Classical philosophy’s transcendence remained committed to a slave society
Evidence
At the classical origins of philosophic thought, the transcending concepts remained committed to the prevailing separation between intellectual and manual labor—to the established society of enslavement. Plato’s “ideal” state retains and reforms enslavement while organizing it in accordance with an eternal truth. And in Aristotle, the philosopher-king (in whom theory and practice were still combined) gives way to the supremacy of the bios theoreticos, which can hardly claim a subversive function and content. Those who bore the brunt of the untrue reality and who, therefore, seemed to be most in need of attaining its subversion were not the concern of philosophy. It abstracted from them and continued to abstract from them. — Herbert Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man, 517
Categorization
- XREF: Marcuse’s immanent critique of philosophy parallels how ‘immodesty’ moral panics operate as class signals — the privileged class’s ideals are built on exclusion. — connects to: Marx’s blind spot on slavery descended directly from Aristotle’s philosophy of slaves; Human existence means transcendence and constant action, not passive repose — Sarah Bakewell, At the Existentialist Café: Freedom,…, 516; A philosophy’s historical worth is its practical effect on society — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 1244 (+3 more)
Broader Connections
- Greek love of liberty coexisted with unexamined acceptance of slavery
#exemplifies(0.85) — Cedric J. Robinson, Black Marxism_ The Making of the Black…, 509 - Marx’s blind spot on slavery descended directly from Aristotle’s philosophy of slaves
#expands(0.82) - A philosophy’s historical worth is its practical effect on society
#qualifies(0.80) — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 1244 - Human existence means transcendence and constant action, not passive repose
#complicates(0.78) — Sarah Bakewell, At the Existentialist Café, 516 - Past philosophical systems remain historically valid even after being superseded
#qualifies(0.72)