Thornton Ch 8 Conclusion-the critical spirit

  1. Thesis Questions:  Is this a golden age? Note [192] What is the good for a man? Or for a state? By what activity do humans fulfill themselves, and find happiness? Thornton answers on p. 192.  Does it meet your standard?  If so why? What is the function of gen ed requirements?  What do we do when we "discuss" an issue? The meaning of "analytic sorting" How to provide a coherent explanation?  To strip away false opinions.(e.g., reading the IDs of freshmen). And why is it valuable to do so?  To create definitions that withstand scrutiny.
  2. Development of the argument
    1. [188]. Greeks make everything they encountered an object of thought to be discussed and analyzed free from the constraints of religion and government. But was there also a readiness to act on those principles??  Cf. page 6.
    2. [189]. The role of speech.of discussion.of the dialectic (dialegesthai).
    3. Consider the implications of the  statement at the bottom of 189. "...all ancient societies kept slaves, but no other said. nature created no one a slave; all ancient societies subjected women to subordinate roles, yet Greeks put on the stage magnificent women -intelligent, courageous, morally superior. all ancient societies made war on their neighbors, but only the Greeks publicly sympathized (empathy) with the suffering of their enemies."
    4. [193]. The paradox of human identity. the Cassandra complex. the dissident who speaks the truth and suffers for it; the paradoxical clash between the individual and the society that forms him/her.
    5. Greeks recognized limits of what can be known. Bacchae. reason / the mind does not have the power.