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IntroductioThe influence fideas and deals s not found n patternsofac-
tions rigidly determined, nd the sensed ontinuity of cultures snever formulated unambiguously.What is effective on men's
mindsand eelingsandwhat persistsn their thought and magina
tion are only partially and emporarily expressedn bodies fdoc-
trines ound n oneageand ransmitted rom age o ege.The story
ofideal influence ndcultural continuitycannotbe old definitelyor
finally. Doctrinesand beliefsaremodifiedas hey are repeated nd
reinforced n traditions,and he history of the commonpestmust
be re-examined nd reformulatedby each age and by each com-
munity to account or the emergence f new circumstanceshat
give agesand communitiesheir peculiarcharacter ndspirit. Old
andnew, tradition and change, ermanence ndrelativity are not
simple opposites, or are they simply discoveredn the facts of
humanactionandexpression. hey are encounteredn the theorie
and historiesby which the facts are explained nd n which new
succeeds ld, old supplants ew, and theory and history becom
themselves artsof a processn which continuity and change re
mingled in the prosecution of a common inquiry and unending
dialogue.
In the inquiry that has associatedmen n progressivelyarger
andmore nterdependentroups,menhave urned rom investigat
ing immediate racdcalproblemso makingandenioying hingsof
beautyor to speculating n eternalmysteries ndenigmas-some
times combining practical, aesthetic,and theoretic; sometimeseparatinghe accumulationsf knowledge, ot only from the er-
rors discarded nd the ignorance uperseded,ut also rom other
humanaccomplishmentslassified or that purposeas emotional
imaginative, r mystic; sometimes singpastacquisitions f knowl-
edgeor informationas nstruments or further inquiry; sometime
I rn
Reproduced with permission of the University of Chicago Press.
For personal, noncommercial use only.
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Thought, Actian, and Passton
returning o hypothesesrematurelydiscarded, r refurbishing c-
cepteddoctrines o adjust hem to newer data,or abandoninghe
old and constructing adically new theoriesand amassing ata
which were inaccessible ntil the concepts hat marked hem off
were discovered r formed. n the dialoguewhich began efore he
beginning f history, nterlocutors aveparticipated or a time and
then havedisappeared, hile others,more recentlyarrived,have
continued he themes heir predecessors ad discussed nd the
words hey hadused-sometimes orgetfulof theoriginalproblem
or ingeniousn discovering nsuspectedspects, ndoften nsensi
tive to the meanings n which the words were usedwhen they
picked up the threadof discussion r inattentive o the nuances f
distinctions he words oncecarried; sometimesntroducingnew
problemswhichbent he alteredwords o still newermeanings nd
associationsndwhichaltered he old arts and echniques fstate-
mentandproof; sometimes dapting ewly devisednstrumentso
transformold problems.
The commonnquiry andadventure,hecontinuing ialogue nd
co-operation re, ike everything lse,subjectmatter or theory andscience.Humannatureandhumancommunityhavebeenset orth
and orderedaccording o t heological,anthropological, iological
philosophical,metaphysical, sychological, emantic, ociological
geographic,osmological, r economic rinciples.Histories ecount
thesuccessionsr patterns factionand houghtwith theaid ofone
or another fthesedoctrines nd n substantiationfits assumption
But the relationsofthe sciencesnd he successionsfthe histories
are, n turn, steps n the nquiry andphasesn the dialogue.Partici-
pants n the nquiry andspeakersn the dialogue roceed s fthey
wereengaged niquely npromoting cceptancef truedoctrines nd
sound roofs n acontextofacceptedactsandestablishedciencesandour analyses fstates ofaffairs, actualandpast,are requently
framedas f doctrine,belief,andaction all into placeby conform-
ing to uniquepatternsor sequencesistoricallydetermined nddis-
putableonly by the gnorant, he biased, r the malicious.Yet he
ambiguityof conceptsn theoreticdisputations nd he multiplicity
Izn
Introduction
of interpretations of historical facts may also suggest,not that we
ought to eliminate ambiguity from our statements or that we shall
ever be able to do so, if that were desirable, nor that we ought to
agree on the facts of our situation, but rather that our efforts to use
knowledge and history to guide actions are involved in problems
similar to those of scientists faced by opposedhypotheses and to
thosehistorians faced by mutually inconsistent interpretations.
It is difficult to apply knowledge to action, not only because he
motives that lead men to act are not basically, or even largely, ra-
tional, but also becausewhat is advancedas relevant knowledge in
any problematic situation is not a single consistent body of doctrine
and does not indicate a unique course of action. We have almost
ceased o notice, to cite one striking example, the differences and
oppositions between the diagnosis of the problems of our times
which traces the persistent crises of a scientific and technological
age to the fact that our moral and spiritual development has not
kept pace with our scientific and technological advance and the
diagnosis ofour troubles as due to the fact that the social sciences
have agged behind the natural sciencesand that our power to con-
trol nature exceedsour power to control man. It is difficult to learn
from history, not only because he past is never wholly repeated
and what is relevant in analogies rom the past is not easily deter-
mined, but also becausewhat is advanced as history reflects the
circumstances and convictions among which the history was con-
ceived as well as he conditions and actions t sets orth. Historians
in the West have in recent decades constructed accounts of the
characteristics of civilizations, their development, deca/, and death,
to balanceMarxist inquiries into history as part of the scienceof
the history of society according to which society moves nevitably
through fixed stagesdetermined by relations and means ofproduc-tion to an ideal classless ociet/; not only are the historiescontra-
dictory in the data selected, n the interpretations put on common
data, and in the relations found to connect data, but also it is not
immediately apparent how men may learn from either account to
advance or prevent processeswhich are inevitable or, at least, to
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Thought, Action, and Passion
whichno exceptions avebeen ecorded. he problemswhicharise
in applyingscience r history to actionarenot scientificor histori-
cal: in their theoretic orm they aremetaphysical roblems f first
principles; n their practical orm they are rhetoricalproblemsof
persuasion.
The problemsof a cultureandof the relationsamongculftres,
which arestatedn theory andnarratedn history,areencountere
and resolvedn the clashof theoriesand he oppositions f tradi-
tions.A communityor a civilization s a productof antecedentir-
cumstances;t is alsoan expression f a set of beliefsconcemin
thenatureof thingsandanevaluation f what s worth while' With-
in the communityor theculture, he antecedentonditions re nter-
preted n a variety of histories, nd he cornmon eliefsconcemin
realiryandvalues re nterpretedn a variety of theories.Commit-
mentsand convictions oncerningwhat is true andwhat s impor-
tant are mingled n the operation fhistorical processes,nd hose
processes,n turn, are expoundedn historiescommitted o prin-
cipleswhichresult n varianthistorical nterpretations fthe conse
quencesfconvictions.They have heir groundsn reality andproc-esses, ut thosegrounds re ormulatedn philosophiesndscience
which areconstructedo take account,n the sphere f humanand
socialactions, f the differences mong hilosophiesndamonghe
organizations fsciences.Tiadition hasbeen hechannel swell as
theobstacle fchange.Revolutions avesoughthenew by a return
to the old, and,when hey havesought o avoid he old, they have
rediscovered ld ways and values,old predicamentsnd problem
at the peakoftheir revolutionarysuccess. hilosophersnd scien
tistshaveorganized ymbolsn demonstrativeystems, avesough
the verificationof systems n facts and experience, ndhavepro-
moteddoctrines ndmethodsn an effort to secure cceptanceorthemby a consensusfall men,or ofthe exPerts r the educated r
the elite,or, at least,ofa schoolor a sector a Pafty' but they have
also ecognizedhat heir systems f symbols,heirempirical erifi-
cations, nd heir proofsdepend n he formationof concepts hich
[4n
Introduction
face out on the unexplored and determine the alterations or revolu-
tions of their systems.
In the processesof objective history (which include among his-
torical phenomena he construction ofhistories by historians) and n
the processesof objective nature (which include among empirical
social facts the formation oftheories by scientists andphilosophers)
continuity and change are found in themes and concepts, arts and
techniques,data and purposes. A civilization which has a common
past and a common set of values is bound together by symbols
which are the source of common action and mutual confidenceand
understanding. o ong as h e symbols are viable, he civilization is
vital, and the symbols are a source only ofconcepts for inquiry and
themesfor discussion.The symbols of a civilization by which men
live and act are elaborated n myth and history, in belief and knowl-
edge.A crisis of civilization is a failure of symbols as a bond binding
men in the community they previously recognized and as an in-
spiration leading them to common action for common purposes.
New histories are then composedand new efforts are madeto con-
vert all men or an elite or a sec t to one of the doctrines which in-terpret reality and values.Suchefforts succeed ometimes,but they
never secure more than partial and temporary consensus, nd their
successn the past has usually been due less to the valuesor the
truths they celebrate han to somespeciesof force-the influence of
material and economiccircumstance, ocialpressure,political con-
trol, or military power. Even when they are successful,moreover,
the form and content of doctrine and belief are modified by the
same processes hat lead to the resolution of differences of belief
and doctrine by conviction and force, by influence and resistance-
the successof peaceful and violent social change s due to the ef-
ficacy of the themes and the concepts, he arts and the techniques,which are the sourcesof the interpretations we give to the nature of
things and to their operation and development.
The four themes which are treated in the essays brought to-
gether in this volume-love, truth, freedom, and imitation-are
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Thought, Actian, and Passion
themeswhich were fust givena prominent lace n the nquiry an
thedialogue f Western ivilizationby Greekpoets, tatesmen, nphilosophers. hey havecontinued inceantiquity to be concept
aboutwhichmenhaveorganizednquiry nto,anddiscussionf, ourcommon ives and pu{poses. he history of the influenceof theGreeks hasbeen etold in every age rom AlexandriaandRome opresentday ormulations f anemergingworld community, ut the
different udgments fthe adequacy ftheir idealsandconceptiohave hemselves eenparts of the discussion f common hemesThe nfluence f the Greekshasbeen xalted nddisputedor qualities attributed o themand or reasons lleged o accountor or to
diminish heir accomplishments.he miracleof Greecewas thatone small community of men-not indeedof all Greeks but ofGreeks esident n Athensduringa few generations--developedomany themesand perfectedso many techniqueshat have continued o occupymen n their individual ives, their arts, their association,and their pursuit of knowledge,wisdom,and spirituavalues.
Love, truth, freedom,and imitation have been defined,devel-oped, and applied n theorieswhich depan from Greek conceptions; and the historieswhich recount he development f thosthemes ind Greek practicesand doctrinesdeficient n many re-spects.The Greek doctrineof love,despite he ofty reaches ndsubtleelaborationsf the Platonic heory, wassupplementedy theChristianconception f divine ove and charity. Yet St. Augustin
found he hemes nd he dialectic or the systematicormulationofChristiancharity n the doctrines f Plotinus..
Greek mathematicians,stronomers, hysicians,and philosophers,despiteheprogresshey maden formalizing, ystematizin
and advancingknowledge n astronomy,mathemadcs, hysicsmeteorology, nd biology,anddespite heir monumental onsrruction of logicaldevices nd echniques nd heir profoundexplorations of the natureand requirements f truth, did not succeednelaboratinghe nstruments,n defining he concepts, r in makingthe measurementsequired or the establishmenr f empiricaland
Ion
Introduction
experimental ciences.Yet at eachstage of the development f
modernsciencehe themes nd heproblems n which the Greeks
exercisedheir ngenuity eappear, ometimesn explicit reference
sometimesn distantecho,sometimesn distorted efutation: Co-
pernicusquotesGreek astronomical heories which he learne
about rom Cicero; Galileo developed is mechanicsn the contex
of the disputes f AristoteliansandAverroists n Padua;Descane
inventedhis geometry o solve problemsposedby Greek mathe
maticiansand Fermat a id the foundations f number heory to
translate heir insights nto new symbolic orms; Cuvier andDar-
win expressed dmiration or the observationsand theories of
Aristotle; Whiteheadborrowed nspiraticnand erminology rom
Plato o expresshe organic nterrelations fhis philosophy fsci-
ence;and modern scientists requentlyclarify the basicassump
tions oftheir t heories y quarrelingwith conceptshey attribute o
Aristotle.
Greek societyandpolity had heir economicoundationn slav-
ery; the love of freedomwhich Periclescelebratedn his Funera
Orationdid not extend o all residents f Athens.and heAtheniandemocracywas an oligarchy; Plato, Aristotle, andother political
theorists n Athensdid not number democracy"among he "per-
fect" forms of government. etWesternman earned o talk about
freedomand ustice,order and he rule of law from Greek poets
thinkers, and men of action; and eighteenth-centuryhilosopher
and revolutionistsiustified democracyby meansof distinctions
arguments, nd principles hat had their origins in Greek theory
andpractice.
The concept f imitationoccupied fundamental lace n Greek
theories f science, orals, rt, and heto ric; t wasdisplacedrom
that central position and found inadequaten later critical, phe-nomenological, nd pragmatic heoriesof truth and n creativeand
expressive heories of art and beauty. \tt the influenceof the
variousdoctrines f imitation s apparent, ot only negativelyn the
doctrinesset up to supplant hem, but positively n the exemplary
uses o which history wasput by precepts pplied n practicalac-
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Thought, Actian, and Passian
tion, n the dialectical ndoperational riteria by which he ruth ofhypotheses as testedby application n naturalprocesses, nd nthe echniques hichwereadaptedo differentobjects f imitationin academic,mpressionistic,magistic,expressionisdc,urrealisticand uturistic an.
A themeor a concepts an instrument n the development,e-
fense, and refutation of doctrinesand theories. The history of
themess longer n extentand broader n scopehan hehistory ofthe doctrines hat specify he theme n any field or in any form ofaction,since he development f themes ncludes he significance
and mplicationswhich relate disparate octrines, onnecr he his-toriesofseparatedheories ndsciences, ndexplainheterogeneo
applications f developed octrines n other fields rhan those n
which they originally appeared.Some hemeswhich were first
elaborated y the Greeks have nfluencedater developments f
doctrineby thepattern f intnrelationshey suggested r laid bare.It would be absurd o argue hat Greek philosophers, oets,or
rhetoriciansanticipated he Christiandoctrineof charity, or rhe
psychiatric octrineofsexualurges,or the doctrines fcourtly loveor of romantic ove. They did explore ngeniouslyand magina-
tively the oves hat relateman o man, o woman, o ideas, deals,
and God and hat bind men n families, riendships, nd communi-
ties; and he names f Oedipus,Helen,Aphrodite,Antigone,Hip-
polytus,Damonand Pythias,Orpheus,Alcestis,Achilles,Orestes,
andSocrates avecontinuedo evoke n the mindsof latermen hevastcomplexiryof human oves.Later discussionsf the hemes flove as subconsciousrive, ndividualdesire,communirybond,or
transcendent ttraction,not only extended arly conceptso new
meaningsand applicationsusing Greek examplesor borrowing
Greek names o form technical erms, but played on the inter-dependencesfforms oflove, makingone orm or another unda-
mental o the rest.
Other themes hat bear he marksof Greek origin have nflu-
encedater developmentsf doctrinesby basic istinctionsnd data,
and urther developmentasconsistedn sharpening fthe distinc-
Ien
Introductio
tions in doctrines,correcting and adjusting heories,and supple
mentinghypothesis y hypothesis snew data havebeenaccumu
lated n the successivepplications f morerefined heories.Aris-
totlediscussed otion n termsof time,space,matter, n6nity,and
cause, ut his distinction betweenupward anddownward motion
prevented im from giving mportanceo the deaof inertia,andhis
distinctionbetween iolentandnaturalmotion, between lteration
increase, nd ocal motionstood n the way of his orminga concep
of force.He examinedhe kinds,structures, unctions, ndpartsof
animals, asing is distinctionsn many cases n extraordinaril
acute empirical observations, nd he concentrated ttention on
problems f nutrition, growth, modes f locomotion, eproduction
heredity, truggleor existence,urvival, isease,nddeath;but at
besthe prepared or the later concepts f classification,unction
and evolutionon which biological nquiry hasproceeded ince he
eighteenth nd nineteenth enturies.The characterof the theme
which haveguided he progress f sciences obscured y the m-
portence f the dataon whichconcepts reemployed nd o which
they are adjusted;and he suggestive ower of the interrelationwhich they concealn their ambiguities,which are as frequently
liberating asobstructive, ppears nly occasionallyn the insight
exploredn new discoveries.
Still other themesexploredby the Greekshave nfluencedater
developmentsf doctrines y the enlarging copeJapplicationwhic
they acquiredwith changingcircumstances, eliefs,and institu-
tions.Cynics andStoics onceivedhe equalityandbrotherhood f
man; Christians elated he brotherhood f manand he heavenl
city to the Judeo-Christianonception f God; but only in recent
timeshaveeconomic nd political changes ermitted he extensio
by which the concept f freedom s applied o all menand he en-largement y which t includes conomic, ocial,and culturalas
well aspoliticalandcivil rights.Modernmanhas ediscoveredn
hisefforts o comprehend ndencompasshe our freedoms ome f
the perplexitiesof Antigone's appeal o an unwritten law which
underlies, nd comesnto conflictwith, the aws of states.
l s I
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Thought, Actian, and Passian
Finally, some hemes f the Greekshave nfluencedater devel
opments f doctrinesby moving rom field to field, osingsignifi
cantapplicationn one o acquire ew applicationsn another, ften
without attracting aftention to the relations etzueenlu fulds. Plato
andAristotle discussedrt asan mitation of nature;aesthetics n
criticism made ittle sympathetic seof imitation during somepe
riods, ncludinghenineteenth enruryr1rethe hemehashada ong
continuingcareer Hellenisticand Romanrhetoriciansand poet
advisedpoets,historians,and philosopherso imitate the grea
models n their art; Christian writers moved the concept nto
moralsand heologyand advocatedhe mitation of Christ; imita-
tion rpturned o a central mportancen the doctrines f theRenais
sance,and among other applications olitical philosophers ase
their doctrineson the imitation of the pastor the imitation of na-
ture; and he modelswhich scientists onstructed nd the opera
tions they employed nd described ada relation o natureand ts
processes hich the Greekscouldhavenamed mitation.
The discussion nd applicationof themeswhich can be trace
back o the Greekshavebeencarriedon for centuries y arts andtechniqueswhich the Greeks nvented o developand variegate he
themesn which they wereemployed. hey sdll retain he name
given o themby Greek hinkers-logic anddialectic,mathematic
rhetoric, grarnmar, oetic,history, ogistic,sophistic, ristic,criti-
cism,philosophy. ustas he themes f inquiry anddiscussionend
to essume fixity and rigidity in doctrines,conclusions, nd be-
liefs,so oo he echniques finquiry anddiscussionend o ose heir
character sarts and o becomemethods,nstruments, ndorgana f
verificationandproofby whichpostulates, ypotheses, nd belief
are attached o bodiesofdata andby which nquiry and nferenc
are ransformednto formalized ciences. he processes mployein thesemethods re n tum combined nd ransformed y similar
methods- thosewhich n the past ed to the construction f meta-
physics,heologies,riticalphilosophies,hilosophicalnthropol
gies,and epistemologies,r to the elaboration f the dealsof the
communion f saints, he republicof letters,and he consensusf
I ron
Introduction
experts, or, more recently, to the promulgation of the unity of sci-
ences, he homogeneity ofcultures or ages or the patterns and suc-
cessions fcultures, societies, ndepochs, nd he integrationofthe
whole man. On the other hand, just as themes are fertile sourcesof
diverse and even contradictory doctrines, so too techniques are
moved from field to field in heterogeneousapplication to subjects
for which they were not designed n their previous uses: he de-
vices of rhetoric are applied to things as well as to words, to the
construction of methods of discovery in science as well as to the
formation of arguments for persuasion n practical problems or to
the invention of forms and figures in poetry; treatiseson the gram-
mar of scienceor the grammar of politics follow more than a figure
of speech n their search or least pans and simple connedions;
dialectic, whether it finds its foundation in spirit or in mater, sup-
plies a method for all problems; theologians and poets have pro-
fessed sometimes to express ruths beyond the scope of reason or
science,sometimes to give form to insights accessible o cornmon
sense,philosophy, and science n the languageof everyday life;
philosophy is reduced to logic or to historiography or to arr.There is no way to participate in the inquiry or the dialogue, in
which themes are developed and techniques are employed, excepr
by taking a stand on a doctrine which is one expression of a theme
and by using a method which is one development of a technique or
an art. The history of the processeswhich lead to that doctrine-
that belief or philosophy or science-and to the method by which it
is established,extended, and defended, elates \Mhatwent before to
the assumptions and convictions that form the last stage of the
evolution. Yet actual processes ranscend the fixities of doctrines
and the oppositions of historical accounts of their evolution. The
themes that connect the successivedoctrines are ambiguous fromthe point of view of the precisions attained in systematic formula-
tion; and the techniques which move, usually undetected, rom one
application to another arc haphazard from the point of view of
rigorous method. Yet the very ambiguity of the themes and the
freedom of the techniques rom commitment to principle or subject
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Thought, Action, mtd Passnn
matter give them a double value--a hturistic valueas nstruments of
discovery of doctrines and principles, which may then be verified
and applied n determinate and definite form, and an etcpressia€alue
as grounds of common purposes providing a meansof communica-
tion and mutual understanding o proponents of different forms of
expression, different contents of value, and different systems of
proof. The invention and discovery of new hypotheses and prin-
ciples, when they are not purely foftuitous, arise out ofnew vari-
ants of themes and new applications of techniques; and communica-
tion, when it is more than the elaboration of the shared beliefs and
postulates that unite communities, sects, and schools, dependson
the discovery of the common themes to which particular doctrines
give different concretion, the common values to which different
communities give different expression,and the cornmon techniques
to which different methods give different principles, employments,
and systems.
Four themes-love, truth, freedom, and imitation----and four
afts or techniques-philosophy, history, rhetoric, and poetry----are
presented n this volume in four aspectsof their operation in theprocessesof discovery and communication, of concealmentand de-
ception, which elude single definition and simple reduction to the
rules of methods. By the criteria of clear, distinct, and adequate
ideas, the themes are equivocal, yet they are the thesaurusout of
which univocal and analogical definitions evolve and achievepreci-
sion of significance and application. Philosophers criticize the pre-
suppositions and refute the conclusions of other philosophers ac-
cording to the requirements of their own definitions and theories,
yet the relations which give relevanceand significance o their ex-
change of compliments arise from the themes by which they are
joined rather than from the definitions by which they are separated.By the criteria of methodswhosepresumptionsare stated n advance
and whose operations are reduced to rules conforming to require-
ments and criteria, the techniques are indeterminate, inasmuch as
their starting points are undefined,enigmatic, and mysterious, and
their operations nventive, creative, and unpredictable. Yet the tech-
I rz
Introductian
niques provide not only the connections between the stages by
which grammar, rhetoric, logic, dialectic, and poetic have evolved
in practice and n the application ofnormative rules to practice, but
also the connections between the arts which make heterogeneou
applications possible-poetic has afforded the devices o make phi-
losophyan art, dialectic has determinedsuccession s fhistory and
pattems of cultures, logic has supplied categories or metaphysics,
rhetoric has constructed the "proper places" of inductive method
on the analogiesof the "common places" of discourse,and grammar
has suggestedhe "syntax" ofmodern logic.
The theme treated in the fust essay is love; the technique by
which it is developed s philosophy,but in the course of the treat-
ment and in its manner it is apparent that this is properly a theme
for poetry, The interrelations of the treatment of one theme by two
techniques, however, mn counter to the interrelations of things dis-
covered in the development of themes and the use of techniques.
We have tended in recent decades, n spite of our devotion to
philosophies of events, relations, wholes, and organisms, and in
spite ofour avoidance fmisplaced concreteness, ubstances,eparations, and abstractions, o separate he disciplines we practice and
the purposes or which they are employed. Science,and philosophy
in so far as it is made scientific, treat truth and probability and are
cognitive; history sets forth the interrelations and successionsof
concrete events; ethics has recendy borrowed an orientation from
rhetoric, as politics has in the past, to become ejaculatory or per-
suasive; while poetry arousesemotions. These four methods, none-
theless, are not distinct in the context or in the techniques from
which they arise, and according to many philosophies-which we
easily forget when we seek our unities and wholes in the unity of
science,or of culture, or of man-to separate hem is to be guilty ofunwarranted dichotomies and abstractions.
The essay on "Love and Philosophical Analysis" takes its be-
ginning, therefore, in interrelations and interdependencesof loves
and methods explored in Greek philosophy. The techniques of po-
etry and rhetoric lie, as it were, midway between-or in some
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Thought, Action, and Passion
other mannerbeyond he reaches f-both the factual determina
tions of history and the theoretic precisionsof philosophy.To
bring out thecharacter ftechniqueshat nvolvemore hanopinion
but ess han proof the problems f knowledgeandmotivation,of
objectiveact and ranscendentnsightare ocusedn thisessay, ot
on he arge hemes f experiencer intuitian,which mightbeused o
provide he matrix in which contemplation nd action are oined,
but on the themeof love,which is the stimulus o the pursuitofknowledge, heprosecution faction, and he creation r apprecia
tion ofart.
Plato argued hat there is a single method by which truth is
achievedn philosophy, cience, racticalaction,andcommon is-
cussion; hat that method,dialectic, s a methodof discovery,of
proof, of communication, f teaching,and of expression;hat the
use of dialectic simultaneously efines erms,clarifies deas,pre-
paresandpersuades inds,and analyzeshe objective ituation. t
follows, herefore, hatpracticalproblems resolved estby dialec-
tic employed y philosopher-kingsr, failing hat dealsolution,by
right opinionappliedby statesmenndenforced y thepersuasioandpenalties flaws; that poetsshouldproperly be banishedrom
the stateand hat dialecticians nd awgiversshouldbe recognize
to be sounder ndbetterpoetsor, ifthe dialogues e akenseriously
asexamples f dialectic, hat Homer,Hesiod,andPindarshouldbe
rectified, nterpreted, ndappliedby dialecticians;hat history s a
myth which eitherapplies he truths of dialectic n likely srories r
uses he truths of what actually happenedo interpretdialectical
proofasa ikely story.Thesearecomplexities f interrelations nd
mysteries f transformation hich ew "Platonists"havepreserved
in their use of the dialectical methodor in their translationof
Platonic hemes nto Neoplatonicdoctrines.They have rozen he
dialecticof Plato o make t an nstrumentby which to ascendhe
Iadderofloves, the chainofinspirations,or thepartsofrhe divided
line, which in turn have been ontologized nto sharply divided
stages f beingandbecoming, nowledgeand opinion, eality and
process;or they have made he equivalence f the processes f
I r+n
Introduction
reality and the processesof thought into an identity of historical
evolution and intellectual demonstration. Only the constant and
recurrent influence of Plato himself has saved Platonists from the
consequences f scientific or religious dogmatisms and practical
skepticisms by reproducing in the varieties of doctrines nspired by
the dialogues he richnessofthe themes hey explore.
The fact that Plato applied the term "Ideas" to the realities,
which are imitated by things and by thoughts, has ed many of his
interpreters and admirers to conceivehis philosophy in purely, or in
fundamentally, intellectual terms. This is the more surprising, since
few philosophers, not even Augustine and Ambrose, or Rousseau
and Kierkegaard, whose arguments reflect Plato's dialectic and
whose nquiries echo Socrates' ronic questions,have devoted more
thought than Plato to nonrational springs of human action and to
nonintellectual insights into transcerrdentvalues-to love, poetrfr
intoxication, and the mystical perceptions of intuition and religion.
The theme of love, rather than the Idea of the Good, or the One, or
the Beautiful. is suited to focus in human action on motivation and
inspiration nstead ofon the rational analysisof meansand ends;and the techniquesofpoetry, religion, rhetoric, and drinking, which
find their perfection in dialectic and philosophy, are appropriate to
focus attention on the persuasion fmen to action nsteadofon the
analysis of truths by which love operates and in which it 6nds its
ultimate justification. The theme of love carries the analysis,not
simply through varying doctrines of love, but through varying
methods,circumstances,and subiectmatters made relevant to those
doctrines n ancient, medieval,and modern discussions. hat ex-
ploration of the theme permits the statement of modern problems
which arise from lacunae n modern doctrines of love and which
indicate desiderata n methods ofdeveloping and understanding t:
the rich varieties of conceptions of love developed n past discus-
sions of the theme have tended to be reduced n modem times to a
basicsexualconcept, and t has become difficult to treat effectively
the loves which bind men in communities, attach man to ideals, or
draw him into mysteries u'hich exceedself-interest or subconscious
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Thought, Actian, and passio
self-assertion;he echniquesy whichmenengagen inquiry abouloveandaftempt o effectcommunicationave endedo te ieduceto methods fobjectiveverificationoferotic aberrations r sociafrustrations,nsecurities, nd ensions, r, when hey have esistesuch eductionn the echniques fpoetry andpolitics, o be reatedas void of cognitivecontent. t has becom"diffi"ult to state heproblems hat are involved n establishing urposes, lans,meas
ures,policies,or cultural valuesasgenuine"nd gro*d.d propositions n relevantsciences,or problems f actionandmutuaiunder-standing epend ot only on persuading eoplewho are requentlyseparated y doctrines ndbeliefsbut alsoon the adequacy rpur-posesand statements, n the one hand, o cornmonvalues hatunderliedifferences ndon their fidelitR on the other hand, o anobjective ituationwharever hedifferences f the viewsby whichit is approached.
The theme reated n the second ssays truth; the echnique ywhich it is developeds hisnry, for although ruth is prop.rty
"leme for philosophyt is treatedhistoricallymo." fr.querrriy*rnphilosophically, ndeven heaccounrs
hilosophersiveofthe doc-trines of other menasstages r aselementsn the Jevelopment ftheir own positionsare historiesof doctrines hat haveb..n pr"-sented s rue rather handemonstrationsesignedo exhibit ieirtruth' History is not concerned nly with factsandwith the nter-pretation of what men have doneand said,after the mannerofThucydidesand of mostwriters classifiedn librariesas ,,histori-
ans"l it is also concemedwith the doctrines,communities. ndfantasiesmen haveconstructed nd with the methods hey haveemployed n those onstructions.he ideasmenhaveusedo inter-pret and to alrer facts become hemselvesacts n history. Theideas
_ofhistorians, oets,prophets, cientists, ndphilosophers,o
less han he deasofstaresmen nd he deasattributed o peoples,are datafor history. History and rhetoric, viewed
",.".hrriqo"r,
havea double elation n the treatmentoffacts and heplanningofaction: hepast actsof history area guide o futureacti,on,
"nirh.resentattitudesoftimes andofpeoplesdeterminehe interpreta-
I ron
Introductian
tion of history and he past.History and philosophyhave ikewise a
double relation when they are viewed as echniques: every formula-
tion of history is guidedby basic deaswhich may be expressedn a
philosophy ofhistory; every philosophy s developed nd set forth
in a context of other philosophieswhich may be related in a history
of philosophy.
Ideasare transformed when they are stated as historical events n
a historical context. The significance and the truth of a doctrine
depend on its proof and verification; when ideas are viewed in the
circumstances of their occurrence and the influences that contrib-
uted to their formation, they are facts and events to which truth or
falsity are relevant only indirectly and accidentally. Yet we usually
treat ideas "historically" rather than intellectually, and we seldom
note the transformation we work on them. Only rarely do we re-
state the presuppositionson which a doctrine other than our own is
basedor examine he evidence hat is advanced o support it and the
data to which it is applied. Our usual procedure is to state other
men's theories and doctrines in the context and on the presupposi-
tions of our own, to s how the irrelevanceof their arguments o ourprinciples, he nadequacy ftheir conclusions o our data,and hen
to account for the peculiarities ofthe doctrine by the circumstances
interests,or prejudicesofits author, or his times,his nation,people
or class.The influenceof philosophieson history, conversely,de-
termines the relevant data and the taxonomy or causal relations
which are soughtamongdata.When historiesdependon dialectica
presuppositions,hey tend to be epochaland o trace the spirit, cli-
mate, or character of times and peoples n the manner of Herodotus,
Augustine, Hegel, Marx, Spengler,or Tolmbee. When histories
dependon the causes reated in some particular scienceor branch of
knowledge-such as politics, economics, ociology,or the militaryart-they tend to trace a causal ine of progress or decline that cuts
acrossdistinctions of periods and ages n the manner of Poly bius,
Gibbon, Buckle, or Henry Adams. When histories concenrrateon
the actions of outstanding men or peoples, they tend to be ex-
emplary narratives presented for imitation or avoidance in the
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Thought, Actian, and Passion
mannerof Plutarch, Machiavelli, or Carlyle. Finally, when his-
tories are concemedwith problemsand with the doctrineswhichmen evolved n the solutionof problems, hey tend to be discipli-
nary n the manner f Diogenes aenius,Prantl,andUeberweg, n
the historyofphilosophy nd ogic,or oflike historians fthe sci-
ences,he afts, and iterature.
The techniques f philosophyand history are focused, n the
essay n "Tiuth and he History of Ideas,"not on the arge hemeoffact or eemtor reality,which might be used o explore he dataor
irreduciblematerials n which history, science, ction,andaft are
employed, ut rather on the themeof truth, n which men ustify in
varying ways what they say n varying situationsby referenceo
what they conceiveo be the relevantand compelling acts.Plato
treated he history of his predecessorsialecticallyand concen
trated thereforeon what hasbeen aken o be the spirit and the
significance f their philosophies;Aristotle treated he history ofhis predecessorsroblematically nd concentratedn the detailsof
the doctrines hey developedo resolvepanicularproblems.Plato
andAristotle both reatedhistory n the nterestofphilosophy,andthere s good easono doubt he accuracyoftheir presentation f
either he spirit or the doctrinesas hey weredeveloped nd with-
out referenceo Plato'sor Aristotle'sphilosophy.Yet ater histori-
ans,working ashistorians ather than as philosophers, avebeen
dependentargelyon heir testimonyandhavecomposedhe history
of Greek philosophy rior to them by mingling he two in.propor-
tions andaccording o criteria suppliedby the philosophies fsuc-
cessive istorians.Plato and Aristotle choose, n accordance ith
their respective hilosophies,he faas they report concerning ar-lier philosophy: hey concentrate ttentionon different philoso-
phers,on different deasofthe same hilosophers,ndon different
interpretations f the same deas; he relations hey revealamong
the ideasof any onephilosopher r any groupofphilosophers redifferent; and hey differ evenon the questionofthe beginning f
philosophy,Plato finding t in Greek thought,Aristotle extendinghis inquiries o the barbarians. ut if their philosophical ssump
I18n
Introduction
tions determine the facts available to later historians, their philoso-
phies likewise become facts in a context of other facts and with
scant emnantsofproofor verification,when the history ofphiloso-
phy is extended o include them and to passbeyond them to their
successors.
The themetreated in the third essay sJreedom; he technique by
which it is developed s rhetoric,but the rhetoric is that ofspeeches
used in a history to reconstruct the conditions and intentions that
moved men to action. As the subiect of the first essay s the theme
of love presentedphilosophically or poetic Purposes, nd as the
subiectofthe secondessay s the theme oftruth presented istori-
cally for philosophicpurposes, o he themeoffreedom is presente
in the third essay n the rhetorical development fPericles' Funeral
Oration, and of the opposedspeeches y which it is framed' for the
historical purpose of setting what men thought against he back-
ground of the causes hat led them into conflict. The problems in-
volved in the resulting juxtapositions are not problems of the theo-
retic interrelations ofthemes and echniques n anorganic philosophy
in which all things may be thought to be interdependent,all sciencesunified, and all methods one, f being s distinguished rom becoming,
and knowledge from opinion; they are problems of the practical in-
terrelations of knowledge applied to particulars and knowledge used
in action, if knowledge is applied to the conditions of men and used
to influence their motives. Thucydides had a theory by which he
combined history and rhetoric in order to relate, in the treatment of
practical problems, knowledge applied to particulars historically
and knowledge used n action rhetorically. His history is an effort
to presentboth the immediatecauses nd he real ssues f the war'
The immediate causesare what men thought and said, and they are
expressed rhetorically in the speecheswhich Thucydides repro-
ducesand reconstructs, while the real issuesemerge n the circum-
stances and relations of the opposed powers which become in-
separablymingled with what men think the issues o be. But if
rhetoric is employed to construct the particular knowledge which
constituteshistor/, the purposeofthe history is to contribute to the
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Thought, Action, and Passian
practical knowledge employed in plans for action which is set forth
by rhetoric. Thucydides hoped hat, ifhe succeeded n exposing he
real cause of the war , exact knowledge of the past might facilitate
the interpretation of the future and the discussion of possible
coursesof action.
These two interrelated problems-the historical determination
of what happenedand why and the practical determination of what
should be done and how-have led to the use of many other meth-
ods, some similar, others in radical opposition, to those developed
by Thucydides. To bring out the character of the techniques of
rhetoric and history that underlie those opposedmethods, he prob-
lems of historical knowledge and practical action are focused n the
essay on "Freedom and Disputation," not on the large themes of
human beha,uior r society,which might be used to bring fact and
belief, motivation and persuasion o bear on one another, but on the
theme of freedmn, which men of different persuasionshave long
conceived o be the condition and the end of human action. The his-
torical development of doctrines expressing the theme of freedorn
runs a course almost directly contrary to the historical developmentof doctrines of love All the varieties of love and all their applica-
tions are ntelligible today, but apart from the conception oflove de-
veloped and applied in psychology and psychiatry they have little
effective application in the analysis and planning of our individual
or social actions, and the term is not used without hesitation in most
of its meanings.The doctrines of freedom-the definitions and ap-
plications which the theme has received n historical evolution after
the Greek phase-have undergone almost total transformation in
their actual and possible applications; but, whereas a modern
speaker or writer would feel embarrassment n repeating the theme
of any except the satiric speeches f Plato's Symposium,he can and
does repeat the theme of Pericles' Funeral Oration in almost unal-
tered form and details of express ion. In their historical develop-
ment as themes,freedom and truth have come frequently into con-
tact with each other; and, n the optimistic philosophiesof dialec-
ticians, truth leads nevitably to freedom (since reedom is action in
Izon
Introduction
accordancewith wisdom), while, in the philosophies f progressof
logistic philosophers, reedom s a necessary ondition for the dis-
covery of truth (since reedom is action in accordancewith the laws
of one's own natu re). Yet the two histories exhibit the basic dif-
ferences that separateknowledge and action: the development of
knowledge has consisted n the multiplication of truths that men
can verify and the extension of the methodsof inquiry and verifica-
tion to the problemsof all aspects f human ife, and the discovery
oflater truths has ed both to the abandonment fearlier doctrines
and to the discovery ofinterrelations and interdependences mong
the branchesof knowledge; the development of human relationshas
consisted n the multiplication of freedoms hat men can ustify and
to the extensionof freedoms, n principle and promulgation, o all
men without distinction or restriction of any kind, and the recogni-
tion of iater rights-economic, social,and cultural-has not neces-
sitated he abrogationof rights earlier recognized-political, civil,
and religious-yet the question of the priority of the earlier or rhe
later freedoms s one that separatesSoviet philosophers and states-
men from those of the West, and the extension of freedoms to allmankind has proceededby dividing and opposingmen in parties,
sects, aces,nations, and peoples or the vindication of some ree-
doms for some men.
Greek conceptions of freedom divided men into freemen and
slaves. Even those Greeks who formed an idea of the brotherhood
and equality of all men found no plausible or effective means in
their civiliz ation of attacking the institution of slavery or the con-
viction of Greeks that Hellenes were fundamentally different from
barbarians. The Greek development of the theme did include the
doctrine that freedom is a "right" basedon the nature of man and
on the law of nature. Men had to wait until the eighteenthcentury
for the development of the concept of a Bill of Rights which enumer-
ates the forms of freedom and charges responsible governmenrs
with providing guaranties against their violation. The develop-
ments of the next two centuries vastly increased the number of
rights or freedoms and the spread of their application without dis-
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Thoaght, Action, and Passton
crimination basedon race, previous status, religion, sex, or nation-
ality. Yet these differences of circumstance, doctrine, definition,
and application do not affect the applications that can be given to
Pericles'expositionofthe ideal offreedom and ts problems.Today,
rhetoric is being re-employed and history is being repeated n the
development of the theme of freedom. Part of the world has at-
tached itself to the Athenian ideal of freedom; part of the world
views that development of the theme with the suspicionsexpressedby the Corinthians, who thought it a deceptive cloak for the inter-
ests and aggressionsofthe rich and the powerful. Yet in both inter-
changesoffear and suspicion, ancient andmodern, both versionsof
the theme had been united, only a short time before, in the defense
of freedom against a common tyrannical danger. The opposed no-
tions led ultimately, in the ancient development, to a war from
which Greek political forms and cultural life and civilization never
fully recovered. In the retrospect of over two thousand years the
war, which found its "immediate causes" n what men said and did,
was clearly a tragedy in which the "real" issuesdid not justify the
extremes to which men were carried, and they were not resolved bythe actions men took.
The theme treated in the final essay s imitation; t is a theme used
to explain the techniquesof poetry, but if art is viewed as itself an
object of imitation rather than as an imitation of nature, all human
arts and all human activities are guided by criteria of imitation em-
ployed by techniquesdeveloped n rhetoric.Like love, imitation is a
theme that can be applied to all human actions. l,ove is attachment
in action to something valued; imitation is action designed o em-
body or produce a value. Differences in loves and n theories oflove
are due to differences in the obiects of love; differences in imita-
tions and in theories of imitation are due to differences in the ob-
jects of imitation. The different loves and imitations are assimi-
lated to philosophy and distinguished rom eachother in the dialec-
tic of Plato. Love is a madnesswhich may turn man to the vision of
the Good and the Beautiful or to the pursuit of pleasure----and o-
etry and rhetoric, which may be dangerous and immoral instru-
[ .zz\
Introduction
ments, assume heir perfect forms as dialectic and philosophy. Imi-
tation is the processby which all things are made, rom the creation
of the cosmosby the demiurge imitating eternal forms to the imita-
tion of an imitation in which a poet imitates a lie in the soul--and
the errors ofpoetry are corrected by knowledge in philosophy and
by persuasionand force in laws. The analogiesand ambiguities of
love and mitation are reduced n the "scientific" analysesof Aris-
totle's philosophy. Love becomes a passion treated in psychology
and exploited in rhetoric, with only analogical extensionsand in-
direct uses n morals, politics, and poetry. Imitation becomes he
processby which the arts are distinguished from the theoretic and
practical sciences.After Aristotle, love, even in its analogical ex-
tensions n theory, practice, and art, tends to be only one ofthe pas-
sions defined by its object; and imitation, even n its literal restric-
tion to art, tends to be, not the processes fart copying and extend-
ing nature, but the devices of artists copying artists, in which po-
etry, history, science, and philosophy are all alike arts, and Poetry
with its more supple and delicate means of imitation attains to
higher truths than scienceor philosophy or at least to a higher ex-pression of the same truths. The modern doctrines in which both
themes are expressed end to conceal hem by recourse o their con-
traries. Love has allen out ofthe central place which Socratesgave
it in philosophy except as t is reflected or implied by the contraries
found for it in particular doctrines-hate, anxiety, fear. Imitation is
a theme which has fallen from the central place in the aestheticsof
poetry except n its negation by one of its doctrinal contraries-cre-
ation, expression, communication. As the consideration of the
theme of love serves to recall, among other things, that there are
philosophies which deny the distinctions, which other philosophies
labor to construct, between knowing, doing, and making, betweenscience,practice, and art, between cognitive, persuasive,and emo-
tive, so too the theme of imitation serves to bring to attention
forms of literature and poetry that are composedon the assumption
that the true, the good, and the beautiful are not, and cannot be,
separated.
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Thought, Aetian, and Passion
Therearephilosophies hoseexposition ouldnot easilybe con
fusedwith the development f a poemor theplot of a novel.There
are novelswhich could be differentiatedrom histories and ndee
their authorsoften call them "histories" in the courseof their fic-
tions) only by determiningwhetheror not their characters verex-
istedor performedheactions arrated. herearephilosophersike
Plato, Lucretius, Dante, Rousseau, ierkegaard,Nietzsche,and
Santayana hosemodeof expressions poetic, aphoristic,or lit-erary andphilosophersike Hume andSartrewho use comparab
techniqueso developcomparablehemessuccessivelyn philoso
phy andhistory or in philosophy, iction,and drama.The novelsof
Fielding,Balzac, r Hemingwaypresentactions; he developme
of characterss appropriete o the actionandmakes t plausible
what hecharactershink andsay s appropriateo the charactersn
their situations;whateverphilosophys expressedn the courseof
the narrative s easily dentifiedas he thought of one of the char
actersor of theauthor.The novelsof Rabelais,Melville, Dickens
James,Dostoevski,Kafka, Joyce,on he contrary,presentacdon
that emergento literal focus rom the complexities f characterthought,and anguage; nd he connections hich hey develop,ar
from beingdetermined y eventsn timeandspace, upplantiteral
factsandgive hemmeaningwhen hey emerge.t wouldbe dle to
ask whetherEveryman,or Christian,who representhe character
isticsof all men or all men of faith, is moreor lessabstract han
Tamberlane, r TomJones, r CousinPons,whosecharacters re
basedon the development f one humanquality. The character
that Christian encountersn his pilgrim's progressare likewise
motivatedby simple raits, and oundedcharacters re sometime
formedon the modelof the complexitiesof actualcharacters y
placingadominant haracteristicn a varietyof circumstancesr bya necessityand probability suggested y poetic or ideal models
The world of CaptainAhab s no ess eal han he world of Claris-
saHarlowe,but t is a world in whichevents remergedwith idea
and n whichpuzzled ritics ry to find theirbearings y identifying
the compulsion r ideal symbolizedby the white whale. Literal
[ .2+\
Introductian
narratives separate he real from the illusory, but it is no less egiti-
mate or effective, as truth and as art, to recognize the relativities of
the processeseported and to leave the resolution of the issue of
fact and fancy, as Dostoevski does, n the balanceofcharacters who
interpret, oppose their interpretation to that of other characters
whom they interpret, then doubt and change their interpretations,
and n which illusion may easily be truth or truth illusion. The sym-
bolism of the world may be reflected in the symbols the aftist uses,
asBunyan and Kafka built their worlds in dreams,or as he nervous
sentencestructure ofJames conveys and justifies statesofmind and
attitude, or as the learned puns and buried levels ofsymbolic struc-
ture ofJoyce suggest he inexhaustibly ich contentofdaily and ap-
parently trivial action. There are forms of anistic expressionwhich
have no univocal literal interpretation and which cannot be trans-
lated into emotional responses ndependent ofthought or unrelated
to action; and, what is even more important, the methods of inter-
pretation and criticism that are adapted o such works apply no less
effectively to works that have a literal meaning and an emotive pur-
pose and make them bearers of truth and causesof action.The techniquesofooetry and rhetoric are focused n the essayon
"Imitation and Poetry," not on the large themes of necessity r
beduty,which might be used to mark the basic principles in which
knowledge, action, and art are ioined, but rather on the theme of
imitation, which provides one of the lines of continuity in efforts to
explain the nature of aft, action, and knowledge, including the arts
ofscience, philosophy, and life, and the sciencesofhistory, art, and
practical action. For Plato, imitation is a broad concept-things,
ideas, and virtues as well as poetry are imitations. For Aristotle it
is a narrow concept, imited to art and used o distinguish the natural
basesofa poem or any other artificial object from the natural basesof a virtue or a science.Plato used he concept of imitation to relate
theory, practice, and art. Aristotle used the same concept to dis-
tinguish aft from knowledge and action. Yet for both, what was imi-
tated was nature or reality. In the concepts developed ater in the
evolution of the theme, imitation changed its meanings with the
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Thought, Actian, and Passton
changen the objectof imitation: writers wereenioined o imitate
the geniusof other writers or the art evident n their works or to
adaptgreator common hemes o appropriate anguage ewly de-
visedor borrowed rom commonanguage. he applications f imi-
tation move rom art to practice aswhen Machiavelliexpounds is
new methodof basing olitical actionon heemulation f greatmen
or greatpeoples, r Hobbesbases isnew science fthe stateon he
assumptionhat the commonwealthmitates he art of God) and otheory (aswhen scientistsesort o the construction f models, r
dialecticalmaterialists ndoperationalistseek he test oftheory in
the reproduction r control ofnatural processes,n what Aristotle
would have called the use of art to imitate and extendnatural
processes).
The inquiriesof men concerning he things that surround hem
and he dialogue n which they communicate ith eachother are
guidedand nfluenced y themes. he termsandconceptsn which
those themesare expressed re ambiguous, nd the relationsof
termsandconceptso oneanothern the developmentr expressio
of the themealter and change. he thememay for a time bring to-gether n one conceptmany related deasand data,and then the
unity may breakand heconnectionse ost.The thememay for a
time set up basic distinctionswhich, with changes f definitions,
are abandoned s unwarranted ichotomies ndabstractions,epa-
rating acts nto partswithout basis n reality. The thememay or a
time take he form of a concept r theory hat s applied o facts o
which it later seemsrrelevant.Changesn conceptsollowing the
developmentf a single hememayaffect he elations mongdeas,
the meanings findividual ideas,and he factsaccepted s elevanr
or warrantedas eal. Inquiry anddiscussion re affected nddeter-
mined,not only by thesechanges, ut also by the relationsamong
the themesand the techniques. he four techniques nd the four
themes y which these nterrelations re explored n the following
essays re sometimessed o distinguish ndseparateieldsandac-
tivities. Philosophy r sciencehenemploys scientificmethodor a
logic in the determination nd statement f truth; poerryemploys
Izon
Introduction
figurative anguageo depictand o arouse morions,ncluding heemotionof love; history is consrructed f singula,p.opori-tiowhich designater imitate ndividual hings,evenrs,
"nJth.i, inte.-
connecions; ractical roposirions sea rhetoricalor persuasimodeof discourseo stir men o actionor to tum them romactionthey had contemplated.Or, on the other hand, ruth, insteadofbeingdistinguishedrom the factsofhistory, the construdions fpoetrlr or the operations f practicalaction,may be dentifiedwithany oneof them,or all four may beconceivedo be he same;and,in that reduction, nyoneof the our-trurh, love, reedom, r imi-tation-may takeprecedence.
similarly methodsmay bedistinguished ccordingo their prin-ciples, urposes,nddata:historymay be conceived
",, ,n.,hod
bl which o reproducendividualhappeningsn their individuality;rhetoricmay be conceived sa methodby which a speakernflu-ences n audience y starting rom ts preconceptionsndattitudes;logic, dialectic,or the scientificmethod*"y b. conceived s amethodby which theories re ormed o accountor regularities r
recurrencesn a groupofphenomena,o relate hem Jother regu_larities n systems f laws,and o deriveconsequencesn applicattnandprediction;poeffy may beconceivedo bea methodolcr."tinganobjectof art whoseunity is not the same s he acts o which iis relatedbut s createdby theartist andappropriateo hismediumandwhoseeffectsare nor practicalactions nducedby playingonprejudice ndpreconception ut aesthetic ontemplation
"njpurg"_
tion of passions nd heir impulsionso action.Or, in torn,"r.h-ofhemethodsmay borrow fromtheorhers:philosophic ndscientific
methods reoften reatedasarts, reducedo history,or adaptedorhetoricaldevices fdiscovery; poeuy is often reatedasa vehicle
of truths,an nstrumentof socialcontiol or change, r a methodofrecourtinghistory; practical devicesof agreement r persuasionare-often oughtn a campaign f truth, n adherencendconformityto facs, or in poeticadornments; istoryhasbecome dialecticanda science, n art and an nstrument or practicalaction.
The influence f Athenson the curtuieof the west hasbeen et
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Thought, Action, and Passion
forth in poetry hat celebrateshe glory of Greecewhile imitating
its themes,meters,and orms; it hasbeen raced n histories hat
follow the development f influences, istinguishstages, eriods
epochs,and cultures, set fofth the exampleof Greek heroes
geniuses, nd nstitutions,or expoundhe formulations f problem
and he nventions f hypotheseso solve hem,whileemployinghe
historicalmethods riginatedby the Greeksand he historicaldata
assembledn their histories; t has beenexplainedn philosophie
that acknowledgehe influence r refute heerrorsof Plato,Aris-
totle, Democritus, r the Sophists;t hasbeen llustratedor advo
cated n practicalaction andstatementhat pursuedealsdreame
of by Greek sages, oets,andpoliticiansn circumstances,ith in-
struments, ndby institutionswhich the Greeksdid not imagine
But all these tatements ndactions repart ofthe dialogue nd he
inquiry n which he themes f theGreeksassumemany definition
and heir techniquesakeon many orms. n a significant ensehe
real influences in themesand echniques hich eludeand excee
literal restatement. he influence f Greek philosophys not found
in literal fidelity to doctrinesor methods venby thosewho haveprofessedo follow the positionsor to use he methods f Greek
philosophers;t is found rather n the living influenceof Greek
themes nd echniqueshat is encounteredven n the modificatio
of conceptsand the transformationof methodsby menwho know
Greekphilosophy nly indirectly n doctrines ndproofs nfluence
by ancientphilosophyandwho often rediscover ncientdoctrine
when hey refutewhat they conceivedo be he doctrineof Plato,
Aristotle, or Democritus.The influenceof Greek poetry is not
found n literal imitationof Greek epic, ragedy,comedy,pastoral
or ode; t is found ather n the nspirationby which poetic heme
andpoeticdevices ave ed o the creation fotherforms or the
useof othermaterials o attain ike poeticends.The influence f Greek
practical dealsandhuman elationss found,not in the survivalof
Greekpolitical,social, r economicnstitutions, ut n theadaptabil
ity to changing ircumstancesf idealswhich heGreeksexpresse
and modesof communicationwhich they usedand in forms of
Ize]
Introduction
homogeneity that haveemerged n the Westem world asa result of
the experiencesand the expressionsof the ancient Greeks. History,
finally, hascontinued o discovercharacteristicperiods, causal ines,
exemplary models,and developments n the arts anddisciplines; yet
the influence of Greek history is found in no one statementof sub-
sequenteventsas continuationsofthose which the Greeks recorded
but rather in the aid which their insights and hypotheseshave af-
forded to each succeedingage in rewriting history to the require-
ments and aspirations of later times, different places, and strange
people.
[2e