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Ancient Greek and Indian Social Contract Theories:
a Comparison
Otto Linderborg
otto.linderborg@miun.se
Abstract
inter alia
and the
Keywords
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Introduction1
Robitzsch
social contract theories encountered in ancient Greek and Indian literary
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not Greece (
altérité
Gray
that the ancient Indian thinkers were the first to formulate social contract theories
Bandyopadhaya
repeatedly presumed that the ancient Greek and Roman accounts showcase
life – which we are familiar with from the work of Thomas Hobbes and other
Lev.
Du. cont. soc.
.
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foreshadow some elemental features in the social contract theories of early
to what I identify as a shared characteristic in the Greek and Indian social
the (Book
Aggañña Sutta
(Book
Histories
4 The
Histories
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Protagoras
Polybius’ Histories (Book
A Note on Method
Selection of Sources
sophist
Protagoras
Histories
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)
The
’ ) are forced into combat with demons
’
in all directions (“ ”
’
11 The is a sacred collection of hymns and chants that form the earliest known
”
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Ait. Br.
of Plato’s Laws for
Laws Politics
Pol
LawsPol
Laws
Politics is a foundational work of political philosophy that examines the nature
Rep.
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’ )
Ait
)
refused them his protection (EnEl
in the remainder of this study span a time period from the late Vedic to the
) – with the
Aggañña
Sutta ) in the middle and
) represents the earliest cut into
Protagoras ) falls in the middle
and Polybius Book
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) and the
There are many other instances of Greek and Indian social contract theories
The Indian Accounts
do not really relate to the establishment of society per se – and that this marks
Thus in Thomas Hobbes’
Lev.
endowed with the power to
Lev.
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Aggañña Sutta
satirise Brahmanical creation myths (see
recluses (see
‘’
’ –
’ ’ ) also arises (
”
Huxley
and
–
Aggañña Sutta
–
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“-
”
(is what)
what is what
“ …
par-
”
(“-
”
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who shall protect us” (
”
The Aggañña Sutta and
’
In
“-
”
”
…
…
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The Aggañña Sutta
both sources adhere to the common presupposition that early settled societies
the
(
”
Brahmanical oneness (.
Up
In the
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(
(
In the
Second Treatise of Government
Sec. Tr.
“spiritually preeminent but materially dependent upon” the Ksatriyas as the (secularly)
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could
social to social life presumes
The Greek Accounts
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Aggañña Sutta
and
(’
In the Aggañña Sutta and
established immediately – or at least there was no mention here of any
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ruler (
Protagoras.
Prot
Prot
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Prot
In the final instance of ancient social contract theories to be examined in
this article – that of Polybius Book
Du cont. soc.
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does not explicitly state that this transition entails a compact between the
Politics
sources (particularly Plato’s Protagoras
reges
first cities (urbespecudes et agros divisere
De asbtinentia ab esu animalium
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LawsPolitics
Summary and Conclusion
on monarchy (
(witnessed inter alia in the Aggañña Sutta and
dominant pattern is attested also in our Greek sources (in the Deioces episode
principle merely in the context of early settled societies – whereas a wider
LawsPolitics and
Polybius Book
Abst.
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encountered in the may thus be interpreted as the
practice (
in Plato’s Protagoras – where the creation of social order is tantamount to the
) (
and Plato’s Protagoras
Laws
(
Protagoras
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Laws
Aggañña Sutta
both Greek and Indian literature (pace
Prot
’
has often been taken as a parallel to the modern idea of a state of nature
(see
modern perception of the natural state as inherently unsuitable for more
’
’ into the bodies of men (
Du
cont. soc.
nature is extant in Lucretius’
of beasts (volgivago vitam tractabant more ferarum
bellum omnium contra omnes Sec. Tr.
Lev.
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accounts does come to the fore also in our ancient Greek and Indian sources
transcendence of the concept of sacred monarchy may truly be ascribed to the
The comparison of ancient Greek and Indian social contract theories
’
’
Black
References
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Consequences
Protagoras-
ññ
Science
Annual
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Journal of
Social
Scientist
Plato in Twelve VolumesVol. 3
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(Doctoral disser
Hellenics Studies
Orientalia Suecana
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ent
Journal of
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Classi-
A Historical Comparison
Asian
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