Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
  1. Home
  2. Books
  3. The Origins of Democratic Thinking
  • Cited by 92
Publisher:
Cambridge University Press
Online publication date:
October 2009
Print publication year:
1988
Online ISBN:
9780511552489
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511552489
Subjects:
Classical Studies, Politics: General Interest, Classical Literature, Politics and International Relations
Information

Book description

The ancient Greeks invented democracy. They also invented political theory. This book seeks to show that these were not unrelated achievements. The development of political theory accompanied the growth of democracy at Athens in the fifth century BC. By analysing the writings of Protagoras the sophist, Thucydides the historian, and Democritus the cosmologist in the context of political developments and speculation about the universe, Dr Farrar reveals the existence of a distinctive approach to the characterisation of democratic order, and in doing so demonstrates the virtues of Thucydides' historical conception of politics. Thucydides' history is shown to be an argument for the political force of historical judgement.

Reviews

‘This is an intellectually committed work, informed by a wide and reflective reading in political and ethical theory, Greek history and literature, and ancient philosophy. It will be an indispensable text for anyone attempting to get to grips with either the sophists or Greek political thought.’

Source: Phronesis

Refine List

Actions for selected content:

Select all | Deselect all
  • View selected items
  • Export citations
  • Download PDF (zip)
  • Save to Kindle
  • Save to Dropbox
  • Save to Google Drive

Save Search

You can save your searches here and later view and run them again in "My saved searches".

Please provide a title, maximum of 40 characters.
Cancel
×

Contents

Contents

Metrics

Full text views

Total number of HTML views: 0
Total number of PDF views: 0 *
Loading metrics...

Book summary page views

Total views: 0 *
Loading metrics...

* Views captured on Cambridge Core between #date#. This data will be updated every 24 hours.

Usage data cannot currently be displayed.