Customer Reviews

First Democracy: The Challenge of an Ancient Idea

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Rarely have I read a more clearly expressed definition of democracy and how the USA is not one. I am going to give this book to a lot of people to make them think. It would be a book for all high schools and colleges everywhere because it raises healthy questions about government and power. Even though the topic is a complex one the author has produced a wonderful and readable essay. Philosophy is not yet dead. Hurrah!!!

This is not a book that I read and put away. I have it on my desk now so that I can return to favorite passages. Eloquently and urgently, Paul Woodruff explains what democracy is, drawing on ancient Greek literature while pointing out some of the weaknesses of Athenian democracy. His underlying argument is that we have to understand what it is in order to defend it. If we fall for any of democracy's "doubles," as he puts it, we will end up with something far from democracy. The most insidious of democracy's "doubles" is majority rule, which justifies the suppression of dissenting views.

One of the most interesting (and, at first, perplexing) concepts in the book is "reasoning without knowledge." At first I thought: how could Woodruff be arguing for "reasoning without knowledge" and for common education, "paideia," at the same time? Well, by "reasoning without knowledge" he does not mean uninformed or ignorant reasoning; rather, he means reasoning without full knowledge of the matter at hand or its outcome. Education is essential to such reasoning, as the participants must have a common language. For the Greeks, much of this common language was poetry, and one can see why.

One thing I especially love about the book is how Woodruff keeps coming back to Sophocles' Antigone. You can tell when Antigone is about to come up; the language starts hinting at it, and you know Creon or the Chorus is around the corner. In some ways the book seems to be a meditation on Antigone. I look forward to reading it again in that light. I am glad to have this book nearby.

Woodruff's work is excellent, pulling together the culture and society of Ancient Greece to examine the motivations, methods and incidents affecting early democracy. His seven attributes of Democracy, Freedom from Tyranny, Harmony, Rule of Law, Natural Equality, Citizen Wisdom, Reasoning without Knowledge and Education are well thought out and presented using the historical content as vivid examples to help the reader. While I beleive his arguement for Natural Equality is not strong in the context of the ancient greeks, the compilation of these ideas and how they can relate to modern democracies are important issues that should be delt with in both academia and the legislature.

First Democracy: The Challenge Of An Ancient Idea by Paul Woodruff (Darrel K. Royal Professor in Ethics and American Society and Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Department of Philosophy, The University of Texas at Austin) is an engaging and descriptive analysis of democratic national empowerment, providing a conclusive grasp of what democracy really is (or was), in an extensive study of the Greek city of Athens from which the democratic idea of a governmental system originated. First Democracy provides readers with an understanding of the barriers preventing contemporary America in the opening decade of the 21st century from being a true democracy, as well as offering readers a provocative presentation of the democratic "sine qua non": freedom from tyranny, social harmony, the rule of law, natural equality, citizen wisdom, reasoning without knowledge, and general education. A highly portable paperback that can be taken (and read) anywhere, First Democracy is very strongly recommended to all students of philosophy, political science, and the ancient Greece city state of Athens.

An overview of what democracy really is, where and how it started, why the US is NOT a democracy and what we can do about it. Easy and excellent read. Our legislators need this book!

This book came to me in great condition and in a great amount of time.

i bought this book because i had a lot of people who should read it.The auther knows the subject greek democry very well.it should be in schools and should be the first step in children education on the ideas of what a goverment should be.read this book and talk to others