古希腊史讲课记录稿.doc

Introduction to Ancient Greek History Transcript Professor Donald Kagan Fall, 2007 1. Introduction Now, Im going to ask you this question. Why are you here? That is to say, why should you, we, all of us, want to study these ancient Greeks? I think its reasonable for people who are considering the study of a particular subject in a college course to ask why they should. What is it about? What is it about the Greeks between the years that I mentioned to you that deserves the attention of people in the twenty-first century? I think the answer is to be found, or at least one answer--the truth is there are many answers--in that they are just terribly interesting, but thats very much of a--whats the word I want, the opposite of objective--subjective observation by me. So I would say, a less subjective one is that I believe that it comes from their position, that is to say, the position of the Greeks are at the most significant starting point of Western Civilization, which is the culture that most powerfully shapes not only the West but most of the world today. It seems to me to be evident that whatever its other characteristics, the West has created institutions of government and law that provide unprecedented freedom for its people. It has also invented a body of natural scientific knowledge and technological achievement that together make possible a level of health and material prosperity undreamed of in earlier times, and unknown outside the West and those places that have been influenced by the West. I think the Nobel Prize laureate, V.S. Naipaul, a man born in Trinidad, of Indian parents, was right, when he spoke of the modern world as our universal civilization shaped chiefly by the West. Most people around the world who know of them want to benefit from the achievements of Western science and technology. Many of them also want to participate in its political freedom. Moreover, experience suggests that a society cannot achieve the full benefits of Western science a