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Full-Text Articles in Ancient Philosophy
In Defence Of The British Constitution: Theoretical Implications Of The Debate Over Athenian Democracy In Britain, 1770-1850, Kyriakos N. Demetriou
In Defence Of The British Constitution: Theoretical Implications Of The Debate Over Athenian Democracy In Britain, 1770-1850, Kyriakos N. Demetriou
Kyriakos N. Demetriou
Writing a history of ancient Greece, in periods of political turbulence and transition, involved the construction of an edifying platform for civil conduct. Britain, 1770-1850, was one such period. In examining Athenian democracy the British historians of the late eighteenth century, like William Mitford and John Gillies, found a convenient channel to articulate their private political preferences and antipathies, thereby accentuating the ideological antagonism of the post-revolutionary age. Athenian liberalism was deliberately drawn from oblivion only to be set as a constitutional example to avoid, whereas the merits of the mixed British constitution were distinctly exposed. The British Utilitarians, by …
The Development Of Platonic Studies In Britain And The Role Of The Utilitarians, Kyriakos N. Demetriou
The Development Of Platonic Studies In Britain And The Role Of The Utilitarians, Kyriakos N. Demetriou
Kyriakos N. Demetriou
The British utilitarians are not generally considered explorers of classical Greek thought. This paper examines the contribution of James Mill, John Stuart Mill, and George Grote to the development of Platonic studies in nineteenth-century Britain. Their understanding of Platonic philosophy challenged prevalent interpretations, and caused a fruitful debate over long neglected aspects of Plato's thought. Grote's Platonic analysis, which comes last in order of time, cannot, of course, be considered in isolation from the relevant debates in Germany. Grote, the erudite historian of ancient Greece, paid considerable attention to the arguments of the German classicists, put forward in many cases …