POL 2107 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Law Abiding Citizen, Kenneth Minogue, Ontological Commitment
14 Dec 2016
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Document Summary
Greeks made rst distinction between the private and public life. Augora= market place where people discussed political matters. Politics in ancient greek was where all citizens in society participated. To participate in politics was the most important part of citizenship. In athens it was a privilege to be a citizen. Virtue more important than economics and well-being. In the pursuit of virtue it was important to challenge common opinion (little use for conventional opinion) Romans- unlike greek welcomed other tribes (it was much larger) Through the application of reason (the greeks were rational)- no longer accepted myth and religion. Socrates made the mistake in not naming a god (did not believe in this) Religion was a household manner- was not there to guide your life. reason guides your life. The greeks were democratic - the society still had a hierarchy. The life of the ordinary individual changes very little.
