During Homeric times, self-interest was the driving force to
motivate individuals to make decisions. Achilles was motivated by his own pride
and honor to leave the army, causing the death of many, even his best friend, Patroclus.
Just as Agamemnon’s interests were motivated
by his power and authority to do what it was more convenient to him, bringing
his own death and the death of others.
Calchas, the prophet, states to Achilles that “[he,
Achilles, is] stronger [than Agamemnon] and that is a goddess that bore him,
but [Agamemnon] is more powerful, since he rules over more (The Iliad, Book
I.265)Since Agamemnon had such a great authority, he was motivated to take
advantage of the ones below him, caring less about a free society. Eventually this
brought destruction and death.
On the other side, Thucydides teaches us how democracy was
part of the Athenian law. According to
Thucydides:
…the administration of [the Athenian constitution] favours
the many instead of the few (Thucydides pg. 267).
This statement shows a very opposite approach than the one
followed in the Homeric times. Because of the democracy which favoured the
many, Athenians in Thucydides had freedom in their ordinary lives (Thucydides pg.
267).
In conclusion, self-interest doesn’t motivate a free society
as seen in the example of Achilles and Agamemnon. Their self-interest just
brought sorrow and pain.
I like how you credited self interest and taking advantage of others the downfall of Agamemnon. That is so true! With democracy, most people are free to have self-interest and be interested in their society as a whole and can all be equal.
ReplyDeleteQuestion, is it possibly for the ideal of self-interest to be in relations to a country as a whole, as one? If so, the idea of self-interest, when a nation is banded together as one, couldn't be anything less than good. If a country is at war with another, a common interest is to take form in order to insure success. But I can definitely agree with the self-interest of a man, usually ending up as not good, even for those impacted by what ever actions this self-interested person takes.
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