Ancient Greek Political Thought: Sophists and Plato’s Vision
The Sophists: Education and Political Thought
The Sophists are recognized as the originators of a conscious conception of education. Their educational philosophy had a clear orientation towards the use of critical thinking and personal skills for practical purposes, though this did not exhaust their broader view of education.
From an early age, children in Athens listened to the exploits of gods and heroes from the lips of a slave mother or nanny. This informal instruction was primarily moral in nature, aiming to create a foundation for future intellectual development. Initially, children internalized models of virtue and beauty. Then, at the appropriate age, they went to school led by a paidagogos, a trusted slave. There, they learned order, discipline, as well as reading, writing, and playing the lyre, and perfected their bodies through exercise. This marked a successful attempt to introduce a degree of formality into teaching and training, which was not merely due to chance or stimulated only by a commitment to pay.
In a fragment from Antiphon’s On Concord, it reads: “The first thing for men, I think, is education, because if someone starts something correctly, it is almost certain that its outcome will be excellent. As the planting, so the harvesting must be. And if the seed of true training is deposited in a young body, it lives and flourishes throughout its existence, and no rain or drought can destroy it.”
Protagoras and Social Responsibility in Education
Protagoras did not merely articulate these ideas in a speech. We know that Pericles entrusted him with the task of drafting a constitution for the newly created colony of Thurii in southern Italy. Protagoras defined a democracy that ensured the existence and preservation of the middle class. However, the crux of that constitution was the addition of a new concept of social responsibility in education.
The basic charter created by Protagoras established compulsory schooling for all children of citizens, financed entirely by the State. Through this, Protagoras effectively countered the usual accusation of contempt for the common good. His discourse on the needs of the polis and citizenship education is evidence we cannot overlook. He emphasized the need to design a structure for living and build a true community that welcomes everyone in their particularity, within the framework of the common good. This was certainly a central concern of his political thought.
The historian Thucydides recounts that Pericles, when defining the constitution of Athens, included as a central aspect the obligation to strictly respect the law, allowing each person to live as they wish without harming others.
Plato’s Vision: Ideal State and Justice
Politics was a major concern for Plato. He wanted to participate in public life in Athens and three times attempted to implement his ideal political system in Sicily, but failed in all cases.
In his analysis of Athens and Socrates, Plato identified two fundamental flaws: the incompetence and ignorance of politicians, and the struggles between oligarchic and democratic factions that allowed group interests to prevail over the needs of the state. All his efforts were directed towards projecting a political reform.
Considering democracy and tyranny as the cause of Athens’ ills, and attributing these to the relativism and skepticism of the Sophists, Plato sought to ground the polis and its institutions in the eternal order of being. That is, an order of principles to be discovered and then taught.
The Republic: Justice and the Division of Labor
In The Republic, Plato explains his conception of the social and political ideal. Based on a definition of justice that he considered unsatisfactory, he proposed an analysis of what constitutes a just man and a just city to arrive at a satisfactory definition of justice.
He states that the city appears to satisfy the complex needs of man, since no one can be self-sufficient. The division of labor is thus the basis of all civilization. Basic human needs are food, housing, and clothing; therefore, the existence of farmers and artisans is required. Trade and money appear, and other needs arise.