Societal Well-Being

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'Societal Well-Being'

        This is a paper on the Greek concepts of; ananke, arete, eudaimonia, hubris and logos. This paper seeks to demonstrate, with the aid of relevant examples, how these concepts inform the theoretical basis of some of the modern day social concepts of; - Destiny, Moral Virtues/Ethics, Prosperity, Pride /Arrogance and divine logic.

The above concepts are exemplified through Greek Mythology like; - Sophocles' Oedipus the king, Homer's Iliad, Aristotle's Nichomachean ethics, Oedipus in Sophocles’ and Heraclitus.

        The Concept of Destiny is illustrated in Sophocles when Oedipus saved the city of Thebes and became the king by answering a riddle. Sphinx (a winged monster) out to destroy the city had posed a riddle; -  “what is it that walks on four legs at dawn, two legs at midday, and three legs in the evening, and has only one voice; when it walks on most feet, it is weakest?,” that was to be answered correctly if the city was to be saved. Creon, the appointed ruler of Thebes, unable to answer the riddle offered the kingdom and the hand of his sister, Jocasta, to anyone who could answer the riddle. Oedipus answered correctly as follows, “Man, who crawls in infancy, walks upright in his prime, and leans on a cane in old age.” Outraged, the monster destroyed itself and Oedipus became King of Thebes. It was Ananke that the appointed king was unable to answer the riddle and Oedipus was destined to be the ruler of Thebes and even the monster had no control over the outcome. The monster could have posed an easier riddle that the appointed ruler could be able to answer but this did not happen because "this was what had to be, fate.

 Ananke manifests inevitability, compulsion and necessity. The use of this word indicates that a force of some kind was believed to be influencing how events ultimately turned out.

        It is argued that Moral virtues and Ethics are the center piece concepts of a man’s honour and ultimate fulfilment. Invariably arête was also a significant element in Ancient Greek Societies. In its basic sense arête means "excellence of any kind". The phrase may also mean "moral virtue". In Homers' Iliad, arête is used generally to describe heroes and their mobile handiness, with special indication of courage and strength. Achilles represents arête because he was the main contributor in the Greeks beating the Trojans in the Trojan War.  He showed exceptional courage and strength in defending the Greeks’ peace and Honour. Achilles demonstrates arête inspired wrath when he says, "Come, you too must die." This scene has been lauded as a moving moment in the poem in which Achilles asserts the inevitability of death and the self-surety that he had the strength and courage to kill whoever came between the Greeks and their peace. Achilles’ arête inspired wrath is initiated by his sense of honor. Honor for the Greeks.

In Greece, an individual could obtain everlasting fame and glory for their accomplishments in life and thus the strength and courage was viewed as an important concept in the customs of the Greek. In this context arête is an essential element fixed in the minds of all the Greeks.

 The third modern concept is prosperity which is inspired by the Greek concept Eudaimonia which means to "flourish" or "thrive. This is a concept that closely compliments aerate and is one of the foundational tenets of the modern concept of democracy and equality. It basically advocates for virtuous leadership that guarantees prosperity and equality for all.  Aristotle in his book, Nichomachean Ethics, argues that man’s greatest quest is; - to be happy, to flourish or to thrive and suggests that the best way of flourish and be happy is through the development of arête or virtue. Aristotle acknowledges the political nature of humans, our sociability and our reliance on common laws and exchange to succeed. Thus, it is not just friendships that are important to cultivating virtue, but also commercial transactions, lawmaking, and governance. This concept Eudaimonia is essential in daily life experiences of all human beings and needs to go hand in hand with arete to yield best results.

        The fourth concept is overweening presumption otherwise known as pride or arrogance that leads one to abrogate the divinely fixed limits on human action within an ordered space.

The Greek concept for this is hubris.  Hesiod delineated it as wrongful action against the divine order. This informs the modern sense of the term and its assertion of irreverence. An example of this concept is displayed by Oedipus in Sophocles’ who by unwittingly killing his true father and marrying his own mother fulfills the Delphic oracle’s prophecy of him. Oedipus’s wife and mother hanged herself when the truth of their relationship became known, though Oedipus apparently continued to rule at Thebes until his death. This disregard of fixed limits by Oedipus contributed to the death of his mother. It is important to note that when one disregards or oversteps certain behavioral limits and permissible norms followed in a society there’s bound to be serious repercussions. Societies have and will always frown upon hubris as a social sin or gross misconduct.

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