how And Why Did The Western Tradition Of Political Theorizing Arise In Athens During The Late Fifth And Fourth Centuries B.c.? By Interweaving Intellectual History With Political Philosophy And Literary Analysis, Josiah Ober Argues That The Tradition Originated In A High-stakes Debate About Democracy. Since Elite Greek Intellectuals Tended To Assume That Ordinary Men Were Incapable Of Ruling Themselves, The Longevity And Resilience Of Athenian Popular Rule Presented A Problem: How To Explain The Apparent Success Of A Regime Irrationally Based On The Inherent Wisdom And Practical Efficacy Of Decisions Made By Non-elite Citizens? The Problem Became Acute After Two Oligarchic Coups D' Tat In The Late Fifth Century B.c. The Generosity And Statesmanship That Democrats Showed After Regaining Political Power Contrasted Starkly With The Oligarchs' Violence And Corruption. Since It Was No Longer Self-evident That Better Men Meant Better Government, Critics Of Democracy Sought New Arguments To Explain The Relationship Among Politics, Ethics, And Morality.ober Offers Fresh Readings Of The Political Works Of Thucydides, Plato, And Aristotle, Among Others, By Placing Them In The Context Of A Competitive Community Of Dissident Writers. These Thinkers Struggled Against Both Democratic Ideology And Intellectual Rivals To Articulate The Best And Most Influential Criticism Of Popular Rule. The Competitive Athenian Environment Stimulated A Century Of Brilliant Literary And Conceptual Innovation. Through Ober's Re-creation Of An Ancient Intellectual Milieu, Early Western Political Thought Emerges Not Just As A Footnote To Plato, But As A Dissident Commentary On The First Western Democracy.
robert W. Wallace - The Annals Of The American Academy Of Political And Social Sciences this Book Is First-rate: Intelligent, Judicious, Original, A Seamless Performance, And On A Fundamental Topic. . . . [a] Great Achievement.

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zlib/Society, Politics & Philosophy/Anthropology/Josiah Ober/Political Dissent in Democratic Athens: Intellectual Critics of Popular Rule_1161187.pdf

Ober, Josiah

Princeton University, Department of Art & Archaeology

Martin classical lectures, 1st paperback printing, Princeton N.J. ; Chichester, 2002

Martin classical lectures (Unnumbered), Princeton, N.J, ©1998

Martin classical lectures, N.S., 2, Princeton, N.J, 1999

Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J., 1998

United States, United States of America

January 1, 2001

Reprint, 2001

2011 12 30

lg723109

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How and why did the Western tradition of political theorizing arise in Athens during the late fifth and fourth centuries B.C.? By interweaving intellectual history with political philosophy and literary analysis, Josiah Ober argues that the tradition originated in a high-stakes debate about democracy. Since elite Greek intellectuals tended to assume that ordinary men were incapable of ruling themselves, the longevity and resilience of Athenian popular rule presented a problem: how to explain the apparent success of a regime'irrationally'based on the inherent wisdom and practical efficacy of decisions made by non-elite citizens? The problem became acute after two oligarchic coups d'tat in the late fifth century B.C. The generosity and statesmanship that democrats showed after regaining political power contrasted starkly with the oligarchs'violence and corruption. Since it was no longer self-evident that'better men'meant'better government,'critics of democracy sought new arguments to explain the relationship among politics, ethics, and morality. Ober offers fresh readings of the political works of Thucydides, Plato, and Aristotle, among others, by placing them in the context of a competitive community of dissident writers. These thinkers struggled against both democratic ideology and intellectual rivals to articulate the best and most influential criticism of popular rule. The competitive Athenian environment stimulated a century of brilliant literary and conceptual innovation. Through Ober's re-creation of an ancient intellectual milieu, early Western political thought emerges not just as a'footnote to Plato,'but as a dissident commentary on the first Western democracy.

How and why did the Western tradition of political theorizing arise in Athens during the late fifth and fourth centuries B.C.? By interweaving intellectual history with political philosophy and literary analysis, Josiah Ober argues that the tradition originated in a high-stakes debate about democracy.
Since elite Greek intellectuals tended to assume that ordinary men were incapable of ruling themselves, the longevity and resilience of Athenian popular rule presented a problem: how to explain the apparent success of a regime "irrationally" based on the inherent wisdom and practical efficacy of decisions made by non-elite citizens? The problem became acute after two oligarchic coups d'etat in the late fifth century B.C. The generosity and statesmanship that democrats showed after regaining political power contrasted starkly with the oligarchs' violence and corruption.
Since it was no longer self-evident that "better men" meant "better government," critics of democracy sought new arguments to explain the relationship among politics, ethics, and morality.
Ober offers fresh readings of the political works of Thucydides, Plato, and Aristotle, among others, by placing them in the context of a competitive community of dissident writers. These thinkers struggled against both democratic ideology and intellectual rivals to articulate the best and most influential criticism of popular rule.

Political Dissent in Democratic Athens......Page 2
Political Dissentin Democratic Athens: INTELLECTUAL CRITICS OFPOPULAR RULE......Page 4
C O N T E N T S......Page 9
P R E F A C E......Page 13
A B B R E V I A T I O N S......Page 15
I N T R O D U C T I O N: Why Dissent? Why Athens?......Page 19
C H A P T E R 1: The Problem of Dissent: Criticism as Contest......Page 30
C H A P T E R 2:Public Speech and Brute Fact: Thucydides......Page 68
C H A P T E R 3: Essence and Enactment: Aristophanes Ecclesiazusae......Page 138
C H A P T E R 4: Justice, Knowledge, Power: Plato Apology, Crito, Gorgias, Republic......Page 172
C H A P T E R 5: Eloquence, Leadership, Memory: Isocrates Antidosis and Areopagiticus......Page 264
C H A P T E R 6: Political Animals, Actual Citizens, and the Best Possible Polis: Aristotle Politics......Page 306
C H A P T E R 7: The Dialectics of Dissent: Criticism as Dialogue......Page 368
B I B L I O G R A P H Y......Page 391
I N D E X L O C O R U M......Page 419
G E N E R A L I N D E X......Page 425

And as for the fact that the Athenians have chosen the kind of political regime (politeia) that they have, I do not speak well of them(ouk epaino) on that account inasmuch as in making their choice they have chosen to have lowly scoundrels (poneroi) fare better than the excellent elite (chrestoi).

2012-02-04