Концепція «людини політичної» в античному дискурсі

Анотація

Key theoretical and methodological approaches of foreign and national scholars towards the understanding of the essence of «political person» in the ancient discourse are investigated in this article. The role of the politics in the process of the ancient state building and its influence on the formation of the notion of «political person» is analyzed. It is defined that the development of the political organization of the society, human pursuit of collectivity and sociality contributed to the participation of people in the politics.

The definition context of the human problem in the age of antiquity outlines the importance of such categories as «spirituality» and «morality» as the key principles of social life conceptualization and the regulators of human behavior, which is governed by rational and irrational norms.

The notion essence of «political person» and characteristic aspects of the meaning formation are studied. Human participation in political affairs of the ancient Greece and ancient Rome states is described separately. Various interpretations of the concept of political person are presented. Much attention is paid to the anthropocentric world view of Aristotle, especially his concept of man as a «political animal». The key role of the state in the process of the formation of a political person that became the main actor of the political arena of the polis life is emphasized. It is shown that outside of the family unit there is political space, which is formed with the «spirit» of liberty and publicity.

The article researches in details the peculiarities of democratic form of government of the ancient Greece as well as reveals the advantages and disadvantages of the purposive involvement of the citizens into political life. It is stated that such political process on one side formed an active political actor and on the other – political career of the Athenian citizen took all of his life space.

The reasons and process of the state building concentrating on the social part of human nature are studied and analyzed. The main features of anthropocentric conception of the ancient thinkers are studied; the key criteria for distinction of an animal and a human being are highlighted. The article defines and analyzes three main characteristic features that distinguish a human being from living creatures: sociality, intellect and language. The influence of the latter on the development of the state as an «institutional reality» built with words and symbols is proved. 

The article emphasizes the considerable significance of the communication and political discourse as crucial characteristics of a citizen that determine his political activity. The language is viewed as an art of relations and inseparable method of nonviolent political actions. In modern politological discourse there formed a tendency to define Athenian democracy as «the most conversable» state form. «Language» and «action» as two forms with political status are described separately.

The article formulates synthetic definition of the concept of political person, considering the peculiarities of human essence interpretation in ancient discourse. The factors directly or indirectly influencing the definition of the notion «political person» has been described. It is emphasized that the interpretation of the essence of the human of the ancient times is based upon the definition of a person as a social, governmental and political being. In the process of the research it is defined that the notion of «political person» is a complex conceptual model that is formed with such essential features as «socializing person», «ideal citizen», «personality of law», «friendly being».