This article offers a philosophical reinterpretation of Homeric ethics by bringing into debate the opposing views of Peter J. Ahrensdorf, Richard Ruderman, and Darrell Dobbs. Ahrensdorf and Ruderman highlight the whimsical, capricious, selfish, and morally indifferent behavior of the Homeric gods. Given these divine flaws, humans lack perfect safeguards against calamities caused by fate (Moîra) and necessity or by their flawed judgments. For both authors, rational judgment serves as the most reliable antidote to suffering and destruction. Ruderman, in particular, interprets Homer as a defender of “enlightenment,” grounded in the rejection of false hopes on divine providence, which in the Homeric context is considered unreliable and untrustworthy. Blind faith in gods, he argued, indulges thymos, the most self-assertive innermost human longing that incites rampant anger, often culminating in hubris (extreme moral transgression). In contrast, Dobbs focuses on Homer’s Odyssey and defends a vision of reverence as morally stabilising. For him, rational action cannot guarantee morality and justice. More importantly, the instrumentality of rationalism can lead to recklessness and hubris.
Tag: theodosiadis
Dr. Michail Theodosiadis
Monograph – Ancient Greek Democracy and American Republicanism (2025)
Ancient Greek Democracy and American Republicanism explores the archetype of Prometheus in political theory, representing faith in human agency and self-governance. It borrows perspectives from Hannah Arendt and Christopher Lasch, tracing Promethean elements in the philosophy behind the ancient Athenian polis as well as in early American republican thought, which laid the foundations of the American Revolution and also of the Populist Movement during the nineteenth century.
The Pursuit of Cosmic Wisdom and ‘Promethean’ Leadership in the Pythagorean and Al-Fārābīan Political Philosophy
This study reflects on aspects of the Pythagorean political philosophy and compares them to those of Abu Nasr Muhammad al-Fārābī’s thought. Both share a key assumption: excellent rulers must be political scientists who seek divine guidance to ensure the prevalence of reason over passions in public life while reconciling society with the harmony and wisdom of the cosmos. By imitating God’s perfection and incorporating divine wisdom into governance, virtuous rulers promote felicity, prosperity and peace within a city. We highlight al-Fārābī’s emphasis on the role of religion in enabling citizens to internalize the wisdom of the cosmos, thereby minimising the need for coercion in the pursuit of order and social concord. In addition, the populace leverages the superior knowledge of each governor while observing their behaviour. Thus, the people have a share in the exercise of political power. This insistence on the involvement of the populace in politics aligns with the concept of ‘political Prometheism’.
Ἡ βαθειὰ ἀνθρωποκεντρικότητα τῆς λαϊκῆς εὐκοσμίας καὶ ἡ ἐλευθερία ὡς κάθαρση
Κύρια ἐπιδίωξη τοῦ φιλελευθερισμοῦ, κατὰ τὸν Bertrand Russell, εἶναι ἡ ἐξασφάλιση τῆς ἀτομικῆς ἐλευθερίας, ἡ ὁποία προϋποθέτει προστασία τῆς ἀτομικῆς ἰδιοκτησίας καὶ περιορισμὸ τῶν ἐξουσιῶν μιᾶς κυβέρνησης1 βάσει ἑνὸς συνόλου κανόνων κράτους δικαίου2 . Στὴ ρεπουμπλικανικὴ καὶ δημοκρατικὴ παράδοση, ὅπως ἐκφράζεται μέσα ἀπὸ τὴ σκέψη τῆς Hannah Arendt, ἡ ἐλευθερία ταυτίζεται μὲ τὴ συμμετοχὴ στὰ κοινὰ τῆς πόλεως3 . Πιὸ συγκεκριμένα, ἡ φιλελεύθερη κατανόηση τῆς ἐλευθερίας ὡς χειραφέτησης (ὡς liberation, μὲ βάση τὴν Arendt) ἀφορᾶ τὴν προστασία τοῦ ἀτόμου ἀπὸ τὶς αὐθαιρεσίες μιᾶς ἐξουσίας. Ἀπὸ τὴν ἄλλη, ἡ ρεπουμπλικανικὴ ἐλευθερία (γιὰ τὴν ὁποία ἡ Arendt χρησιμοποιεῖ τὴν ἀγγλικὴ λέξη freedom) δὲν σχετίζεται μὲ τὴν ἀποδέσμευση τοῦ ἀτόμου ἀπὸ ἐξουσιαστικοὺς περιορισμοὺς ἀλλὰ μὲ τὸν ἄνθρωπο ὡς πολιτικὸ ζῶο καὶ ἐνεργὸ μέλος μιᾶς δημοκρατικῆς πόλεως.