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Individual and Community
Introductory note: this is not an outline of the entire funeral oration but an interpretation of some central theme of the work, the way in which individuals serve the common good by pursuing their own ends.
The first part of the speech focuses on the contribution of the democratic constitution of Athens to the good of Athenian citizens
On the Athenian way of thinking, a good political community is one in which citizens live a good (happy, fulfilled) life.
The implied contrast is with Sparta and other such regimes in which a good regime has ends that are …show more content…
And we don’t necessarily see our own time as decisive the future of our country.
Although we should have during the Cold War. Still after the mid-sixties, the threat from the Soviet Union came to seem fairly distant. And our own mistaken policies—such as the Vietnam War—seemed to be as much a threat to our country as external enemies.
Athenians also recognized how much they received from their polis. They saw that their way of life was intimately tied to the nature of their political community.
In the US, however, we do not see ourselves as in control of the government but as consumers of government services.
And, in large part because we have little knowledge of politics and public policy, we vastly underestimate what we receive from the community.
For example, students at Temple do not recognize how much of their education is subsidized by federal and state governments.
Lack of diversity
Families and tribes were important in Athens, and sometimes were a source of tension.
Still there was little or no ethnic tension within Athens. All Athenians (and all other Greeks) were thought to be members of a single group of …show more content…
On this view, freedom requires democratic control over our lives
To shape our own life.
To enable us to enjoy collective pride and a sense of communal accomplishment.
In this respect, we seem to be much less free than the Athenians.
Our government is a representative rather than direct democracy. Moreover it is much more responsive to the rich than he poor.
We work in oligarchies not democracies.
The importance of action and speech in the funeral oration.
Pericles denigrates the importance of his speech at two points. He does this
To emphasize collective over individual action since speech in general is more likely to be the product of individuals.
To ward off envy at his prominence.
Yet, at the same time, he points to the importance of speech.
He turns his speech from a description of the immediate actions of those who died to a consideration of the abstract principles under which Athens lives.
It takes speech, however, for human beings to discuss and attempt to instantiate these principles and ideals.
The great war heroes of Athens continue to honored today only because of the work of great writers, such as
Individual and Community
Introductory note: this is not an outline of the entire funeral oration but an interpretation of some central theme of the work, the way in which individuals serve the common good by pursuing their own ends.
The first part of the speech focuses on the contribution of the democratic constitution of Athens to the good of Athenian citizens
On the Athenian way of thinking, a good political community is one in which citizens live a good (happy, fulfilled) life.
The implied contrast is with Sparta and other such regimes in which a good regime has ends that are …show more content…
And we don’t necessarily see our own time as decisive the future of our country.
Although we should have during the Cold War. Still after the mid-sixties, the threat from the Soviet Union came to seem fairly distant. And our own mistaken policies—such as the Vietnam War—seemed to be as much a threat to our country as external enemies.
Athenians also recognized how much they received from their polis. They saw that their way of life was intimately tied to the nature of their political community.
In the US, however, we do not see ourselves as in control of the government but as consumers of government services.
And, in large part because we have little knowledge of politics and public policy, we vastly underestimate what we receive from the community.
For example, students at Temple do not recognize how much of their education is subsidized by federal and state governments.
Lack of diversity
Families and tribes were important in Athens, and sometimes were a source of tension.
Still there was little or no ethnic tension within Athens. All Athenians (and all other Greeks) were thought to be members of a single group of …show more content…
On this view, freedom requires democratic control over our lives
To shape our own life.
To enable us to enjoy collective pride and a sense of communal accomplishment.
In this respect, we seem to be much less free than the Athenians.
Our government is a representative rather than direct democracy. Moreover it is much more responsive to the rich than he poor.
We work in oligarchies not democracies.
The importance of action and speech in the funeral oration.
Pericles denigrates the importance of his speech at two points. He does this
To emphasize collective over individual action since speech in general is more likely to be the product of individuals.
To ward off envy at his prominence.
Yet, at the same time, he points to the importance of speech.
He turns his speech from a description of the immediate actions of those who died to a consideration of the abstract principles under which Athens lives.
It takes speech, however, for human beings to discuss and attempt to instantiate these principles and ideals.
The great war heroes of Athens continue to honored today only because of the work of great writers, such as