For Tuesday, September 18

We will conclude our discussion of Kaplan by looking at the references he makes. We've already talked a bit about the kinds of evidence he presents, including contemporary events, personal experiences, references to the social sciences, and references to authorities. What I want to do this time is focus on the authorities. We'll spend some time in class constructing a list of these, and then we'll try to put some order to the list.
 

For Friday, September 21

As our analysis of Kaplan's sources shows, the roots of the democratic idea extend deeply into Western culture. Classic Greece and Rome began the process of defining direct democracy and the republican principles of representative democracy. We now turn our attention to some key thinkers of that era.
 

Read, in Democratic Idea,

#1, "Democracy and Despotism," by Euripides, p. 1
#2, "The Funeral Oration" Pericles, pp. 3-6

Democracy and Despotism is a short excerpt from a play by one of the most popular and prolific Greek playwrights. Here we have a dialogue, of sorts, between two characters which frames a sort of debate between an advocate of "tyranny" and an advocate of "democracy". We're going to continue to think about assertions today. In a debate, one can respond to an assertion with a counter-assertion, which denies the assertion and offers an alternative, or which possibly seeks to modify the claim in some way. Alternately, one can ignore the assertions made and simply make an assertion of one's own. Sometimes we refer to this as "talking past one another, rather than talking to one another". What I would like to have you do is make lists of the assertions of the Theban Messenger and of Theseus... the claims they make about democracy and tyranny, and see to what degree they respond to each other and what degree they ignore each other.

Pericles' Oration is not unlike the kind of patriotic speeches which we hear on the Fourth of July or Memorial Day. Indeed, many of the remarks made in reflection on the current situation are similar, as well. Pericles has two objectives. First, he wishes to assert the value of Athenian culture in comparison with the cultures with which it is in conflict. Second, he wants to ennoble the sacrifices made in support of that culture. I'd like to have you take notes which reflect what he has to say about Athens, and think about ways in which the objectives of Athenian life as described by Pericles are reflected in our definition of what the good life is here in America.

When you prepare your questions for this class period, focus on what you need to know about Classic Greek culture to fully understand these two documents. For example, what did the Greeks mean by "Tyrant," or a "City?" The context of ideas is crucial to a full understanding of them. So far, we've not devoted much attention to this, but we will be starting to do that next week.