Is it better to be governed by fixed written laws with little discretion on the part of the rulers, or to be governed by the best rulers we can find, using their discretion to try and achieve justice?
I think that it is better to be governed by a fixed set of written laws because, for one, putting most of the power on one man leaves a lot of room for error since it is only one man doing whatever he wants, whereas if there is a collection of people writing laws by which that kingdom will be ruled, then everybody keeps each other accountable, and revises each others ideas, so there will be less room for corruption. Also, choosing the "best" ruler in the ancient times did not necessarily mean the most just ruler. They many times measured greatness by power and authority, and power and authority do not inherently include justice. We can see this through Gilgamesh: he was a very powerful and authoritative man, but he was also extremely corrupt, so the peoples' choice will not always be the best ruler
Justice is perhaps one of the most debated and contested ideas throughout the historical past. It will be fascinating for us to examine how it was investigated and articulated as we continue to examine the textual record of ancient civilizations.
ReplyDeletePlease remember to post your paragraph identifying and explaining your Epic of Gilgamesh "episodes' divisions as soon as you can. :-).
ReplyDelete