Aristotle claimed that people who are inferior are natural slaves, and those superior are naturally free. He explains his theory as follows:
"Where then there is such a difference as that between soul and body, or between men and animals (as in the case of those whose business is to use their body, and who can do nothing better), the lower sort are by nature slaves, and it is better for them as for all inferiors that they should be under the rule of a master. For he who can be, and therefore is, another's and he who participates in rational principle enough to apprehend, but not to have, such a principle, is a slave by nature. Whereas the lower animals cannot even apprehend a principle; they obey their instincts...
And indeed the use made of slaves and of tame animals is not very different; for both with their bodies minister to the needs of life. Nature would like to distinguish between the bodies of freemen and slaves, making the one strong for servile labor, the other upright, and although useless for such services, useful for political life in the arts both of war and peace. But the opposite often happens--that some have the souls and others have the bodies of freemen.
And doubtless if men differed from one another in the mere forms of their bodies as much as the statues of the Gods do from men, all would acknowledge that the inferior class should be slaves of the superior. And if this is true of the body, how much more just that a similar distinction should exist in the soul? But the beauty of the body is seen, whereas the beauty of the soul is not seen. It is clear, then, that some men are by nature free, and others slaves, and that for these latter slavery is both expedient and right."
I do not think this is an accurate theory, since it does not make much sense to me. There can be many factors that determine if one is a slave or is free. Someone could be sold as a slave based on the needs of their family. Slaves can also rebel and break free, as was the case in the film Ben-Hur, when Judah survived the Galleys and extracted revenge on the tyrant prince.
I believe that one's destiny is not predetermined at birth, it all depends on whether or not one has the moral strength to survive slavery, or the courage to begin a revolt and fight for freedom. This idea is suggesting that some people deserve to be slaves, which I do not think is a justifiable idea by any means. Some people may be more suited for slavery based on stature, but these people would be better off as gladiators, since serving a nation is morally permissible in my mind, while serving a wealthy individual is a waste of a strong willed person.
Showing posts with label Marty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Marty. Show all posts
Monday, April 18, 2011
Thursday, March 31, 2011
European Slavery & Middle Eastern Slavery
I have been focusing on Roman slavery in particular, and I have gone into detail regarding the cultural aspect of Roman slavery. I have not explored Arab slavery, which had several differences and similarities to Roman slavery. A main difference between the two slavery cultures was that Middle East slavery was governed by religious law, rather than state law. The slaves were of many different racial and religious backgrounds as opposed to just one culutre in European Slavery. This led to the beginning of African Enslavement, since the Arabs began to control slave empires in Northern Africa. This continued until the 18th century, where the Arab Slave Trade became violent. Lynch mobs would hunt Africa for black slaves and capture them, since the demand had gotten so high.
Christian and Judaic law permitted the use of slavery, but the Judiac law gave strict guidelines for selling and treatment of the slaves. Because of this acceptance, slavery boomed in the Middle East until the transatlantic slave trade, where the black slaves were brought to America.
Christian and Judaic law permitted the use of slavery, but the Judiac law gave strict guidelines for selling and treatment of the slaves. Because of this acceptance, slavery boomed in the Middle East until the transatlantic slave trade, where the black slaves were brought to America.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Bibilography
1) Aristotle, Politics. Translated to English by Ernest Barker.
This is a long text that explains in detail Aristotle's view on politics, including his stance and theory regarding slavery. He also focuses on the concept of a city as a basis for a community, and claimed that "man is a political animal."
2) Ben-Hur. Dir. William Wyler. Warner Brothers, 1959. DVD.
A 1959 slave film about a Jewish Slave named Judah Ben-Hur, whose good friend Messalla had been named commander of the Roman garrison of Jerusalem. Their friendship soon dissolved, as Messalla had become an arrogant tyrant. When Judah expresses his opposition to Messalla, he responds by making Judah a galley slave and imprisoning his mother and sister. Judah makes it out of the galleys, and is hell bent on revenge against Messalla.
3) Bradley, Keith. Slavery and Society at Rome New York: Cambridge University Press, 1994. Print
This is a book that gives an in-depth perspective of Roman Slavery from 200 BCE - 200 AD, and goes into detail about the cruel treatment of these slaves, and how they were viewed in society. It captures how slaves dealt with slavery, and shows how as time progressed, opression to slavery grew.
4) Dubois, Page. Slaves and Other Objects. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003. Print.
In this book, Dubois looks at Greek Slavery in antiquity, and examines various pieces of literature to examine the difference between a slave and someone who is free. She argues that ancient slavery has been overlooked, and highlights the significance of that time period through literary analysis.
5) Gaius Petronius Arbiter. Satyricon. Translated by Michael Heseltine.
A latin work of fiction, this is narrated by Encolpious, a former gladiator, who follows the life of his 16-year old slave Giton. This is a strong and accurate portrayl of the life of a Roman Slave. Since the story revolved around one person, it was effective in giving an insight on the life of a slave, and his place in culture.
6) Hornsby, Alton Jr., "Slavery and Servitude." Laughter Genealogy Reference and Research Center. Concord Learning Systems, 2008. Web. Accessed 5 April 2011.
This was the webpage that gave a chronological overview of ancient slavery.
7) Joshel, Sandra R. Slavery in the Roman World New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010. Print.
If I had to identify my most important source for this blog, I would choose this book. Sandra Joshel gave a complete picture of slavery in Rome, using literature and law. This gave a perspective to the rights of slaves, the relation between slaves and their owners, plus it showed the tasks that these slaves had to do. After reading this book, I gained a complete understanding of Slavery's place in Roman Culture.
8) Plautus, Titus Maccius. The Comedies of Plautus. Translated by Henry Thomas Riley.
A moving story in which Saturio, a poor free man, had to resort to selling his own daughter into slavery in order to pay his debt. This follows the life of the daughter after she was sold, which goes into graphic detail about her time as a sexual slave.
9) Shahadah, Owen Alik. "The definitive History of the Arab Slave Trade in Africa." Arab Slave Trade. African Code, 2011. Web. Accessed 31 March 2011. http://www.arabslavetrade.com
This webpage was a key component of my blog, as it examined the Arab Slave Trade, showing many differences between Western Slavery and North African/Middle East Slavery. The most striking thing I learned from this was that Middle Eastern slavery was permitted under Islam, Christan, and Judaic law. As a result, the demand for slaves grew, and led into the transatlantic slave trade.
This is a long text that explains in detail Aristotle's view on politics, including his stance and theory regarding slavery. He also focuses on the concept of a city as a basis for a community, and claimed that "man is a political animal."
2) Ben-Hur. Dir. William Wyler. Warner Brothers, 1959. DVD.
A 1959 slave film about a Jewish Slave named Judah Ben-Hur, whose good friend Messalla had been named commander of the Roman garrison of Jerusalem. Their friendship soon dissolved, as Messalla had become an arrogant tyrant. When Judah expresses his opposition to Messalla, he responds by making Judah a galley slave and imprisoning his mother and sister. Judah makes it out of the galleys, and is hell bent on revenge against Messalla.
3) Bradley, Keith. Slavery and Society at Rome New York: Cambridge University Press, 1994. Print
This is a book that gives an in-depth perspective of Roman Slavery from 200 BCE - 200 AD, and goes into detail about the cruel treatment of these slaves, and how they were viewed in society. It captures how slaves dealt with slavery, and shows how as time progressed, opression to slavery grew.
4) Dubois, Page. Slaves and Other Objects. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003. Print.
In this book, Dubois looks at Greek Slavery in antiquity, and examines various pieces of literature to examine the difference between a slave and someone who is free. She argues that ancient slavery has been overlooked, and highlights the significance of that time period through literary analysis.
5) Gaius Petronius Arbiter. Satyricon. Translated by Michael Heseltine.
A latin work of fiction, this is narrated by Encolpious, a former gladiator, who follows the life of his 16-year old slave Giton. This is a strong and accurate portrayl of the life of a Roman Slave. Since the story revolved around one person, it was effective in giving an insight on the life of a slave, and his place in culture.
6) Hornsby, Alton Jr., "Slavery and Servitude." Laughter Genealogy Reference and Research Center. Concord Learning Systems, 2008. Web. Accessed 5 April 2011.
This was the webpage that gave a chronological overview of ancient slavery.
7) Joshel, Sandra R. Slavery in the Roman World New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010. Print.
If I had to identify my most important source for this blog, I would choose this book. Sandra Joshel gave a complete picture of slavery in Rome, using literature and law. This gave a perspective to the rights of slaves, the relation between slaves and their owners, plus it showed the tasks that these slaves had to do. After reading this book, I gained a complete understanding of Slavery's place in Roman Culture.
8) Plautus, Titus Maccius. The Comedies of Plautus. Translated by Henry Thomas Riley.
A moving story in which Saturio, a poor free man, had to resort to selling his own daughter into slavery in order to pay his debt. This follows the life of the daughter after she was sold, which goes into graphic detail about her time as a sexual slave.
9) Shahadah, Owen Alik. "The definitive History of the Arab Slave Trade in Africa." Arab Slave Trade. African Code, 2011. Web. Accessed 31 March 2011. http://www.arabslavetrade.com
This webpage was a key component of my blog, as it examined the Arab Slave Trade, showing many differences between Western Slavery and North African/Middle East Slavery. The most striking thing I learned from this was that Middle Eastern slavery was permitted under Islam, Christan, and Judaic law. As a result, the demand for slaves grew, and led into the transatlantic slave trade.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Ben-Hur
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I chose this video clip to illustrate how brutal slave punishments can be. What I found very powerdul about this clip was that two men looked on emotionally as three slaves were crusified. This scene shows the pain and suffering that slaves felt as they watched another slave be punished. Also, watching a man be crusified brought emotional suffering equal to a slave being split from their family, since it generally always meant that they would never see them again.
I chose this video clip to illustrate how brutal slave punishments can be. What I found very powerdul about this clip was that two men looked on emotionally as three slaves were crusified. This scene shows the pain and suffering that slaves felt as they watched another slave be punished. Also, watching a man be crusified brought emotional suffering equal to a slave being split from their family, since it generally always meant that they would never see them again.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Slavery as a part of culture
Slavery is a practice that has dated all the way back to ancient Rome, and over time, the way it is perceived in culture and the way it is administered has evolved over time. I have done readings and gathered information on the cultural aspect of slavery, both in ancient Rome and in the modern world. To gain a broad perspective of slavery as a whole, I have looked into how the slaves were treated, what power they had, what their morale was, and what they symbolized.
Roman slavery was prominent by the end of the second century BCE, when the Romans controlled the states and all citizens of Italy south of the Po River. However, as Sandra R. Joshel states in Slavery in the Roman World, it is difficult to label this ancient society in Rome as a "slave society" as opposed to a society that have slaves. She notes that "Generally, historians define a slave society in quantatative terms: How many slaves? What proportion of the population were slaves?" (7) If a "slave society" is defined by a proportion of slaves greater than 20 percent of the population, only five slave societies have existed in human history, which include ancient Rome, Greece, and United States during the Civil War.
However, from my readings, I believe that ancient Rome was indeed a slave society, but not based on numbers. The reason it was a slave society is because it was culturally accepted in society, and there were explicit laws permitting slavery in ancient rome. Joshel explains that "if we rely solely on law and literature for our understanding of Roman society, we rely on a story that excludes for the most part the positions of slaves and lower-class Romans. Law maps the boundaries within which action took place and the roles determined by rights and privleges from the perspective of jurists that owned property, including slaves." (14) To me, this suggests that many of the wealthy owners often overlooked the harsh treatment of slaves, and very few literary works accurately capture the grueling conditions that the slaves work through. As Keith Bradley puts it in his 1994 book Slavery and Society at Rome, "Traditionalists will object that to try to penetrate the psychological world of the Roman slave is beyond the historian's sphere, especially if the attempt leans heavily on support from other times and places...But objections are inadmissible when founded on defective knowledge or false, and even arrogant, beliefs that the unique character of the classical world somehow renders it incapable of profitable comparison with other historical societies." (180) These slaves were used so that those who owned them could prosper, and the free people saw nothing wrong with this.
To capture the perspective of what the lives of these ancient slaves were like, I read a novel entitled The Satyricon, which was written by Petronius, an active senator and consul in the mid-first century CE.
One key part that stood out to me was the excerpt about a dinner party by Trimalchio, a wealthy free Roman. He would frequently hold such dinner parties, and the slaves were ordered to labor to his every command. Petronius wrote "Trimalchio had now stopped his game, and asked for all the same dishes, and in a loud voice invited any of us, who wished, to take a second glass of mead. Suddenly the music gave the sign, and the light dishes were swept away by a troop of singing servants. An entrée-dish happened to fall in the rush, and a boy picked it up from the ground. Trimalchio saw him, and directed that he should be punished by a box on the ear, and made to throw down the dish again. [34] This shows that having slaves is a symbol of wealth in Roman society, since these slaves would labor to a wealthy free person's ever need. Trimalchio spoke down to the slaves, instructing “Now tell me, my dear friend: you will erect a monument as I have directed? I beg you earnestly to put up round the feet of my statue my little dog, and some wreaths, and bottles of perfume, and all the fights of Petraites[p. 139] so that your kindness may bring me a life after death; and I want the monument to have a frontage of one hundred feet and to be two hundred feet in depth." By being ordered to do these tasks, it shows that the motivation for owning slaves is to have a sense of superiority, and not to help produce income, the way it was during the United States Civil War when slaves would cultivate and harvest crops and perform field labor so that their masters could sell these goods.
Plautus wrote a variety of plays during the late third and early second centuries BCE which aimed at capturing the essence of the physical and psychological toll the slaves had to go through. A moving scene was that when Saturio, a free Roman living in poverty, had to resort to selling his own daughter into slavery in order to support the family. Saturio declared "May this same matter turn out well for me, and for yourself, and for my stomach, and for everlasting victuals for it as well for all time to come...to you I have communicated all my designs. For that reason have I dressed you out after this fashiton; young woman, to-day you are to be sold." (3.1.1-5)
Roman slavery was prominent by the end of the second century BCE, when the Romans controlled the states and all citizens of Italy south of the Po River. However, as Sandra R. Joshel states in Slavery in the Roman World, it is difficult to label this ancient society in Rome as a "slave society" as opposed to a society that have slaves. She notes that "Generally, historians define a slave society in quantatative terms: How many slaves? What proportion of the population were slaves?" (7) If a "slave society" is defined by a proportion of slaves greater than 20 percent of the population, only five slave societies have existed in human history, which include ancient Rome, Greece, and United States during the Civil War.
However, from my readings, I believe that ancient Rome was indeed a slave society, but not based on numbers. The reason it was a slave society is because it was culturally accepted in society, and there were explicit laws permitting slavery in ancient rome. Joshel explains that "if we rely solely on law and literature for our understanding of Roman society, we rely on a story that excludes for the most part the positions of slaves and lower-class Romans. Law maps the boundaries within which action took place and the roles determined by rights and privleges from the perspective of jurists that owned property, including slaves." (14) To me, this suggests that many of the wealthy owners often overlooked the harsh treatment of slaves, and very few literary works accurately capture the grueling conditions that the slaves work through. As Keith Bradley puts it in his 1994 book Slavery and Society at Rome, "Traditionalists will object that to try to penetrate the psychological world of the Roman slave is beyond the historian's sphere, especially if the attempt leans heavily on support from other times and places...But objections are inadmissible when founded on defective knowledge or false, and even arrogant, beliefs that the unique character of the classical world somehow renders it incapable of profitable comparison with other historical societies." (180) These slaves were used so that those who owned them could prosper, and the free people saw nothing wrong with this.
To capture the perspective of what the lives of these ancient slaves were like, I read a novel entitled The Satyricon, which was written by Petronius, an active senator and consul in the mid-first century CE.
One key part that stood out to me was the excerpt about a dinner party by Trimalchio, a wealthy free Roman. He would frequently hold such dinner parties, and the slaves were ordered to labor to his every command. Petronius wrote "Trimalchio had now stopped his game, and asked for all the same dishes, and in a loud voice invited any of us, who wished, to take a second glass of mead. Suddenly the music gave the sign, and the light dishes were swept away by a troop of singing servants. An entrée-dish happened to fall in the rush, and a boy picked it up from the ground. Trimalchio saw him, and directed that he should be punished by a box on the ear, and made to throw down the dish again. [34] This shows that having slaves is a symbol of wealth in Roman society, since these slaves would labor to a wealthy free person's ever need. Trimalchio spoke down to the slaves, instructing “Now tell me, my dear friend: you will erect a monument as I have directed? I beg you earnestly to put up round the feet of my statue my little dog, and some wreaths, and bottles of perfume, and all the fights of Petraites[p. 139] so that your kindness may bring me a life after death; and I want the monument to have a frontage of one hundred feet and to be two hundred feet in depth." By being ordered to do these tasks, it shows that the motivation for owning slaves is to have a sense of superiority, and not to help produce income, the way it was during the United States Civil War when slaves would cultivate and harvest crops and perform field labor so that their masters could sell these goods.
Plautus wrote a variety of plays during the late third and early second centuries BCE which aimed at capturing the essence of the physical and psychological toll the slaves had to go through. A moving scene was that when Saturio, a free Roman living in poverty, had to resort to selling his own daughter into slavery in order to support the family. Saturio declared "May this same matter turn out well for me, and for yourself, and for my stomach, and for everlasting victuals for it as well for all time to come...to you I have communicated all my designs. For that reason have I dressed you out after this fashiton; young woman, to-day you are to be sold." (3.1.1-5)
Today, although its place in culture has changed as well as the way it is administered, slavery is still a symbol of power for the wealthy that take ownership of the underprivleged, and the underprivleged in America today are generally illegal immigrants. Knowing that they have no rights in the United States due to lack of citizenship, wealthy restaurant owners or farmers take in illegal immigrants and their families, and pay them well below minimum wage to bus tables and clean dishes, or in the case of farmers, give them virtually inhospitable conditions while they work in the field, and provide them with little food and water. In the following video, it is revealed that Adkin's Blueberry Packing Company in South Haven, MI had employed young illegal immigrants and their family. Among these immigrants were eight and seven year olds.
As stated in the video, the family offered their children into labor because they had low income, similar to the conflict inthe play written by Plautus, when Saturio had to subject his daughter to slavery. Although slavery is illegal in society today, it has taken on new forms. This slavery is used for wealthy people, like this farm owner, to produce more income while undercutting the costs of labor by employing illegal child immigrants. But as it has been made clear, slavery still exists today.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Methods of modern slavery and how it differs from ancient slavery
In today's world, slavery still does exist in various forms, although it goes under the radar a majority of the time. Common forms of slavery in the modern world include human trafficking, and sex slaves. The technology that is present in todays world, particularly websites like Craigslist and Facebook allow for an abundance of advertisement over the internet, which poses a problem for the United States department of defense. Many of these ads are clear ads for prostitution, with claims such as "Find hot singles tonight in your area." This leads to abuse of many women who are involved with these advertisements, and goes unnoticed most of the time.
Another form of slavery, which has become a growing problem in America, is the slavery of illegal immigrants. There are households who take in illegal aliens, and agree to keep them in their house to prevent them from being deported in exchange for labor, or sexual favors. This type of slavery very closely resembles a conflict faced in ancient slavery, since these slaves, like ancient slaves, were stuck between a rock and a hard place. They were subject to poor treatment by the household that kept them, but escape was not a viable option, since they could not live on their own without a visa. This shows that although slavery is no longer accepted nor legal in society, it still exists by means of underground forms.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeMGPP_GgKo
Another form of slavery, which has become a growing problem in America, is the slavery of illegal immigrants. There are households who take in illegal aliens, and agree to keep them in their house to prevent them from being deported in exchange for labor, or sexual favors. This type of slavery very closely resembles a conflict faced in ancient slavery, since these slaves, like ancient slaves, were stuck between a rock and a hard place. They were subject to poor treatment by the household that kept them, but escape was not a viable option, since they could not live on their own without a visa. This shows that although slavery is no longer accepted nor legal in society, it still exists by means of underground forms.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeMGPP_GgKo
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Roman Slavery
Slaves in ancient Rome were subject to a brutal life and were expected to be perfect. There is no denying the torture and excessive labor they had to endure.
"First, there is the indignity of slavery- the kind of indignity that came from having to work as a body-slave to a wealthy owner or from being bought and sold like a commodity. For Epicterus the slace was a permanent symbol of subjection, ignorance and cowardice, connoting 'sorrows and fears and turmoils' in a positive sense a token only of the slaveowners prosperity. Second, the violence of being reduced from freedom to slavery...or the violence of being forever exposed, in the run of everyday life, to beating after beating, so that the owner could make sure the slave turned out right. Thirdly, the caprice to which the life of the slave was subject: if a slave who was asked to bring warm water brought water that was not warm enough or if he were not there to perform the service at once, it was inevitable that he should face the slaveowners wrath." (Bradley)
However, the slaveowners in ancient Rome did not have as much control over their slaves as their brutality may suggest. The morale of Roman slaves seemed to be higher than those of more modern slaves, as "collusion among three or four slaves in the household could infuriate the owner and his torment was worth the risk of flogging." (Bradley). To me, this suggests that the Roman slaves were very tough, to even dare angering their owner and risk harsh physical abuse such as a branding iron or a whip. But this suggests that these slaves did not fear their owner. As Bradley mentions, "perhaps one might pause and wonder. Wonder if the slaves of Roman Egypt or of any other place or period for which a relative insignificance of slavery is claimed would have agreed that slavery was unimportant, when it exposed them to a form of social discrimination that shaped and adversely affected every aspect of their lives, every minute of the day...It is a historical, objective reality that slavery was an evil, violent and brutalising institution that the Romans themselves, across a vast interval of time and space..whose justificiation thay never seriously questioned and for which no apology or exoneration can now be offered. For the sake of historical understanding as a whole, therefore, it is a matter of considerable importance to make the attempt to understand what it was to be a slave at Rome, to capture something of the slave mentality and the servile point of view. And the results need not always be gloomy." (Bradley)
What I can conclude about Roman slavery, is that the slave owners were brutal, but a majority of the slaves were so strong, not afraid, and most importantly, these slaves led lifes as if they were humans, and not merely property of the owner.
"First, there is the indignity of slavery- the kind of indignity that came from having to work as a body-slave to a wealthy owner or from being bought and sold like a commodity. For Epicterus the slace was a permanent symbol of subjection, ignorance and cowardice, connoting 'sorrows and fears and turmoils' in a positive sense a token only of the slaveowners prosperity. Second, the violence of being reduced from freedom to slavery...or the violence of being forever exposed, in the run of everyday life, to beating after beating, so that the owner could make sure the slave turned out right. Thirdly, the caprice to which the life of the slave was subject: if a slave who was asked to bring warm water brought water that was not warm enough or if he were not there to perform the service at once, it was inevitable that he should face the slaveowners wrath." (Bradley)
However, the slaveowners in ancient Rome did not have as much control over their slaves as their brutality may suggest. The morale of Roman slaves seemed to be higher than those of more modern slaves, as "collusion among three or four slaves in the household could infuriate the owner and his torment was worth the risk of flogging." (Bradley). To me, this suggests that the Roman slaves were very tough, to even dare angering their owner and risk harsh physical abuse such as a branding iron or a whip. But this suggests that these slaves did not fear their owner. As Bradley mentions, "perhaps one might pause and wonder. Wonder if the slaves of Roman Egypt or of any other place or period for which a relative insignificance of slavery is claimed would have agreed that slavery was unimportant, when it exposed them to a form of social discrimination that shaped and adversely affected every aspect of their lives, every minute of the day...It is a historical, objective reality that slavery was an evil, violent and brutalising institution that the Romans themselves, across a vast interval of time and space..whose justificiation thay never seriously questioned and for which no apology or exoneration can now be offered. For the sake of historical understanding as a whole, therefore, it is a matter of considerable importance to make the attempt to understand what it was to be a slave at Rome, to capture something of the slave mentality and the servile point of view. And the results need not always be gloomy." (Bradley)
What I can conclude about Roman slavery, is that the slave owners were brutal, but a majority of the slaves were so strong, not afraid, and most importantly, these slaves led lifes as if they were humans, and not merely property of the owner.
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