Relativism and Pluralism in Ancient Greece

Abstract

In the relations of the Greek city-states to each other, David Kovacs finds situations analogous to those that arise in a multicultural society. He tells us how the Greeks at first achieved harmony and then lost it, an experience close to our own. The question that remains is, how are we to re-establish a moral matrix that will bring social peace without sacrificing individual and group distinctiveness?

Even though Greek city-states were frequently warring with one another, they managed to achieve a degree of cooperation and commonality. Kovacs believes that equilibrium was maintained because of the bond provided by nomos, customs whose force derived ultimately from religion. He cites evidence from the writings of Herodotus and Euripides to show the extent and strength of this unwritten code. But its strength was diminished over the years, notably by the teachings of Sophists, relativistic philosophers who became the educators of Greek youth. Even though other philosophers including Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle attempted to counter the influence of the Sophists, relativism—and the ravages of war and plague—caused Greeks to lose faith in their touchstone.

Kovacs sees in the loss of nomos a parallel to present-day social and moral disintegration resulting from the ascendancy of relativism and deconstructionism. He believes that we need to develop a new kind of nomos—shared beliefs in objective right and wrong—that will provide social glue and moral guidance.