On the Borders of Ancient Greek History: Karatani and Isonomy
In his studies on world history, Kojin Karatani suggests that in the 6th -5th centuries BC, Ionia had isonomy (no rule), a model of a nomadic society based on freedom ofmovement that he argues to currently be an obsolete form of government, while Athens had been governed by democracy at that same pe...
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Istanbul University Press
2023-06-01
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| Series: | Felsefe Arkivi |
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| Online Access: | https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/48086142BABA4AD2B74E38E1DE1D2F1A |
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| author | Şilan Kesler |
| author_facet | Şilan Kesler |
| author_sort | Şilan Kesler |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In his studies on world history, Kojin Karatani suggests that in the 6th -5th centuries BC, Ionia had isonomy (no rule), a model of a nomadic society based on freedom ofmovement that he argues to currently be an obsolete form of government, while Athens had been governed by democracy at that same period. By placing this radical comparison within a certain framework in his own theory of modes of exchange, Karatani asserts Socrates to have been the last representative of isonomy, while his student Plato had acquired the idea of the philosopher-king from the Pythagoreans and defended this idea through Socrates in the dialogue of his Republic. In order to justify this claim, Karatani tries to read the philosophical relationship between Socrates and Plato by bringing Socrates closer to Ionian philosophy and Plato closer to Pythagoras, thus separating these two philosophers. This article will show isonomy, which could be used synonymously with democracy in various Ancient Greek sources such as Herodotus, to in fact be a polysemous conception and to constitute one of the guiding principles of democracy in Ancient Greek political history. According to Thucydides, one also encounters isonomy in oligarchic political regimes. In this case, however, oligarchies also appear to be isonomic to the extent that they resemble a model of democracy. This article will suggest the conclusion that isonomy, which Karatani uses in the sense of a form of government, had only occurred in Ioniait to be speculative, will examine Karatani’s justification for extending his project to Ionia, and will analyze the strategies he employs for this will. The paper argues that Karatani’s reading of Plato does not focus directly on the dialogue from the Republic but to instead focus on the dramatic transformations of the period. This paper will also argued that the way to understand how Plato, who discussed an isonomic political regime in Laws and Epistles, understood isonomy and democracy would be to look at the dialogue in the Republic, where he expresses the idea of the philosopher-king. Plato’s objection of democracy cannot be understood through his opposition to isonomy, nor did Plato make a sharp distinction between democracy and isonomy, as Karatani claims. In conclusion, this paper claims isonomy to be no separate form of government but rather a principle related to democracy. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4bac2cfca9ce4c2d845345af5750f0c2 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2667-7644 |
| language | deu |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | Istanbul University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Felsefe Arkivi |
| spelling | doaj-art-4bac2cfca9ce4c2d845345af5750f0c22025-08-20T03:52:33ZdeuIstanbul University PressFelsefe Arkivi2667-76442023-06-0158618810.26650/arcp.1202576123456On the Borders of Ancient Greek History: Karatani and IsonomyŞilan Kesler0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0850-9250Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar Üniversitesi, İstanbul, TürkiyeIn his studies on world history, Kojin Karatani suggests that in the 6th -5th centuries BC, Ionia had isonomy (no rule), a model of a nomadic society based on freedom ofmovement that he argues to currently be an obsolete form of government, while Athens had been governed by democracy at that same period. By placing this radical comparison within a certain framework in his own theory of modes of exchange, Karatani asserts Socrates to have been the last representative of isonomy, while his student Plato had acquired the idea of the philosopher-king from the Pythagoreans and defended this idea through Socrates in the dialogue of his Republic. In order to justify this claim, Karatani tries to read the philosophical relationship between Socrates and Plato by bringing Socrates closer to Ionian philosophy and Plato closer to Pythagoras, thus separating these two philosophers. This article will show isonomy, which could be used synonymously with democracy in various Ancient Greek sources such as Herodotus, to in fact be a polysemous conception and to constitute one of the guiding principles of democracy in Ancient Greek political history. According to Thucydides, one also encounters isonomy in oligarchic political regimes. In this case, however, oligarchies also appear to be isonomic to the extent that they resemble a model of democracy. This article will suggest the conclusion that isonomy, which Karatani uses in the sense of a form of government, had only occurred in Ioniait to be speculative, will examine Karatani’s justification for extending his project to Ionia, and will analyze the strategies he employs for this will. The paper argues that Karatani’s reading of Plato does not focus directly on the dialogue from the Republic but to instead focus on the dramatic transformations of the period. This paper will also argued that the way to understand how Plato, who discussed an isonomic political regime in Laws and Epistles, understood isonomy and democracy would be to look at the dialogue in the Republic, where he expresses the idea of the philosopher-king. Plato’s objection of democracy cannot be understood through his opposition to isonomy, nor did Plato make a sharp distinction between democracy and isonomy, as Karatani claims. In conclusion, this paper claims isonomy to be no separate form of government but rather a principle related to democracy.https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/48086142BABA4AD2B74E38E1DE1D2F1Ai̇sonomydemocracyexchangeathensionia |
| spellingShingle | Şilan Kesler On the Borders of Ancient Greek History: Karatani and Isonomy Felsefe Arkivi i̇sonomy democracy exchange athens ionia |
| title | On the Borders of Ancient Greek History: Karatani and Isonomy |
| title_full | On the Borders of Ancient Greek History: Karatani and Isonomy |
| title_fullStr | On the Borders of Ancient Greek History: Karatani and Isonomy |
| title_full_unstemmed | On the Borders of Ancient Greek History: Karatani and Isonomy |
| title_short | On the Borders of Ancient Greek History: Karatani and Isonomy |
| title_sort | on the borders of ancient greek history karatani and isonomy |
| topic | i̇sonomy democracy exchange athens ionia |
| url | https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/48086142BABA4AD2B74E38E1DE1D2F1A |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT silankesler onthebordersofancientgreekhistorykarataniandisonomy |