Stoicism: Ariadne's Thread Through International Relations
The subject of modern international relations, which is quite broad, is approached from many different perspectives. Arguably, this makes it imperative to understand the history of the subject in order to understand the present. In The Philosophy of International Relations, F. Parkinson introduces his first chapter by claiming that the remainder of it will be devoted to the evolutionary trends of thought in international relations; however, he ignored all other trends and only focused on one specific ideology: Stoicism. This ideology, which was conceived by the ancient Greeks out of a need to define their values, was integral in developing the Western world's general perspective of international relations. It appears that Stoicism is the key evolutionary trend that Parkinson quite vaguely alludes to in his introduction. Stoicism, as an ideology, not only incited evolutionary trends in international relations; it also underwent many evolutions itself. Once the author approaches the topic of Christian Stoicism, it appears to the undiscerning eye that the thesis has abruptly switched from the evolution of Stoicism to the evolution of Christianity. Upon closer inspection, however, it becomes clearer that when embraced by t
Augustine felt that by doing so, he could "rescue the principle of universality" (15) by equating world law with an ideal world of divine character. Parkinson relates his historical account in chronological order, with the exception of a two-page deviation in which he describes the classical Greek notions of the fundamental principles, equality and universality. Augustine, who manipulated the already-popular principles of Stoicism in order to satisfy Christianity's desire for power. By upholding a popular system of thought, the leaders of Rome sustained, if not increased, power through the support of its population. Once it had been embraced by Roman upper class intellectuals who were taught by Greek scholars, Stoicism became an integral component in Rome's thoughts and actions. Proceeding from the Crusades to the end of the chapter, the historical account switches focus from Stoicism to periods in Christian history where Stoicism is decreasingly present. Parkinson, with diminishing effectiveness and increasing confusion, shows how Stoicism not only faced many evolutions, but how it transformed from a philosophy into a religion, and then diminished its presence within the religion. The only conclusion that one can draw from Parkinson's writing here is that he is indirectly showing how the prominence of Stoic ideals diminished. For example, in the Conquista, the Spanish demonstrated a high degree of hypocrisy when forcing conversion on non-Christians and ignoring the principle of equality in their religion. Stoicism did not make the transition from philosophical structure to religion naturally. Although it is unlikely that the beginner will understand what the author writes with the same clarity as would a more advanced reader; there remains a wealth of knowledge within the chapter. . Overall, this article lends a strong motivating force to delve deeper into the study of international studies, if only to understand and criticize F. This caused a deep sense of societal despair among the lower classes, and a strong sense of injustice. Furthermore, the fact that this quite complex chapter is only one part of a book indicates the great depth of study that is required in the philosophy of international relations.
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