Suchergebnisse

Peu de temps avant sa mort, Louis Gernet travaillait à une étude, qu'il réservait aux Annales, sur Thucydide et l'Histoire, à propos du livre de Mme de Bomilly intitulé Histoire et Raison chez Thucydide. La rédaction n'a pu en être achevée. Le texte que nous publions est donc incomplet. D'après les notes qu'il a laissées, Louis Gernet se proposait de le prolonger au moins dans deux voies : d'une part une analyse plus précise, chapitre par chapitre, de l'ouvrage de Mme de Bomilly ; d'autre part, un développement consacré à l'« Archéologie ». Cependant Louis Gernet avait entièrement rédigé, et sous une forme définitive, la partie centrale de son étude. C'est elle que nous présentons ici. En repérant, dans les écrits de Thucydide, un type de pensée qu'on peut dater et situer historiquement, Louis Gernet n'éclaire pas seulement l'œuvre de celui qu'on a pu considérer comme le premier historien, il apporte une contribution très importante à l'histoire de la pensée historique. Lui-même formulait, dans une note, cette observation qui nous semble donner à son texte sa portée véritable : « Mme de Romilly a bien raison de marquer l'intérêt d'une telle enquête dans le cadre d'une réflexion moderne sur l'histoire — sur l'histoire aux deux sens du mot, Geschichte et Historié. L'exemple fourni par Thucydide est en effet privilégié ; nulle part autant que chez lui ne se reconnait, pour reprendre les termes mêmes de Mme de Romilly, le rôle actif et constructeur joué par l'historien dans l'élaboration de l'Histoire. »

The most superficial level of Thucydides' history examines the destructive consequences of domestic and foreign policies framed outside the language of justice. His deeper political-philosophical aim was to explore the relationship between nomos (convention) and phusis (nature) and its implications for civilization. Thucydides concludes that nomos constructs identities and channels and restrains the behavior of individuals and societies. Speech and reason (logos) in turn make nomos possible because all conventions depend on shared meanings. The feedback loop between logoi (words) and ergoi (deeds) created Greek civilization but also the international and civil strife (stasis) associated with the Peloponnesian War. International security and civil order depend upon recovering the meanings of words and the conventions they enable. Thucydides should properly be considered a constructivist.

As one comes to see, the interplay between these two features of particularity and universality occurs with very good reason, for the human being is such that his actions require not only justification before others, but more importantly justification before himself. For as Thucydides will eventually show, even during the most calamitous times of lawless extravagance, men do not simply rid themselves of their concern for what is just, honorable, courageous, and moderate (2.53, 3.82, and 5.105). Man's constant need to justify his actions in light of virtue thereby elicits his attempt o do so, and that attempt invariably provides his opinion on such matter and thus implies he has an understanding of what is ultimately right for man as man. Accordingly, there are many characters within Thucydides' pages who profess, either openly or implicitly, to have acquired such an understanding and so presume to have philosophic knowledge. Only one of them, however, seems to be akin to Thucydides. That man is Diodotus. That this is so, why it is so, and what this implies I hope to have made plain by this paper's end. Adapted from the source document.

The most superficial level of Thucydides's history examines the destructive consequences of domestic & foreign policies framed outside the language of justice. His deeper political-philosophical aim was to explore the relationship between nomos (convention) & phusis (nature) & its implications for civilization. Thucydides concludes that nomos constructs identities & channels & restrains the behavior of individuals & societies. Speech & reason (logos) in turn make nomos possible because all conventions depend on shared meanings. The feedback loop between logoi (words) & ergoi (deeds) created Greek civilization but also the international & civil strife (stasis) associated with the Peloponnesian War. International security & civil order depend upon recovering the meanings of words & the conventions they enable. Thucydides should properly be considered a constructivist. 67 References. Adapted from the source document.