POLITICAL THOUGHT (Plato to Marx)

Prem Arora

Copyright © Reserved with the Publishers Printed in India by Repro India Limited Published by Cosmos Bookhive Private Limited V-6/7 (2nd Floor), DLF City Phase -III, Gurgaon, Haryana-122002. INDIA Phones: +91-124-4371455 , + 91 9811282855

Bulk Sales Cosmos Bookhive offers excellent discounts on this book when ordered in quantity for bulk purchases or special sales. Cosmos Bookhive books may be purchased for educational, business, or sales promotional use. For general information on our other products and services or to obtain technical support, please contact: 124-4371455, +91-9811282855 or cosmosbookhive@ gmail.com and you can also buy books from online bookstore at www.CosmosBookhive.com. All rights reserved. No part of this book shall be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections of the 1956 Copyright Act of India, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorisation through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance should be addressed to the Permissions Department Cosmos Bookhive Private Limited, V-6/7 (2nd Floor), DLF City Phase-III, Gurgaon, Haryana-122002, India. No patent liability is assumed with respect to the use of the information contained herein. Although every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher and author assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. Nor is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein. Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: The publisher and the author make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales or promotional materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every situation. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. The fact that an organization or Web site is referred to in this work as a citation and/or a potential source of further information does not mean that the author or the publisher endorses the information the organization or Web site may provide or recommendations it may make. Further, readers should be aware that Internet Web sites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read. TRADEMARKS: Cosmos Bookhive, the CBH, Cosmic Ring, Book and the reading Bee logo is trademarks or registered trademarks of Cosmos Bookhive Private Limited India and/or its affiliates, in India and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks (if appeared or mentioned in the book) are the property of their respective owners. Cosmos Bookhive Private Limited, is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.

CONTENTS Chapter 1. The Greek Political Thought 2. Political Thought before Plato 3. Plato 4. Aristotle 5. Political Thought after Aristotle 6. Roman Political Thought 7. Church Fathers 8. General Characteristics of European Medieval Political Thought 9. The Papalists 10. The Secularists 11. The Conciliar Movement 12. Transition to Modern Thought and Machiavelli 13. Political Thought of the Reformation Period 14. Counter-Reformation Thought 15. Jean Bodin (1530-1596) 16. Hugo Grotius (1583-1645) 17. Thomas Hobbes(1581-1679) 18. The Republicans 19. John Locke (1632 - 1704) 20. Spinoza and Pufendorf 21. Vico and Hume 22. Burn de-Montesquieu (1689-1755) 23. Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) 24. Edmund Burke (1729-1797) 25. Utilitarian Thinkers 26. The Idealists 27. Thomas Hill Green (1836-1882) 28. Herbert Spencer (1820-1903) 29. Karl Marx (1818-1883)

Page 1-6 7-14 15-47 48-78 79-85 86-97 98-106 107-111 112-123 124-139 140-147 148-164 165-172 173-178 179-190 191-195 196-211 212-220 222-236 237-242 243-246 248-257 258-267 268-277 278-309 310-329 330-349 350-357 358-374

1

1 The Greek Political Thought "Political thought begins with the Greek. Its origin is connected with the calm and clear rationalism of the Greek mind." - Earnest Barker Man is a rational creature which has been endowed with a speculative faculty. As such he has shown tendency to understand himself and the institutions around him. He has devoted himself to the study of the physical, biological as well as social environments and indulged in speculation about them. In this speculation the state, its nature, purpose, functions, organization etc. have occupied a prominent position. This speculation about the various problems connected with the stale is generally designated as poli1ical thought. As such it can be said that the study of political thought is as old as the state itself. According to certain scholar‟s political thought is not concerned only with the problems of the state and government but also includes study of the nature of man and his relations with the universe. According to Doyle three main aspects are included in the study of political thought. These include “the nature and functions of man; his relation to the rest of the universe which involves a consideration of the meaning of life as a whole; emerging from the interaction of these two problems of relation of man to his fellowmen. The latter is the main concern of political theory in the narrowest sense and involves a discussion on the nature, purpose and functions of the state."(Phyllis Doyle, A History of Political Thought, p. 15.) ORIGIN OF POLITICAL THOUGHT Some scholars have tended to attribute the origin of political thought lo the ancient Greeks. For example, Ernest Barker says "political thought begins with the Greek. Its origin is connected with the calm and clear rationalism of the Greek mind." (Ernest Barker. Greek Political Theory, P. 1.) Barker was led to this conclusion because Greek Political thought is one of the most ancient thoughts which was preserved and passed on to the succeeding generations in the form of one treatise or the other. It has now been established that political philosophy was not the exclusive domain of the ancient Greeks and certain other countries like India, Babylonia, Egypt etc. produced political philosophies which are as old as the ancient Greek philosophy. They also produced as outstanding works on philosophy as the Greeks. However, the Greeks have an edge over them in so far as they could preserve their national heritage and pass on their treatise to the succeeding generations while the other countries failed to do the same. According to Maxey "The closer and fuller acquaintance with the civilization of remote millennium, which we now enjoy reveals an

2 astonishing abundance of the political ideas among the people of those vanished areas and shows how both in thought and practice they anticipated, paralleled and to some extent laid the foundations for ideas which subsequently appeared in European political consciousness. It was in those ancient political systems that the human mind first came to grips with the problems of governments and first attempted to formulate ideas to account for the phenomena of politics and to systematize the exercise of political authority''(Maxey, Political philosophies, p.8). Even if the view expressed by Maxey is accepted, the no availability of non-Greek works of politics further renders them insignificant. The Greeks may not have been the first to develop political philosophy, but they certainly were the first to present the political ideas and concepts in systematic form and their ideas greatly molded the European thought and form the basis of modern political thinking. A logical question arises as to why the Greeks alone Succeeded in laying foundations of an independent political philosophy This can be attributed to a number of factors such as the rational character· of the Greek mind, their secular outlook on life, the presence of a large number of dry-states which greatly differed from the states in Babylon, Egypt, India etc. and the variety of political experiences which the Greeks acquired due to existence of different forms of governments in these city states. Prof. Bowle has attributed the growth of systematic political thought amongst the Greeks to ''the free play of speculative intelligence, the brilliant formulation of vocabulary of thought in language expressive of subtlest shades of meaning and purposive coherence of Greek ideals." FEATURES OF GREEK THOUGHT The Greek Political Thought possessed certain distinct features, which deserve our consideration. 1. Exclusively Political Character of 'treatise. In the first place, the ancient Greek Political ThoUW1t of other ancient countries like Egypt, Babylonia, Syria, Persia, India, China etc. in so far as it produced treatise of purely political nature. On the other band in other ancient civilizations, the political ideas were intermixed with mythology. and religious literature. For example, in India, Ramayana, Mahabharata and Manu Smriti, which deal with the political problems were not purely political treatises. They were chiefly religious works in which the political ideas were intermixed with religion and mythology and one has to make special efforts to discern the political from the religious. On the other hand, the Greek political thought is characterized by the presence of a number of independent treatises which are exclusively devoted to the study of political problems. 2. Main Concentration on Nature of State. Another notable feature of the ancient Greek Political Thought is that it concerned itself mainly with the nature of the State and die concept that man is a

3 political animal. The Greek writers did not concern themselves with the problems relating to the relations between the State and the Church, or State and industry which formed a part of the political thought of the later thinkers. As they conceived man as a social animal they naturally did not conceive him as an isolated and independent unit and tried to understand him in relation to the social whole viz., the state. Naturally the state became the centre of Greek political thinkers. They discussed the origin as well as the end of the state and distinguished between various forms of states such as Monarchy, Aristocracy, Oligarchy, Democracy, 'tyranny etc. They also highlighted the point that the forms of government undergo constant charge and tried to determine the order in which the changes take place in the form of the government as well as the laws governing them. 3. Social Nature of Man. The Greek thinkers were the first to lay stress on the social nature of man and emphasise that an individual could not be conceived as an isolated and independent unit. He could attain perfection only in a healthy state. Hence they considered the state necessary both for the sake of life as well as good life. 4. The City State: Another notable feature of the Greek Political Thought was that it centred around the city states, in which the community of men shared a common life and purpose. It was a complete social organisation in which the citizens continuously participated. In fact, the Greek political thinkers did not distinguish between the state and the society. As Barker has observed, "The Greeks were never tired of telling themselves that while in· their communities each man counted for what he was worth and exercised his share of influence in the common life. It was the place of a common life and the home of a union of classes. Life within common walls drew men natural intimacy. It did not abolish the prestige of wealth and birth and culture, it established a tradition of easy intercourse between all class." Similarly, the city-state was also not different from church. It was the be-all and end-all of the activities of its citizens and included the entire collective activities of the citizens. It was a whole outside which member could not be envisaged. 5. Importance of Education: Greek thinkers attached great importance to education and emphasised its importance in bringing the people at par with the spirit of the constitution. They emphasised on practical system of education which could help in promoting modesty, self-control, patriotism, sociability and other similar qualities. The State was responsible for the promotion of education among the citizens and hence considered not only a moral and political institution but also an educational institution. In other words, the Greek thinkers laid emphasis on state controlled system of education. 6. Rationalism: Greek thinkers assigned a significant position to rationalism in their thought. They believed that reason is the quintessence of the providence and a man was free only as long as he

4 had freedom of reasoning. Reason enabled the man to identify himself with the corporate life, abandon his personal and selfish interests and leap into the realm of wider views and higher purposes. Naturally the Greek thinkers assigned privileged position to persons possessing rational faculty and relegated those persons who did not possess reason, for much inferior status. In short, we can say that the Greek political thinkers attached great importance to reason and were against acceptance of a thing which was not justified on grounds of reason. 7. Concept of Law. The Greek concept of law was intimately linked with their belief in reason. They considered law as the life- breath of the state because it represented the acme of the rational being. As the law givers were inspired by divine power it was also the manifestation of God. The Greek thinkers considered Law and Justice as two sides of the same coin and asserted that justice is that which is according to law. However, this did not mean that to them all the laws were just and could not be improved upon. · 8. Views on Justice. Justice occupies an important position in the ancient Greek Political Thought. The Greek thinkers considered justice as an important virtue which enabled a citizen to discharge of proper duties and contributed towards the development of human faculties. Justice was also implied to mean willing obedience to laws of the state. According to Plato "Justice was the virtue of soul and injustice its vice". 9. Views on Citizenship. To the Greek thinkers‟ citizenship did not merely imply payment of taxes and a vote. It meant direct participation in the management of the state as a soldier, as a judge, as a legislator in person, not through a Deputy. Thus the Greeks clearly ruled out the concept of representative· government. Again, the Greeks did not extend citizenship rights to the slaves because they felt that the slaves could not discharge their obligations towards the state. Even the working classes were denied the right to rule on the ground that they did not possess a speculative mind. As citizenship required active participation in the affairs of the state only the classes which enjoyed leisure and owned lands, and were hence free from economic worries, were given the citizenship rights. Thus in the Greek Political Thought the concept of citizenship was quite restricted. 10. Belief in Inequality. The Greeks considered equality as impracticable, unnatural and undesirable and argued that just as the individual was subordinate to the whole, the majority of the individuals who were intrinsically inferior, indolent, unfit, for education could be sacrificed at the altar of the minority of the excellent and the wise. They considered inequality natural and permitted the dominance of the Greeks over barbarians; of the freeman over the slave; of the gentleman over the artisans etc. However, the Greeks permitted equality within a class. This equality was also to be proportional rather than arithmetical. The Greek thinkers emphasised that equality as such

5 was not an ideal thing, on the contrary it was something unnatural and hence impracticable and undesirable. 11. Individualistic Element. The Greek political thinkers assigned a prominent position to the individual in their thought and insisted on the right of the individual to formulate his own thoughts, to express these thoughts publicly and to act in accordance with the dictates of conscience. Plato highlighted individualistic element in his laws and said society is an aggregate of individuals and the individual was a self-determined whole. Similarly, Epicurus said "there is no such thing as human society. Every man is concerned for himself. Justice never is anything in itself, but in the dealings of men with one another in any place whatever and at any time, it is a kind of contract not to harm or to be harmed." Thus individualism constituted an important feature of the ancient Greek Political Thought. 12. Primary of Discussions. Another notable feature of the ancient Greek Political Thought was that it attached great importance to discussion. They adopted the method of discussion for presenting their ideas and philosophy and held that truth could be discovered only if there was proper reasoning and discussion. The normal method adopted by the Greek thinkers was a discourse between two parties one initiating the issue and the other replying to those issues with a view to present the philosophical ideas. The Greeks asserted that Truth goes in hide in the absence of discussion; it comes to light through discussion. They virtually raised discussion to the pinnacle of glory and brought it to the point of perfection. A brief survey of the above features of the ancient Greek political thought shows that the Greek political philosophers were great realists and tried to analyse the problems present before the city-state with great foresight and penetration. Still more important is that the ideas and the concepts which they developed formed the basis of most of the development of political thought which took place thereafter According to Mayer (Mayer, Political Thought, The European Tradition, p.7) "The categories of European thought and approach to understanding of life have been permanently moulded by Greeks to the from the very of beginning." In fact some of the ideas and concepts discussed by the ancient Greek Political thinkers form focus point of discussion of political thought even in our times IMPACT OF THE GREEK POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY ON EUROPEAN POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY Of all the political philosophies which flourished in the ancient times the Greek philosophy alone was widely studied and borrowed by the Europeans. This was largely due to easy accessibility and clarity of the Greek philosophy. Some of the important ideas and concepts which found their way into the European political thought were as follows. 1. Concept of Democracy. In the first place, the concept of democracy was borrowed by the Europeans from Greeks. Democracy

6 was completely unknown to the Europeans and most of the European countries possessed monarchical system. As a result of the impact of the Greek thinking they developed the system of limited monarchy, which represented a healthy blending of monarchy and democracy. 2. Religious Tolerance. The European policy characterised by religious intolerance which resulted in frequent religious strife‟s, learnt the principle of religious tolerance from the Greeks. The insignificant position which the religion came to be attached in politics was largely due to the impact of the Greeks. 3. Concept of Justice. The Greek concept of justice based on the principle of 'virtue in action' also left a deep impact on the European political philosophers and they attached a prominent place to it in their thought. Earlier the European states attached quite a different meaning to justice. To them justice merely meant submission to the will of the monarch, who was treated as the fountain head of justice. 4. State Regulation of Education. The Greek impact on the European thinking is also evident from the greater regulation of the education by the states. Earlier the European states did not attach much importance to education and consequently did not pay any attention to the education of its citizens. It was only as a result of the impact of the Greeks that it realised the importance of education as an instrument for the production of good citizens and assumed direct responsibility for education. Prof. Wayper has acknowledged the impact of the Greek thought on the European Political Thought in his characteristic manner. He says "it is fitting that we pay our tribute to them whenever we use the word political, a derivation from the Polis, for whatever else of the Polis has vanished from the memory of man, politics and political thinking remains as its undying legacy to all future ages". Prof. Mcllwain also acknowledges the impact of Greek thought on European thought and asserts that the political thought of the middle or modern ages cannot be understood without an understanding of the Greek political thought. He says that "only by a thorough mastery of the peculiarities of the ancient city- states can we ever come to feel the underlying sameness of their foundation and ours. It is the eternal career of the foundations that makes valuable for us the study of the Greek state and the Greek speculations concerning it; it only' by a consideration of the differences between these states and our own that a true understanding becomes possible of the great principles common to both".

7

2 Political Thought before Plato "... There are clear indications that much active thought and discussion were expended upon political problems during the fifth century B.C. and also that many of the conceptions found later in Plato and Aristotle had already crystallized." -G.H. Sabine Though the ancient Greek political thought is generally traced from Plato in the fifth century B.C. some of the political conceptions bad already been formulated and crystalised before his times, even though they were not formally reduced to writing in the form of books and treatise. Most of the development of political thought during this period took place in the shape of oral discussions and" conversations. As Sabine has observed "the Greeks of the fifth century bad formed already a lively curiosity about the queer laws, and institutions which filled his world is amply proved by the d of anthropological lore embodied by Herodotus in his History''(Sabine A History or Political Theory, p. 22). We are conversant with at least four schools of political thought which existed before Plato. These include the Sophists, Socrates, Cynics and the Cyrenaics. It shall be desirable to know about these schools of early Greek thought in some details. THE SOPHISTS The Sophists were a group of teachers like Gorgias, Lycrophon, Hippias, Protagonis, Prodieus etc. who came to Athens from other cities and offered instructions. They tried to popularise their ideas and spread knowledge and culture amongst those who wished to learn. In the way the Sophists resembled the modern professors with the only difference that whereas the modem professors have a liberal outlook the Sophists offered technical instructions. Their education was more practical and less academic. Further, they charged very heavy fees for imparting instructions. As a result only the rich few could afford their instructions. Prof. Barker describes the Sophists as " half professors, half journalists; they were half teachers and thinkers, half disseminators of things new and strange paradoxical and astonishing which would catch the ear. With something of the charlatan they combined something of the philosopher" (Barker, Greek political philosophy-Plato and his predecessor, p.59). As noted above, the Sophists came to Athens from other cities and were in a sense foreigner and tried to impart education to those Athenians who were willing to receive it. Will Durant has described the type of education imparted by the Sophists thus "The debates in assembly, the trials before the heliaes, and the rising need for the ability to think with appearance of logic and to speak with clarity and persuasion, conspired with the wealth and curiosity of an imperial

8 society to create a demand for something unknown in Athens before Pericles former higher education in letters, oratory science, philosophy, and statesmanship"( Will Durant, The Life of Greece, p. 358). The Sophists left a deep impact on the history and thought of the Greeks. CHARACTERISTICS OF SOPHISTS It may be noted that the Sophists did not constitute a coherent school of thought and the different Sophist thinkers adopted different methods, doctrines etc. They also taught different subjects. Thus while some taught grammar, the others taught logic or dialectic. Some Sophist thinkers even expressed views on morals and politics. Again some Sophists were conservative, while the other were radical. In the main the early Sophists were considerate while the latter Sophists were radicals and charlatans. Despite these differences the Sophist thinkers displayed certain common tendencies. 1. In the first place man occupied a prominent position in their thought and study. They did not concern themselves with the external world and brought the philosophy for heaven to the earth and asserted that man is the measure of all things. They concentrated on the practical problems of human life and thought and disengaged the study of man and society from the study of nature. In other words they envisaged the art of politics independent of cosmogony. 2. In the second place most of the Sophists adopted a skeptic attitude towards the ideal of absolute knowledge. They did not accept the concept of permanent and universal knowledge and asserted that there were no abstract principles of justice which could be valid under all circumstances. Thus they challenged the rationality of the nature, which have been a prominent feature of the earlier Greek political thought. They asserted that everything is subject to second thought and revision. As such neither the state nor justice nor laws were permanent and were subject to modification and periodical . revision. 3. Thirdly, most of the Sophists wee versatile and generally taught a number of subjects. For example, Hippias a prominent Sophist was a poet, a mathematician, a mythologist, a moralist, a historian, a politician, a musician and knew certain other arts as well 4. Fourthly, the Sophists generally imparted instructions through rhetoric. 5. Fifthly, the Sophists thinkers accepted payment for imparting instructions. Generally these fees were quite high and only the rich people could avail of their education. The common people were completely excluded from their scheme of education. MAIN IDEAS OF SOPHISTS The Sophists accorded a prominent position to man in their thought and completely rejected abstract notions like universal truth of justice. They asserted that man was the best judge of his actions. They refuted the view that the state was a natural institution and asserted its

9 evolutionary character. They also turned down the view that laws were natural and argued that if it had been so there would not have been a variety of laws. The existence of a variety of laws was an ample proof that they were not natural. The Sophists believed in the selfishness of man and considered the state as an artificial creation. They said that the state was either formed by the strong to oppress the weak, or by the weak to defend themselves against the oppression of the strong. In other words they held that force was the basis of all political authority and asserted that political authority was justified in being selfish and even tyrannical. Another notable feature of the Sophist philosophy was complete rejection of the concept of rationality of nature and emphasis on practical life. They also rejected the abstract principles of justice and tried to explore the significance of law, government and social institutions in relation to man. With regard to law, the Sophists drew a distinction between the natural and positive laws. They held that the natural laws were enacted by gods and were obeyed all over the world. On the other hand the positive laws were acted by men and applied to very limited area. This distinction was brought out by Hippias, one of the Sophist philosophers thus: "I hold you all kinsmen and relatives and fellow citizens by nature, though not by law, for like in by nature kin to like, but law the tyrant of mankind often constrains by violence in contravention of human nature". Finally, the Sophist completely ignored the moral considerations. They argued that moral precepts have been established by men to restrain the strong. As one writer has observed, with the Sophists the entire citadel of old values and whole structure of traditional ideas of justice and truth seemed to crumble and collapse as nothing more than outworn and meaningless phantasies of poets and mythographers". IMPORTANCE OF THE SOPHISTS Different scholars have condemned the Sophists for their failure to provide any systematic philosophy. For example Sabine says the Sophists had no philosophy, and they taught well-to-do students who were to pay for that. Likewise Maxey also says "They (Sophists) were not a body of philosophers united by devotion to common principles and tenets, but were sharp fellows who made a good living by acting as private tutors in rhetoric, argumentation, eloquence and other subjects of instruction." It is true that the Sophists failed to provide systematic political philosophy and mainly concentrated on the problems of practical politics, but it would certainly be wrong to assume that they did not render any service to humanity or human philosophy. They systematised the existing knowledge which was lying scattered and gave it a definite shape. They taught politics which was subsequently ·put into practice and thus brought politics closer to reality. Another notable contribution of the Sophists was that they drew a clear line of

10 demarcation between law and morality and asserted that sometimes the laws based on political authority could be contrary to reasoning. They also expressed views about Natural Law and can be regarded as the forerunner of the theory of Natural Law build up in later years. In short, it can be said that though the Sophists did not build up any systematic thought, they made valuable contributions to the development of the political thought in later years by providing a base on which the subsequent political thinkers like Plato and Aristotle built their philosophies. As Baker has observed "With something of the charlaton they(Sophists) also combined something of the philosopher. In any case it was much for the future history of Greek thought that they should have systematised like 'rhetoric' or politics into a method or course of instruction. Such a systematisation did two things. It helped the differentiation of subject from subject, and the division of labour in the field of knowledge. It gave the idea of a scientific handling on the basis of its own principles of each of the subjects treated. The Sophists who systematised their courses prepared the way for Aristotle"(Earnest Barker, The Political Thought of Plato and Aristotle, p. 31). Will Durant has also acknowledged the valuable contributions of the Sophists and says "Though they did not form any community of thought, nor they began their study with an uncommon approach or radical angle of vision, yet the most characteristic and fertilise developments of Greek philosophy took form with the Sophists, travelling teachers of wisdom, who looked within upon their own thought and nature, rather than upon the world of things. There is hardly a problem or a solution in our current philosophy of mind and conduct which they did not realise and discuss. They asked questions about anything; they stood unafraid in the presence of religious or political taboos and boldly subpoenaed every creed and institution to appear before the judgment-seat of reason"( Will Durant, The Story of Philosophy p. 3.) SOCRATES(469-399 BC) A notable figure who exercised profound influence on the development of political philosophy before Plato was Socrates. Socrates, son of an Athenian sculptor, was born in 470 B.C. Though he was given training in the hereditary profession, he devoted most of his time to philosophical discussions. In keeping with the prevailing traditions he took keen interest in the civic duties and fought as soldier in the wars of Thrace and Delium. At the ripe age of 65 he became a member of the Council. Later on he was made a member of the Committee of Council. As a member of the Committee he refused to support the illegal activities because he saw a close relationship between politics and ethics. He also acted as the President of the Assembly. At the age of 70 Socrates was tried by the Court of Athenians on the charge of corrupting the society by refusing to

11 worship the state-gods and introducing new divinities, sentenced to death in 399 B.C. SOCRATES AND SOPHISTS Some of the Athenians considered Socrates a Sophist because of certain common traits with them, especially because of his interest in humanistic studies. But actually Socrates fundamentally differed from the Sophists and tried to expose the hollowness and pretentious character of the views held by the Sophists. Socrates differed from the Sophists in many respects. First, unlike the Sophists, Socrates accepted the validity of the social laws and customs. Secondly, he believed in objective right and justice which was completely denied by the Sophists. Thirdly, Socrates resorted to technological expiation of things which was completely unknown to the Sophists. Fourthly, unlike the Sophists who believed that goodness was a special art which could be mastered like any other art through attainment of special knowledge, Socrates held that goodness was a general capacity and hence unique. Finally, unlike the Sophists, Socrates did not charge any fees for imparting instructions and talked freely with persons of all sections of society only. Further, Socrates was not interested in developing any new philosophy. He merely wanted to develop among his listeners the necessary capacity so that they could expose the hollowness of others. As Crossman has observed “He did not provide his hearers with new and interesting ideas, but like a midwife assisted the pregnant wife to bring forth its own truth". METHOD OF SOCRATES Socrates adopted unique method which was a combination of the deductive or dialectic method. Dunning describes his method as that of "doubt and definition." It was a method of questions and answers. He threw a question open to discussion among his students, disciples and friends and asked them to express their views. He then exposed the hollowness of their knowledge by demonstrating that their views were untenable. There were definite rules for the adoption of the theme of discussion and answering of questions. He thus tried to evolve his· philosophy by refuting the contemporary notions. Prof. Barker while criticising Socrates's method acknowledges its value for the discovery of truth. He says "It was a method unpleasant for the victim and a method which might become merely eristic, turning to argument in any direction for the sake of argument; but it was all the same, in the hands of Socrates, a genuine organ of truth". MAIN IDEAS OF SOCRATES One of the main difficulties in understanding the idea of Socrates is that he wrote nothing and whatever knowledge we pos11ess about him is made available to us by his pupils like Plato, Xenophon, Isocrates etc. through their writings. We can glean through their writings the following ideas of Socrates.