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from Part II - Thought Experiments and the Power of Context
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 June 2021
Shakespeare’s thought experiment in the play Julius Caesar is focused on the power of context and the continuation of individual behavior through the influence of context. The readiness of the springboard to dictatorship meant that the conditions were ready for Julius Caesar or another potential dictator to spring to power. The conspirators correctly judged Julius Caesar to be a potential dictator who would bring an end to the Roman Republic. Brutus and the other conspirators made the mistake of assuming that by killing Caesar they had saved the republic and avoided dictatorship. But in terms of personality characteristics, Caesar was only one of a number of potential dictators who could take advantage of the springboard to dictatorship. Eliminating Caesar without changing the context simply created space and new opportunities for other potential dictators to spring to power. The civil war that followed the assassination of Caesar bled into the collapse of the republic; context shaped the kind of leadership that rose to govern Rome.
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