Antifontove političke ideje: jedna rekonstrukcija

Abstract

Rad predstavlja pokušaj da se, uprkos fragmentiranosti i oskudnosti izvora, ocrtaju osnovne karakteristike Antifontove političke misli. Antifont nudi hedonističko shvatanje ljudske prirode, a čovek treba da pronađe način da, okružen životnim teškoćama i obdaren razumom i mogućnošću da raspozna prijatno od neprijatnog, živi najmanje lošim životom. Život u političkim zajednicama dodatno usložnjava ovu situaciju i otkriva napetost između zakona i prirode. Antifont kritikuje zakone zbog njihove neprirodnosti i mogućnosti da nanesu neopravdani bol nevinim ljudima. Ova kritika se odnosi pre svega na zakone u atinskoj demokratiji koji su postepeno potiskivali običajne norme karakteristične za aristokratsku prošlost ovog polisa. Za razliku od (makar nekih) zakona, stari običaji podrazumevali su da je recipročnost neraskidiva od pravičnosti i svoj su izraz pronalazili u principu da treba pomagati prijateljima i nanositi štetu neprijateljima. Moguće je da je Antifont bio pristalica upravo ovakvog viđenja pravičnosti

This paper is an attempt at sketching some basic characteristics of Antiphon’s political thought, even though the primary sources are both lacking and fragmented. It is argued that Antiphon, although having a hedonistic account of human nature, views human condition as very difficult. People, guided by reason and led by their ability to distinguish between the pleasant and the unpleasant, need to find ways to cope with their unfortunate predicament and live least unhappy lives. Living in political communities complicates this situation further and reveals tensions between law and nature. Antiphon criticizes laws, as their incompatibility with nature fuels the tendency to inflict pain on innocent people. This particularly applies to laws in democratic Athens which had suppressed and replaced traditions that were a part of the polis’s aristocratic past. In contrast to (at least some) laws, old traditions saw reciprocity as inextricably linked to justice. An important reflection of this principle was the maxim that one should help friends and harm enemies. It is possible that Antiphon was one of the sophists who supported this particular definition of justice.