The Need For Eunomia
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Re-reading the chapter on paideia and power from Persuasion and Power in Late Antiquity, I was struck by the following passage:
A lurking fear of arbitrary violence, untrammeled by legal and political constraints, insensibly shifted the weight of philosophical discussion towards ethical issues, involving self-formation and control of the passions.
It occurs to me that this states quite well my own thinking in promoting the idea of eunomia, my frequent references over the years to restraint, limits, asceticism and kenosis, and in criticizing abuses of power, unjust uses of force and violations of human dignity since late 2004. All of this is a recognition of the importance of restraint in curtailing these abuses, as well as an acknowledgment that in the absence of accountability for egregious abuses the best that can be done is to try to establish some measure of good order where one can.
Filed under: miscellaneous
Daniel, I might disagree with you on occasion (clearly not always, or even often) but I commend you for your efforts to establish eunomia in your own little corner of the world. If all politics is local, so is order, restraint in the exercise of power, and the acceptance of limits. I’m not so sure about asceticism, and kenosis carries with it entirely too much religion, even though in principle I am okay with kenosis.
I like reading you. Thanks for writing.
Jake
Daniel, this reminds me of Paul’s injunction to be content and serve God in whatever situation we find ourselves in. In I Corinthians 7, Paul says, “Only, as the Lord has assigned to each one, as God has called each, in this manner let him walk.” This passage has always struck me personally as an indication of Paul’s underlying conservative mind as it relates to ethics. In other words, “self-formation” rather than radical changes. This has echoes of Jesus’ injunction to shake the dust off of your feet regarding trying to change others. By the way, I’m curious why the author used the word “insensibly.” Any ideas what function that serves in the sentence? I don’t think there is anything insensible about that kind of shift.
And just to follow up on Jake’s point, I believe all politics is so local that it starts in the human heart and then radiates out from there. I think any totalitarian mindset misses this point as they cannot control all arbitrary violence and suffering. We can only do our part starting in our homes, with our families, our friends and finally in our churches, and communities.
What strikes me about the above is the similarity to Robert Bork’s thoughts about remnants preserving our culture where we can in the face of a civilizational breakdown.