Plato's ideal of the Common Good: Anatomy of a concept of timeless significance

Description

This study documents various historical instances in the development of the concept «Common Good». The author reflects about Plato's theory of Forms, which is infused with the idea of good, as the first principle of being. Plato was not the first philosopher to address the theme of the Common Good although he was the first to construct a political theory around it. This theme has remained a central agenda for philosophers throughout the ages Cover Table of Contents Introduction: The dream of social harmony Plato as idealist An indispensable premise: Positioning the Common Good in a contextualized approach to Plato’s philosophical endeavor 1. Plato and the “homo politicus” Ingredients of Plato’s political theory: The Common Good in focus “To agathon” (“The Common Good”): History of a word revealing an idea with a long tradition 2. The Common Good: Its multilateral relations with society and state The Common Good and its Old European foundations – The communitarian spirit in the pre-Hellenic communities of southeastern Europe – Communal self-governance from the Neolithic through Greek antiquity The communitarian spirit in the light of early statehood: Local communities vis-à-vis political power in the Mycenaean city states 3. The Common Good: Its role as an agent of social cohesion Pan-Hellenism as a signifier of the Common Good: Cultural stereotyping and the emergence of Greek ethnicity – The myth of Athenian aboriginality – The Common Good in the light of cultural stereotyping: Greeks versus Barbarians Central places and early agencies advancing the Common Good for Hellas: The sanctuaries of Delphi and Olympia – Delphi as the symbolic center of Hellas – The Council of the Greek tribes at Delphi – Olympia’s role in pan-Hellenism as the Common Good of all Greeks – The Council of elder women at Olympia The Common Good as political practice: The Athenian model of democratic governance – The Common Good as reflected in the pragmatic-political framework set up by Cleisthenes in his reforms – The manifestation of the Common Good as self-administration and self-determination in the village communities (“demes”) – Athenian democracy: Who shared in the advantages of the Common Good? 4. Plato’s idealization of the Common Good as valuable knowledge Mythical trails of knowledge-retrieval from the past – Knowledge-construction in pre-Socratic philosophy and its transmission to Plato’s world of ideas – Retrieving ancient knowledge from mystery cults Anchoring the Common Good: Agents of divine law in the service of communitarianism The pursuit of happiness and the measure of goodness in its relation with virtue and beauty The Common Good as an overarching maxim in a system of cultural values 5. Plato’s demands for the materialization of the Common Good Plato’s metaphor of the charioteer steering toward goodness and virtue Sacrifice for the Common Good: Protecting the community from outside threats Education for safeguarding the Common Good: The selection of instructive myths to teach the young generation The Common Good for all: Blindfolded justice as a key to gender equality – The heroïne in mythical genealogies – The dream of perfect orderliness – Partnership of the sexes in the light of blindfolded justice Epilogue: The Common Good – Contested perspectives of community life Bibliography Figures Appendices Appendix I: The myth of the Sun (“Republic” 507 ff.) Appendix II: Plato’s dream (1756) Indices