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Δύο διαχρονικές ιδέες: «Φυσικό δίκαιο» και «Κοσμοπολιτισμός» στην πολιτική σκέψη του εξ Ήλιδος Σοφιστή Ιππία
Δελλής , Ιωάννης Γ.
The preceding analysis of Hippias' fragments (collection DK) leads to the following deductions: a. Hippias, being the main representative of the 5th century B.C. Sophist movement and acting both as a thinker and a politician, stands as a forerunner of the Renaissance type of the «homo universalis». b. In order to interpret this Sophist's view on natural law, we clarified by means of examining the relevant texts and using modern terms of political philosophy the concept of «natural law», which is associated to the «unwritten law», which has divine origin or is said to put forward a long, undetermined history. c. We also showed that Hippias, when discussing with Socrates in Xenophon' s Memorabilia argued in favour of the «natural law» using two main arguments: (i) it remains unaltered and becomes synonymous to the «discovery of true existence» (ontos exeuresis). (ii) In contrast to the conventional law, it does not involve violence and guarantees universal equality and justice. d. Relying on natural equality and affinity, Hippias supported the idea of «cosmopolitanism», implying that people should not be constrained by the jus positivum, but given the possibility to live together within a unified cultural setting. Besides, this issue constitutes nowadays a field of research both from a political and an ethical point of view (Political cosmopolitanism and Moral cosmopolitanism). e. Finally, we explored how the idea of cosmopolitanism is transplanted in the Modern political thought through the theory of the Cynics and the Stoics.
Academy of Athens
