POL200Y1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Real Drive, Total War, Graham T. Allison
General in Peloponnesian War
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5th Century BC (499-400)
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Greece invaded Persian empire --> victory
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'to protect from other invasions'
▪
Athenians imposed power over Greek islanders
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Cannot behave as imperialistically as Athens
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Spartans were land-based power
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Desire to be useful to understand politics for all time --> illuminate
human nature
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Set of judgments about human nature
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Critique of political regime (open democratic society - Athens, closed
hierarchal - Sparta)
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Comments regarding justice
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Pessimistic view of human nature
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Power: walls, ships, liquid money --> self aggrandizement
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Quest for honour, status, wealth
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Thucydides instead saw progress: technology, power
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History: decline from birth of world - life is full of work, iron
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Thucydides
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Plague: warfare is a plague on Greek society
i.
15: for this war is the greatest war ever, but greatest in suffering.
Causes suffering through casualties and of harm to society
P.
breakdown of politics is casualty of warfare, can be likened to a
plague
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War among brothers, kin, ethnic class
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Ex: Greek united against Persians: unity, religion, history,
kinship --> share ethnicity
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Diagnosis of War
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Discover relation between unchanging human nature and political
action
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Possible to reshape human passion to create peace?
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Does politics / society need walls? Island mentality?
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Diagnosis of breakdown
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To understand human nature, must look at politics --> history
is the best way to look at human nature
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Purpose is to be judged useful
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Distinguishes his work form other writers because they are self-
indulgent - use pleasurable words, stories
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His account is purely truthful
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Real drive of history is search for power and how it is used
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Differs from Homer - criticizes for presenting Agamemnon wrongly -
supreme leader because most powerful (has the most ships) not
because of suitors, Hellen of Troy, etc.
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Athenians listened to their leaders, presenting nonsense - don't
actually understand political reality
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12: people get the past wrong - ignorance of past meant that
Pages 12 and 13
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Lecture 1.2: Thucydides' On Justice, pages 1-58
September 22, 2016
5:44 PM
LECTURE Page 2
Document Summary
Desire to be useful to understand politics for all time --> illuminate human nature. Critique of political regime (open democratic society - athens, closed hierarchal - sparta) Power: walls, ships, liquid money --> self aggrandizement. History: decline from birth of world - life is full of work, iron. 15: for this war is the greatest war ever, but greatest in suffering. Causes suffering through casualties and of harm to society i. Plague: warfare is a plague on greek society breakdown of politics is casualty of warfare, can be likened to a plague. Ex: greek united against persians: unity, religion, history, kinship --> share ethnicity. Discover relation between unchanging human nature and political action. To understand human nature, must look at politics --> history is the best way to look at human nature. Distinguishes his work form other writers because they are self- indulgent - use pleasurable words, stories.
