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Western Political Thought

Notes principle. They identified totally with the city state, without distinguishing their own interests
from those of the community. It was inconceivable for them to think of an existence without or in
opposition to it. The motivation was natural, as it was in Henry Maine’s criticism of Austin’s
theory of sovereignty. The basic precondition for freedom for Hegel was the existence of two
qualities (the capacity for critical insight, and reflection), and since the Greeks lacked it, their
realization of freedom was only partial.
In understanding this true basis of freedom, Socrates played a pioneering role. He symbolized the
spirit of the Greek god Apollo, “Man, know thyself. Socratic dialogues were a reflection of this
spirit of free enquiry, in which Socrates gave his own views in contrast to those of others, on
subjects like “good”, “just” or “education”. In each one of them, the customary belief or common-
sense tenets were questioned by critical reasoning. “This critical reflection makes reason, not
social custom the final judge of right and wrong”.
Socrates’ revolutionary appeal against the ideological basis of the Athenian state was highlighted
by Hegel. From the perspective of the Athenian state, the death sentence against Socrates was an
essential and correct act, as his critical reasoning eroded the basic foundation of the existence of
the state and commonality based on customary morality. The death of Socrates, argued Hegel, did
not, however, put an end to the dialectics which had taken firm intellectual roots. As a result, the
executioners were seen as villains and Socrates emerged as a hero, though a tragic one. Hegel also
added that the independent line of thinking that Socrates encouraged led to the subsequent downfall
of Athens and the collapse of the city states.
The achievement of the Greeks was their essential homogeneity, and this stood in sharp contrast
to the Roman Empire, which was heterogeneous and diverse. There was neither a natural patriarchy
as in the Orient, nor a customary bond of the Greeks which enforced strict discipline, backed by
force, among them. The Roman Empire resembled the oriental world more than the Greek one, but
that was only in appearance. Hegel had tremendous respect for Aristotle, whom he looked upon
as a kindred spirit. Contrasting Plato with Aristotle, he pointed out that while Plato laid down the
general in abstract form as a principle, in Aristotle thought became concrete.
Hegel’s philosophy of history was based on the assumption that the process had to be interpreted
dialectically, which made going back to an earlier situation impossible. There was also a progressive
side of history, though it was never smooth and even. As such, there were bound to be differences
between the earlier experience of the Persians and the later development of the Romans. The
Socratic notion of critical judgement was not relegated to history, and the Roman constitution and
legal system sanctioned individual rights as one of the basic precepts. This was the basic difference
between the Persian and the Roman Empires. But even in the Roman Empire, such guarantees
formed the “abstract freedom of the individual as the real freedom based on diversity of ideas
reflecting concrete individuality” was never allowed by the brutal power of Rome. This led to
constant tension between an absolutist state power and the spirit of individual freedom, which
made the Roman civilization an unhappy one. The true spirit of the Greeks was replaced by
enforced conformity, which meant a retreat from the public to the private domain, leading to the
non-political philosophies of Stoicism, Epicureanism and Skepticism. These diverse philosophies
were based on the negation of the real world by avoiding affluence, political power and glory,
substituting them with utter indifference to such values. These philosophies of withdrawal arose
out of helplessness in influencing the political process. This negative response by itself was not
enough, and a more positive solution emerged from the rise of Christianity. The difference between
animals and humans was that the former lived only in a natural world, whereas human beings
had a spiritual side to their existence. When the natural world of material surroundings became an
impediment to their urge for freedom, a positive response emerged, as it happened with the rise
of Christianity during Roman rule.

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