Antiquity and Middle Ages Flashcards
(33 cards)
1
Q
What is the Shield of Achilles?
A
- shield on which 2 cities are portrayed (city of peace and city of war)
- in the peaceful city there’s a trial
- participants: plaintiff, defendant, elders, judge, public
- justice (trial) done in the public square, ensuring transparency and communal validation
- trials resolve disputes avoiding war
- trials signify transition from society of revenge to civil society
2
Q
Main concepts of law in Homer.
A
- homeric society follows unwritten laws
- responsability for vilation of the laws is collective
- sanctions enforced by injured party are legal duty to divine will
- justice is rooted in shared values
- WILL - laws originate from the divine will
- THEMIS - sacred and social rules, that are revealed by God are followed by the society
- SANCTION - divine retributions
3
Q
What is the transition from Homer to Hesiod?
A
- Homerian epic was only oral, Hesiod’s is written
- Homer told stories centered on the heroe and his actions
- Hesiod focuses even on more absract concepts without centering the point on a concrete person
- Hesiod law and justice is secularised (Zeus only oversees justice, but doesn’t primarily impose it)
- Hesiod’s justice is centered around humans and their individual actions
4
Q
Fable of the hawk and the nightingale.
A
- fable by Hesiod to guve a warning to rulers
- it is considered ti be the first fable of Western culture
- nightingale acknowledges his weaknest towards the hawk, however he keeps signing - metaphor for demanding justice even in the weaker position
- message - arrogance harms even the strongest; kings are responsibke for the (un)happiness of their people; good king has to respect justice; the one who does evel to others does also evil to themselves
5
Q
Hesiods rules for society.
A
- justice relies on ‘right speech’ (honest, unbiasted, free from corruption judgements)
- respect for others (honesty and reciprocity are central)
- hard work (labour is moral duty)
- trust is at the basis of a society (enabling cooperation, stable order)
6
Q
What is the context of Oresteia?
A
- Oresteia is a tragedy (with 3 parts) written by Aeschylus
- it was wirtten during a period of instability and uncertainty (Persian wars)
- it reflects the social shift from oligarchy to democracy
- Aeschyles tries to reconcile old order with the new democratic one (family based vengeange is replaced with democratic trial)
7
Q
Key themes in Oresteia.
A
- transition from revenge to justice (revenging crime used to be a family responsability, there was an endless cycle of revenge; Athena breaks the cycle by creating legal system with impartial judges, responsibility of punishment is transferred to the state)
- dividine vs. human authority (Gods dominate human affairs, bu the set-up of a trial signals gradual empowernment of humans)
- intergenetational conflicts (conflicts between generations; also between generations of gods (furies vs. Apollo and Athena); male and female dynamics - female character results reconciling)
8
Q
Principles of justice in Oresteia.
A
- dike (justice) which changes its meaning during the play (in the first two parts dike means revenge, however in the third part it changes its meaning to judicial justice
- trial is a discoursive process involving the confrontation of opposing opinions; persuasion plays a crucial role
- positive role of rhetorics - fosters oeace and reconciliation rather than manipulation
9
Q
Conflicts in Antigone
A
- Nomos vs. Nomina (nomos - positive law, embodies state authority); (nomina - unwritten law, upholds timeless customs and moral obligations)
- Individual vs. State (Creon argues that state law is necessary for order and that general welfare should exceed personal interests; Antigone holds by family duty and moral obligations, defying positive law)
- Gender dynamics (conflict in patrialchel society, where women are not taken seriously; Antigone challenging patrialchal order challneges it)
- Generation conflict (younger generation arguing for compasion and moral obligations; older generation imposing strict rule)
10
Q
Key interactions in Antigone
A
- Antigone and Ismene
- Antigone and Creon
- Creon and Elders
- Creon and Haemon
- Creon and Tiresias
11
Q
Antigone’s interactions
A
Antigone and Ismene
* Ismene is her sister and tried to persuade Antigone not to break the royal decree
* Ismene conforms with social norms and pressure and is scared of the consequences
* Antigone is resolute in her decison, but does not try to convince Ismene of her truth, simply states her opinion
Antigone and Creon
* Creon confronts Antigone with violating his royal decree
* Antigone takes all the responsability
* Antigone cities and bases her action on divine justice and moral obligations towards family
* Creon bases his authority on his position as a ruler and his norms
* Creon sees Antigone’s defiance as a threath to state stability and his masculinity
12
Q
Creon’s interactions
A
- Creon with Elders
- Creon defends his position, argumenting for his adtions
- he decides based on reason and good government and not on moral principles
- Creon and Haemon
- Haemon appeals for Antigone’s life urging Creon for compassion over rigid authority
- Creon sees in Heamon’s argumentation insubordination and challenge to his authrity as a father an ruler
* Creon and Tiresias - Tiresias is a wise men and accuses Creon of overstepping his boundaries
- Creon revokes his sgecree based on couese of events and not because he changed his mind
13
Q
Dialogue in Antigone
A
- in Antigone dialogues represent the failure of dialogue
- there is no actual dialogue, because neither Creon nor Antigone are willing to change their mind - instead of talking to each other, they talk just to themselves
- for there to be a dialogue parties need to be open to change their opinions
- Antigone highlights the challenges of resolving a deep disagreement between parties
14
Q
What is persuation in Plato?
A
- criticised Sophist (believed that truth does not exist and used persuation from manipulation)
- criticised dualistic ontology (rejects absolute opposites; non-being is a way of being, not its opposite; opposite coexist and complement each other)
- truth and opinion are interconnected (truth is dynamic and emerges from dialectics, every opinon has always a part of true)
- persuation is achieved through reasoned argument
15
Q
What is justice for Plato?
A
- everyday justice (secondary) = fairness and equal distribution
- primary justice = perfection of soul, complete virtue
- justice in a state - ideal state consists of
1. rulers (educated to know the truth)
2. soldiers (exhibit strenght and bravery)
3. producers (fulifilling societal needs) - virtues necessary for just society - wisdom, courage, moderation
- city-soul analogy (societies harmony reflects balanced soul of an individual; justice occurs when rational part regulates the spirited and rational parts of the soul)
16
Q
What is law for Plato?
A
- at the foundation of law there is reason
- law must guide behaviour
- metaphor of fabric - there is an interconnection between law and society; law must balance flexibility with adaptability
- laws interact with morality and society, they are not isolated
- good laws promote justice and common good (ruler is like a doctor prescribing law’s as remedies to establish society’s well-being)
17
Q
What are Aristotle’s definitions of justice?
A
- legal justice (nominum) - compliance with law, following laws is virtuous if they promote societal welfare
- equality and proportionality - equitable distribution of goods and honours, benefits based on merits and contributions
- general virtue - holistic virtue encompassing all individual virtues, reflects harmony and completeness of character
- particular virtue - one of classical varitues (prudence, temperance, fortitude, justice)
- political virtue - civic responsability at all levels of citizenship, citizens’s virtues contribute to the wellbeing of political community
18
Q
Types of justice according to Aristotle.
A
- distributive justice - geometric equality, proportional allocation of resources, ensures fair treament based on merit and contribution
- commutative justice - arithmetic equality, fairness in individual transaction, rectification of imbalances in exchanges or agreements
19
Q
Concord - original view
A
- concept originated in ancient Greece
- foundation of society, harmony and unity
- goes beyond agreement, involving shared thought, feelings and cooperative actions
- sophist Gorgias - cultural unity for internal stability and strenght against external enemies
- sophist Antiphone - true concord arises from recognising the natural equality of all humans
- Aristotle - shared values and natural equality, concord relies on shared actions and values, concord is a matter of political friendship (mutual trust)
20
Q
Concord - modern view.
A
- Thomas Hobbes - concord is a pragmatic agreement, individuals give up their freedom for peace and security; concord is obedience to authority
- John Locke - concord involves respect for mutual rights, emphasises peaceful coexistence (rather than action)
- John Rawls - modern society is marked by plurality; concord arises through overlapping consensus on shared principles (like justice)
21
Q
Aristotle’s definition of polis.
A
- society of citizens working together for common good
- self-sufficient society meeting both daily and non-daily needs
- enables citizens to live well and achieve happiness
- parnership for common good - members share values and goals, striving for collective wellbeing
- polis is a natural development for humans, enabling full realisation of human potential
- polis is a society full of equals (unlike in family, which is hierarchical)
22
Q
Rhetorics according to Aristotle.
A
- rhetoric is the art of speaking and persuadinf effectively
- effective persuation requires the combination of ethos, pathos and logos
- ethos = speaker’s credibility, authoruty, moral charm
- pathos = appeal to emotions to persuade audience
- logos = logical appealing, relying on evidence and reasoning
- rhetoric is a matter of well-listening, not well-speaking; listener is central to rhetoric
23
Q
Aristotle’s virtue ethics.
A
- virtue is the ability to perform actions in the best possible way
- virtue lies between 2 extremes
- ETHICAL Virtues - character virtues, develop through habits and practice, arise from the part of soul without reason
- DIANOETHIC Virtues - intellectual virtues, developed through education and intellectual activity
1. Episteme (scientific knowledge)
2. Nous (understanding) - grasping general pricniples
3. Sophia (wisdom) - combines episteme and nous to understand ultimate thruths about world
4. Techne (art) - practical knowledge applied to produce
5. Phronesis (prudence) - ability to make good decisions in practical situations
24
Q
What is happiness according to Aristotle?
A
- happiness is defined only at the end of one’s life
- happiness is a well-lived life
- elements need for happiness:
1. friendship
2. theoretical life
3. polis
4. external conditions
25
General elements of Roman philosphy.
* focused on practical matters
* jurisprudence is considered to be Roman creation
* contributed to the development of:
1. natural law
2. social contract theory
3. ethical foundation of law
26
Lucreziu's social contract theory.
* state of nature (humans lived like wild animals in chaos and disordination)
* social contract (natural agreement since over time people recognised that they need order to avoid extintion; voluntary pact to ensure peace and submit to the rule of law; ongoing process; breaking pact would mean going back to chaos)
* civil state (laws arise from necessity; pactum unionis (base of society); pacum subordinationis (individuals are subordinate to the rule of law)
27
Seneca's social contract theory.
* state of nature - Golden Age; wise men ruled and ensured peace and protection of the weak; people lived harmoniously using natural resources and avoiding conflict
* laws - the need for laws arose because of the emergence of greed, tyranny and poverty; laws are rules focused on regulating governance rather than human behaviour
* civil state - emerged from the need to escape tyranny, not from the natural condition itself; voluntary organisation
28
Key elements of Cicero's philosophy.
* considered to be the first philosopher of law
* decorum = good manners, composure; alingment between internal values and public actions; nature itself indicates decorum
* natural law = universal, unchanging across time and space; derived from divine reason; links reason, nature and divinity into unified concept
* acting against ntural law is rejecting human nature
* naturalistic fallacy (deriving prescriptions from nature)
29
Types of law according to Saint Thomas Acquinas.
1. **Lex Aeterna** - rationality of the universe created by God, God's plan encompassing everything; most comprehensive and universal; cannot be fully comprehended by humans; partly can be rationally understood through natural and divine law
2. **Lex Naturalis** - part of eternal law accessible through reason; every rational human can access it (even non-believers)
3. **Lex Divina** - eternal law revealed through Bible and faith; aims at salvation of souls and guidance in supernatural life
4. **Lex Humana** - human-made law derived from natural law; has to conform to natural law; formation by
* *modus conclusionis* (logical deduction from rational principles)
* *modus determinationis* (specifies undeterminate aspects of natural law)
30
Dialectical method in Summa Theologie.
1. Title of the question (provocative)
2. Objections (against Thomas' opinion)
3. Sed Contra (in favour of Thomas' opinion)
4. Respondeo (detailed response and logical explanation)
5. Responses to objections
31
Key questions in Summa Theologiae
1. Does law belong to reason?
2. Is law ordered towards common good?
3. Does promulgation belong to the nature of law?
4. Does every human law stem from natural law?
32
Acquina's definition of positive law.
1. Law is an ordering of reason, it is grounded on rational principles.
2. Law is directed towards common good, emphasising that laws should serve the welfare of the community as a whole, not just individual interests.
3. Law must come from someone that cares for the community.
4. Law must be promulgated.
33
Principles of European legal civilisation in Oresteia.
- persuation (use of rhetorics has fundamental place in discussion)
- confrontation state (first thing in trial is the presentation of parties)
- adversarial principle (judgment can be issued only when all parties have been heard)
- appeal of pathos (arguments appeal to emotions)
- (un)expressed personal opinions (personal opinions of judges influnce the judgements)
