Book contents
- Homer and the Tradition of Political Philosophy
- Homer and the Tradition of Political Philosophy
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1 The Contest between Homer and Plato and the Homeric Education on the Gods
- 2 The Homeric Education in Human Excellence
- 3 Plato’s Critique of the Homeric Education
- 4 Homer and Machiavelli on Education and Human Excellence
- 5 Nietzsche on the Contest between Homer and Plato
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
Conclusion
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 18 August 2022
- Homer and the Tradition of Political Philosophy
- Homer and the Tradition of Political Philosophy
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1 The Contest between Homer and Plato and the Homeric Education on the Gods
- 2 The Homeric Education in Human Excellence
- 3 Plato’s Critique of the Homeric Education
- 4 Homer and Machiavelli on Education and Human Excellence
- 5 Nietzsche on the Contest between Homer and Plato
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
A study of Homer in conjunction with Plato, Machiavelli, and Nietzsche confirms that Homer was a philosophic thinker and that he plays an illuminating role in the thought of each of the three political philosophers. This study also shows that there are many ways of living a philosophic life; that philosophers may present themselves in different guises depending on the political, religious, and intellectual circumstances they may find themselves in; that their most fundamental choice is whether or not to present themselves explicitly as philosophers; and that therefore we must broaden our understanding of who a philosopher is beyond those who explicitly present themselves as philosophers and consider the possibility that a number of poets, statesmen, historians, and even theologians of the past may also be philosophers in their own right.
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- Homer and the Tradition of Political PhilosophyEncounters with Plato, Machiavelli, and Nietzsche, pp. 306 - 308Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2022