant
it
ies

 l
i
ne

 sur
face

 body

 t
ime

 pl
ace

o Di
scr
eteQuant
it
ies

 number
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 speech
Li
kesubstance,quanti
tyseemslikeareasonablecandidat
ef orahighest
ki
nd—quant i
ti
esexist
;quant
it
iesarenotsubstances;substancesar enot
quanti
ti
es,anditisnotcl
earwhatkindwoul dstandabovequant i
ty.So,
Ari
stot
le’
sdecisiontomakequant i
tyahighestkindappearswellmot iv
ated.
Ari
stot
le’
streatmentofquanti
ty,
howev er,
doesr ai
sesomedi ffi
cult
questi
ons.
Perhapst hemosti nteresti
ngquest i
onconcer nst hef actthatsomeoft he
speciesi nquant i
tyappeart obequant ifi
edt hingsr athert hanquant it
ies
themsel ves.Consider ,
forinstance,body .I
ni tsmostnat uralsense, ‘
body ’
signifi
esbodi es,whichar enotquant i
tiesbutr athert hingswi thquant it
ies.
Thesamei strueofl i
ne,surface,pl
ace, andar guabl yspeech.Ofcour se,
therearequant i
ti
esnat ural
lyassociatedwi thsomeoft hesespeci es.For
i
nst ance,length,breadth,anddept hareassoci atedwi thl i
ne,body, and
surface.ButAr ist
otledoesnotl i
sttheseast hespeci esunderquant i
ty.So,
i
nt hef i
rstinstance,wecanask: doesAr i
stotleintendhi sdi v
isionof
Quant i
tytobeadi visi
onofquant i
ti
esorquant ifi
edt hings?
Thedi ffi
cult
iesi nvol vedinAr i
stotl
e’
sl istofspeci esint hecat egoryof
quant it
ycanbemademor eprecisebynot ingt hati
nsev eralplaceshe
seemst ocommi thimsel ftothev i
ewt hatbodyi saspeci esi nthecat egor
y
ofsubst ance( Top.  130b2, DC 2681–3,  DA  434b12,  
Met a. 1079a31,
1069b38) .AndasIhav edr awnt hegenus- speci esstructureint hecat egor
y
ofsubst anceabov e, bodyi soneoft het wospeci esimmedi atelyunder
subst ance.Yetbodyal soappear sasaspeci esundert hespeci es
Cont i
nuousQuant i
ty .Thedi f
fi
cultyarisesbecauseAr i
st otl
eiscommi tt
ed
tothev i
ewthatnospeci escanoccuri nbot ht hecategor yofsubst ance
andi nsomeot hercat egory.For,het hinkst hataspeci esi nsubst anceis
sai
d- ofprimar ysubst anceswhi l
especi esint heot hercat egor i
esar enot
sai
d- ofprimar ysubst ances.Hence, anyspeci esinbot hsubst anceand
someacci dent alcat egorywoul dbesai d- ofandnotsai d- ofprimary
subst ance.Ar i
stotle’slistofspeciesi nt heCat egoryofQuant it
yist husnot
mer elypuzzlingbutseemst ocommi tAr i
stotlet oacont radicti
on.So, a
secondquest ionaboutAr i
stotl
e’scat egor yofquant i
tynat urall
ysuggest s
i
tself:howcanbodybeaspeci esinbot ht hecat egoryofquant ityandt he
categor yofsubst ance?( Studtman2002)
Anumberofot
herquest
ionsaboutQuant
it
ycoul
dbeasked.Fori
nst
ance,
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Aristotle’ streat mentofquant i

tyi nt he  Met aphy sics  i
ncludesspeci esnot
presenti nhi streat menti nt he Cat egor i
es (Met a.  
1020a7–34) ,
whi chr aises
quest ionsast ot heext enttowhi cht hesetofdoct ri
nesi n
the Cat egor i
es  coher eswi ththedoct ri
nesi nhi sot herphy sical and
met aphy sical wor ks.Fur ther mor e, quest i
onsaboutAr i
stot l
e’ sviewsabout
thenat ur eofsomeoft hespeci esi nquant i
tyar ise.So, forinst ance, t
owhat
doesAr istotlet hinkt hespeci esnumbercor responds?Hesur elydoesnot
thi
nkt hatnumber sex istapar tf rom t hemat erial wor l
d.Butt henwhat
exact lydoesAr istotlet hinkanumberi s?Al lwegetf orananswerf r
om
the Cat egor i
es  i
st hatnumberi sadi scretequant i
ty .Butsuchananswer
hardlypr ov idesmuchofanunder st andi ngast owhatAr istot l
ehas
precisel yi nmi nd.Mor eov er,whydoesAr istotl
ei ncl udespeechasa
speci esi nt hecat egor yofquant i
ty?Speechhar dlyseemsl ikeanat ural
candi dat ef ort hiscat egor y.Per haps, Ar i
stot l
ehasi nmi ndt hequant i
tiesof
vowel sandsy llabl esofGr eekwor ds.But ,ifany thing, speechwoul dseem
tobesomeki ndofv ocal sound, whi char guabl yi saki ndofaf f
ection.Each
oft hesequest i
onsi si nterestingandwor thpur sui ng.Ishal l not,howev er,
offeranyanswer st ot hem her e.Rat her ,Ihopeonl yt ohav ei ll
ustratedhow
deepl yi ntriguingandy etdi ffi
cultt opi ndownf ullyAr istotle’s Categor i
es  i
s.
2.
2.3Rel
ati
ves
Afterquant i
t y,Ari
stotlediscussest hecat egor yofrelatives, whi chbot h
i
nt er
pr etivelyandphi l
osophi call
yr aisesev enmor edi ff
iculti
est hanhi s
discussi onofquant ity.Acont empor aryphi losophermi ghtnat ur al
lythink
thatthiscat egorycont ainswhatwewoul dnowaday scall ‘
relations’.But
thiswoul dbeami stake.Thenamef ort hecat egoryis tapr ost i (
τὰπρός
τι),whi chl i
terall
ymeans‘ thingstowar dsomet hi
ng’.Inot herwor ds,
Aristotleseemst obecl assifyingnotr elationsbutr at hert hi
ngsi nt heworld
i
nsof arast heyar et owardsomet hingel se.I twouldseem, howev er,t
hat
forAr i
st otl
et hingsar etowar dsomet hingel seinsofarasar elational
predicat eappl iestot hem.Ar i
stotl
esay s: Thi ngsarecal l
ed‘ relativ
e’ i
f 
as
such  t
heyar esai dtobeofsomet hingel seort obesomehowr eferredto
somet hi ngel se.So, fori
nst ance,thegr eater , 
assuch, i
ssai dt obeof
somet hi ngel se,foritissaidt obegr eat ert hansomet hing( 6a36) .
Perhapsthemoststrai
ghtfor
wardreadingofAri
stot
le’
sdiscussi
onisthe
fol
l
owi ng.Henoti
cedthatcert
ainpr
edicatesi
nlanguagearelogi
call
y
i
ncompl ete—theyarenotusedinsimplesubj
ect/pr
edicat
esentencesof
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thef orm‘ a i

s F’ butr atherrequiresomet ypeofcompl eti
on.Tosay‘ t
hr eei
s
great er
’ist osaysomet hingthatisi ncompl ete—t ocompl eteitrequires
say i
ngwhatt hreei sgr eaterthan.Nonet heless,
Aristotl
eaccept eda
doct ri
neaccor dingt owhi chproper tiesinthewor l
dal waysinherei na
singlesubj ect .I
not herwor ds,althoughAr ist
otl
ecount enancedr elat
ional
predicates, andt houghhecer tainlyt houghtthatobjectsinthewor l
dar e
relatedtoot herobj ect
s, hedidnotacceptr el
ati
onsasagenui net ypeof
ent i
ty.So, Aristotle’scat egor
yofr elati
vesi sakindofhal f
wayhouse
bet weent hel ingui sti
csi deofrelat i
ons, namelyrelat
ionalpredicates,and
theont ological side, namel yrelati
onst hemselves.
Forourpur poses, weneednotdet er
mi nehowt obesti nter pretAr istotle’
s
theor yofr elatives,butcanr at herconsidersomei ssuest hatAr istot l
e’s
discussi onr aises.Fi r
st, anyonewhoi scomf or
tablewi thr elational
proper t
ieswi llnodoubtf i
ndAr i
stotl
e’sdiscussi onsomewhatconf used.
AlthoughAr i
stot l
edoesdi scussi mpor t
antf eaturesofr elat i
onal predi cates,
fori nst
ance, thatrelational predicatesinvolv eaki ndofr eci procal reference
(6b28) ,hisf undament al stance, accordingtowhi chall pr oper tiesi nt he
wor l
darenon- relati
onal ,willappearwr ongheaded.Second, Arist otle’
s
cat egoryofr elati
vesr aisesi nterpret
iveissues, inpar t
icul art hei ssue
concer ningwhatexact lyhiscat egoricalschemei smeantt ocl assi fy.Asi n
thecaseofquant i
ty,Aristotleseemst obef ocusingont hingst hatar e
relatedr athert hanr elationst hemsel ves.Indeed, thisi
sev identf rom t he
nameoft hecat egory.
Thi slatt
erfact,namel ythati nhi sdi scussi onofr el
ativesAr istotleseems
focusedonr elatedt hingsr athert hanr elations, pl
acespr essureont heeasy
char acteri
zati
onoft hecat egor i
est hatIdi scussedpr eviously,namel ythat
eachcat egoryisadi sti
nctt ypeofext ra-li
ngui sti
cent i
ty.Ifthateasy
char acteri
zati
onwer ecorrect ,Aristotleshoul dhav ecount enancedsome
typeofent i
tycor r
espondi ngt or elativesasahi ghestki nd.Buthedi dnot.
Hence, i
tistempt ingt oshif ttoani nter pretationaccor dingt owhi ch
Aristotleisafterallfocusedonl ingui sticallychar acteri
zedi tems.And
per hapshet hinkst hatt hewor ldcont ai nsj ustaf ewbasi ctypesofent i
ty
andt hatdif
ferenttypesofpr edicat esappl yt othewor l
di nv i
rtueof
compl exsemant i
cr elat
ionst oj ustt hoset y pesofent it
y .Asi tturnsout,
manycomment atorshav eint erpretedhi mi nthisway .Butt heir
i
nt erpretati
onsf acet heirowndi ff
iculties.Tor aisejustone, wecanask:
whatar ethebasi cent it
iesint hewor ldi fnotj ustthoset hatf allunderthe
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var
iouscategori
es?Per hapsthereisawaytoanswert hi
squest
ionon
Ari
stot
le’
sbehalf,buttheansweri snotcl
earl
ycont
ainedinhist
exts.So
agai
nwear eonceagai nf or
cedtoadmi tj
usthowdif
ficul
titi
stopindown
apreci
seinterpr
etati
onofAr ist
otl
e’swork.
2.
2.4Qual
it
y
Aft
err el
ati
ves,Ari
stot
ledi
scussesthecategor
yofquality.Unli
kequanti
ty
andrelati
ves,qual
it
ydoesnotpresentanyobviousdiff
icult
iesforthe
i
nterpret
ati
onaccor di
ngtowhichthe Cat
egori
es cl
assi
fybasi cty
pesof
enti
ty.Ari
stotl
edivi
desquali
tyasfoll
ows(8b26–10a11) :

 Qual
i
ty

o Habi
tsandDi
sposi
ti
ons

o Nat
ural
Capabi
l
iti
esandI
ncapabi
l
iti
es

o Af
fect
iveQual
i
tiesandAf
fect
ions

o Shape
Eachoft hesespecieslooksl i
keanext ra-l
inguist
ictypeofentit
y,andnone
ofthespeciesappear stobeaspeci esinanot hercategory
.Hence, any
dif
fi
culti
eswi t
hAr i
stotl
e’
st r
eatmentofqual it
yconcer nthe
appropri
atenessoft hediv
isionshemakesr atherthantheextenttowhich
thecategoryfit
sintoalargerinterpret
ationoft hecategori
alscheme.But,
aswi t
hjustaboutev ery
thinginAr i
stotl
e’sscheme, t
hedivi
sionshemakes
amongqual iti
eshavebeensev erelycr
iti
cized.J.L.Ackri
ll
,fori
nstance,
cri
ti
cizesArist
otleasfoll
ows:
He[Ari
stotle]givesnospeci al
argumentt oshowt hat[habitsand
di
spositi
ons]ar equal i
ties.Nordoeshegi veanycr i
ter
ionf ordecidingthata
gi
venqual i
tyisori snota[ habit-
or-
disposit
ion];why ,f
orexampl e,should
aff
ecti
vequal it
iesbet r
eat edasacl assquitedi st
inctfrom [ habi
tsand
di
spositi
ons]?( Ackril
l1963)
Ackri
l
lfindsAr ist
otle’sdi v
isionofqualit
yatbestunmot iv
at ed.AndAckr il
l
,it
wouldseem, i
sbeingpol it
e.Mont gomer yFur t
hhassai d: ‘
Ishal ll
argel
y
di
spensewi t
hquest ionsl ike…therati
onale(iftherebeone)f or
comprehendi ngintoasi nglecategorythemonst r
ousmot leyhor deyclept
Quali
ty…’(Furth1988) .
Co
urs
e:So
cia
lTh
eor
yI(
466
9) Se
mes
ter
:Aut
umn,2022

Itmustbeadmi t
ted,thatAr i
stot
le’
slistoft hespeci esinqual i
tyisatfirst
blushabi todd.Forinst ance,whyshoul dweconsi deranyoft hespeci es
l
istedasf al
li
ngdirectlyunderqual it
y ?Indeed, whenAr istotleliststhe
species,hedoesnotf ollowhi susual pr
ocedur eandpr ovidet he
diff
erent
iaethatdistingui shthem.Ifther ear esuchdi f
ferentiae, weshoul d
expectthathabitsanddi spositi
ons,forinstance, canbedef inedassuch
andsuchaqual i
ty.Thesamewoul dofcour sebet ruefort heot herqual i
ti
es.
Butnotonl ydoesAr i
st otlenotprovidet hesedi f
ferenti
ae, buti tisalso
diff
icul
ttoseewhatt heymi ghtbe.Toappr eciatethedi f
ficulty,oneneed
onlyask:whatdi f
ferent i
acanbeaddedt oqual i
tysoast odef ineshape?
Tobef ai
r,Ari
stotl
e’scategor
yofqual i
tyhashadit
sdefender
s.Infact
,
someoft hosedef ender
shav egonesof arastoprov
idesomethingofa
deducti
onofthespeci esinthecategoryfr
om var
iousmetaphysi
cal
pri
ncipl
es.Aquinas,fori
nstance,saysthefol
lowi
ngaboutthecategor
yin
hi
s SummaTheol ogiae:
Nowt hemodeofdet erminati
onofthesubj ecttoacci dentalbei
ngmaybe
takeni nregardtot heverynatureofthesubj ect,
ori nregardt oacti
on,and
passionr esulti
ngfrom itsnaturalpr
incipl
es,whichar emat t
erandform; or
againi nregardtoquant it
y.Ifwetaket hemodeordet erminati
onofthe
subjectinr egardtoquant it
y,weshallthenhav ethef ourthspeciesof
qualit
y .Andbecausequant it
y,consi
der edi
ni t
self,i
sdev oidofmov ement ,
anddoesnoti mplythenot i
onofgoodorev il
,soi tdoesnotconcer nthe
fourthspeci esofqual i
tywhetherathingbewel loril
ldisposed,norquickly
orslowl ytransit
ory.
Butthemodeofdet erminati
onofthesubject,
inregardtoacti
onorpassi on,
i
sconsideredi
nt hesecondandt hi
rdspeciesofquali
ty.Andthereforein
bot
h, wetakei
ntoaccountwhet herathingbedonewi theaseordi f
ficult
y ;
whetheri
tbetransit
oryorlasti
ng.Buti
nt hem,wedonotconsi derany thing
per
taini
ngtothenotionofgoodorev il
:becausemov ementsandpassi ons
havenottheaspectofanend, whereasgoodandev ilaresai
dinr espectof
anend.
Ont heotherhand,themodeordet erminationoft hesubject
,inr egar
dto
thenatureofthething,bel
ongstothef i
rstspeciesofqual i
ty,
whi chi
shabit
anddispositi
on:f
ort hePhil
osophersays( Phys.vii,
text
.17),when
speakingofhabitsofthesoulandoft hebody ,t
hatt heyare“disposit
ions
oftheperfecttothebest;andbyperfectImeant hatwhichisdi sposedin
Co
urs
e:So
cia
lTh
eor
yI(
466
9) Se
mes
ter
:Aut
umn,2022

accordancewithitsnatur
e.”Andsincetheformitsel
fandthenatureofa
thi
ngistheendandt hecausewhyat hingismade( Phys.i
i
,text
.25),
ther
eforeinthefir
stspeciesweconsiderbothevilandgood,andalso
changeableness,whethereasyordif
fi
cult
;inasmuchasacer tai
nnaturei
s
theendofgener ati
onandmov ement.