Moral and Theoretical Underpinnings of Political Life

Session Submission Type: Panel

Abstract

On this panel, the presenters will examine a series of political necessities that must be understood and respected in order for the political community to flourish. These issues are especially important to consider at this time in America’s political life. We’ll see in Plato’s Statesman, the importance of harmonizing manly and moderate types of human beings. A paper on Aristophanes’s Clouds, Birds, and Assemblywomen will investigate the limits of rationality in politics. A paper on Tocqueville’s Democracy in America will explore the reasons for accommodating pride in a modern liberal democracy. And a paper on Cicero’s On the Nature of the Gods will examine the possibility of replacing piety with science and philosophy.

Sub Unit

• Ancient & Medieval Political Theory

Chair

• Robert Bartlett, Boston College

Individual Presentations

• Statesmanship in light of the limits of political science - Linda Rabieh, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

• The Essential Irrationality of Political Life - Lisa Leibowitz, Kenyon College

• Pride and Ambition in Democracy in America - Dana Stauffer, University of Texas at Austin

• The Problem of Skepticism after Socrates: The Puzzle of Cicero's On the Nature of the Gods. - Carly Herold, SUNY Geneseo

Discussants

• Robert Bartlett, Boston College

• Ariel Helfer, Wayne State University