Platonic Cosmopolitanism
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PLATONIC COSMOPOLITANISM A Dissertation by DANIEL VINCENT BETTI Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY August 2010 Major Subject: Political Science PLATONIC COSMOPOLITANISM A Dissertation by DANIEL VINCENT BETTI Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Approved by: Chair of Committee, Cary J. Nederman Committee Members, Scott Austin Robert Harmel Diego A. von Vacano Head of Department, James R. Rogers August 2010 Major Subject: Political Science iii ABSTRACT Platonic Cosmopolitanism. (August 2010) Daniel Vincent Betti, B.A., Mary Washington College Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. Cary J. Nederman What is the content of a meaningful cosmopolitan theory? Contemporary cosmopolitanism offers numerous global theories of liberalism, democracy, republicanism, and postmodernism, but is there anything of the “cosmos” or “polis” within them? I argue these theories, though global, are not cosmopolitan. Ancient Greek philosophy holds a more meaningful, substantive conception of cosmopolitanism. From Homer to the Stoics and Cynics, ancient Greece was a hotbed for thinking beyond the confines of local tradition and convention. These schools of thought ventured to find universal understandings of humanity and political order. Conceiving of the world as a beautiful order, a cosmos, they sought a beautiful order for the association of human beings. Within that tradition is the unacknowledged legacy of Platonic cosmopolitanism. Rarely do political philosophers find cosmopolitan themes in the dialogues of Plato. Correcting this omission, I argue that Plato’s dialogues, from the early through the late, comprise a cosmopolitan journey: an attempt to construct a polis according to an understanding of the cosmos. The early dialogues address questions of piety, justice, iv and righteous obedience. More than that, they inquire into why a good man, Socrates, is persecuted in his city for nothing more than being a dutiful servant of the gods and his city. The middle dialogues construct a true cosmopolis, a political association in harmony with the natural laws of the world. Furthermore, they explain why those who know how to construct such a polis live best in such arrangements. In the late dialogues, Plato revises his political plans to accord with a more developed understanding of cosmic and human nature. Platonic cosmopolitanism constructs a true polis according to the beautiful order of the cosmos. Such a feat of philosophy is remarkable in the Greek tradition, and inspires contemporaries to rethink their own conception of what is truly cosmopolitan versus merely global. v DEDICATION To my parents: tens of thousands of dollars spent on twenty-five years of schooling and now you have to read this dissertation. Was it really worth it? At least you can tell people your son is a doctor… (sure, a Doctor of Philosophy!) To all: Don’t store your treasures upon the earth, with moth and rust, where thieves break in and steal, for we live in but a shadow of the real- Mt. 6:19 vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my committee, Drs. Cary Nederman, Diego von Vacano, Robert Harmel, and Scott Austin for their time and effort in this endeavor. Surely, I would not have reached this point without the help of my colleagues at Texas A&M University, especially the political theorists. Phil Gray, Jesse Chupp, Sarah Jordan, Roberto Loureiro, Hassan Bashir showed me the ropes in my first years. When I thought it could not be done, they proved it could. All of you at the unnamed Political Theory Group, Christie Maloyed, Mary Beth Sullivan, Ted Brown, Peyton Wofford, Mike Burnside, Brad Goodine, and Megan Dyer, thanks for all the help. Aristotle might say (and even be right!) that only a god or beast could survive graduate school alone. Special thanks to my cohort for making the early years passable and to all my friends in the department. Finally, I must thank Debra Nails and Jason Davidson. Professor Nails set me on this course when I enrolled in her Philosophy 100 course at Mary Washington College back in the spring of 2000. Honestly, I only took the class to fulfill the writing and speaking general education requirements. Who knew I would find Plato so interesting! And yet, a decade later, I have only begun to finish what I started in that classroom. For his part, Professor Davidson encouraged me to be a standout in the classroom and to pursue graduate school. Without his encouragement, I doubt I would have considered graduate school; without his assistance, I doubt my applications would have been accepted. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT.................................................................................................................... iii DEDICATION ................................................................................................................ v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................ vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................ vii CHAPTER I AN INTRODUCTION TO COSMOPOLITANISM ....................................... 1 Contemporary Cosmopolitan Thought.................................................... 1 Cosmos and Polis.................................................................................... 4 Platonic Cosmopolitanism....................................................................... 6 II CONTEMPORARY COSMOPOLITANISM ................................................. 11 On Modern Cosmopolitanisms................................................................ 11 The History of Cosmopolitanism............................................................ 36 III ANCIENT GREEK COSMOPOLITANISM................................................... 39 Ancient Cosmopolitanism....................................................................... 39 The Universal Order in Homer................................................................ 40 Orphism and Pythagoreanism................................................................. 44 Cynic Cosmopolitanism.......................................................................... 51 Stoic Cosmopolitanism........................................................................... 57 Platonic Cosmic Ethics............................................................................ 62 Conclusion............................................................................................... 65 IV THE EARLY DIALOGUES............................................................................ 69 The Historical Socrates........................................................................... 69 The Early Dialogues as Investigation...................................................... 75 Conclusion............................................................................................... 99 V THE MIDDLE DIALOGUES.......................................................................... 104 Philosophy and the Cosmopolis.............................................................. 104 viii Page CHAPTER The Philosopher-Citizen.......................................................................... 133 Epilogue.................................................................................................. 134 VI THE LATE DIALOGUES............................................................................... 139 Cosmological and Political Reform........................................................ 139 The Philosopher-Lawgiver...................................................................... 164 Epilogue.................................................................................................. 169 VII CONCLUSION................................................................................................ 172 Contemporary Cosmopolitanism............................................................. 173 Ancient Greek Cosmopolitanism............................................................ 174 Platonic Cosmopolitanism....................................................................... 176 The Future of Cosmopolitanism.............................................................. 181 REFERENCES................................................................................................................ 182 VITA ............................................................................................................................... 205 1 CHAPTER I AN INTRODUCTION TO COSMOPOLITANISM Contemporary Cosmopolitan Thought Cosmopolitanism as a topic of study is rising to the forefront of political theory. One can find any number of books and articles generically titled “Cosmopolitan Democracy,” “Liberal Cosmopolitanism,” or even “Global Liberalism.” 1 The very titles are the first clue something is wrong in the literature of cosmopolitanism, as “cosmopolitan” and “global” appear to be mere synonyms. In fact, the terms “cosmopolitan” and “global” correspond to a political system that encompasses the entire human population- everyone on the planet Earth. Is that all the term “cosmopolitan” conveys, a political system for entire the population of the globe? One can make a joke and ponder whether humanity will need “galactic” political theory to replace its cosmopolitanism once a colony is established