Famous Psychological Experiments in Ancient Greece

“May I speak?”



His name was Philippidas. The son of a humble farmer and a seamstress, he sat at the Lyceum as a newcomer. Someone with the passion for thought, but neither the time nor the fortitude, it was increasingly likely this would be his last appearance at the debate. Even now, he was being hushed over by the more vocal orators in the crowd.



“I have often wondered as to the nature of mankind; whether man is intrinsically good or bad. So, I sought to see for myself whether man's better nature will win out in against that voice in all of us made manifest.”



He was losing them and he slumped at the thought. He had one chance to win them back and so, with all the volume he could muster, he proclaimed, “I posed as a senator.” Those nearby turned towards him in surprise at his declaration at his treasonous act and very quickly the meeting had turned silent.



“I posed as a senator and asked people to help mete out justice to a convicted criminal. I would ask them as a honest Athenian citizens to help me dispense justice to a common thief. I would ask him to send a missive to a courier that basically stated to begin the punishment as soon as possible.”



“Of course, that is not entirely the case. The person whom I had sent would find the criminal a child, and one who vehemently claimed his innocence. He would claim that he was nowhere near the theft and that he had at least a dozen other people who could vouch for him. He said that he would also work tirelessly to clear his name. Nevertheless, my orders were clear and the child was to be summarily punished. A large staff was produced and the child taken around the corner to be tortured for his crimes.”



“I would arrive shortly, claiming my business had ended sooner than expected and once I did, the guard would ask to continue the torture. I would press for the torture to continue, despite the participant's common excuses, and this would continue until the child grew silent whereupon the I would force the citizen to torture him for one last time before stopping.”



The crowd looked at him like he was a monster. Murmurs came from the crowd and in the distance he could see some of his fellow citizens looking for the guards.



“Of course, the child was but an actor, a neighbor of mine whom I had convinced to play the part for a meal a day. The torturer, another neighbor I had asked to beat a sack of sand when asked. No one was hurt by the act, save perhaps for the citizen's graces.”



“But it was not the methods that were most intriguing, but rather the results. Could any of you guess how many people went against me? How many stood firmly for justice when faced with the authority of a senator?”



Another hush overcame the crowd, this time of a different sort. Their fears assuaged, they not waited with bated breath.



“One out of a hundred. One honest man unbroken by authority. He allowed the first punishment but no further than that. Despite my prodding, my complaints, and even my threats, only he stood unbroken.”



“That is my answer as to your question of morality. Are we born good? Are we born evil? I do not know, but I know this. As men grow free, the number of those willing to dispense justice with wisdom numbers one in a hundred, perhaps less.”



“I thank you for your time.”



The Lyceum paused for a moment before it roared with debate.

-o-

Who wants to play 'Famous Psychological Experiments in Ancient Greece' with me? Let's begin with the Stanley Milgram experiment.
 
nice one, but doesn't this belong in shared worlds?

Does it? I felt it more appropriate as this was more of a conjecture into the effects on Western philosophy by more modern interpretations of psychology and the mind. Imagine Plato's musings mixed with knowledge of how people react to authority or developmental theory. How would the Western world have developed had the nurture vs nature debate begun in the BCs?
 
Historians have long considered the studies of Philippidas alongside those of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle for its impact on Athenian culture. Where philosophers mused on the nature of man, Philippidas took such inquiries a step further. While his contemporaries furiously debated with one another as to the workings of the mind and soul, Philippidas experimented, studied, and analyzed. He took the mysticism and subjectiveness of the state of mind and soul and dragged it out into the light of reason and logic. It was no wonder he and Plato were described (though many believe anachronistically) as getting rather well along.

It was during one fateful meeting that he had divulged the results of his now famous 'Tortured Thief' experiment. The ramifications of the experiment on the Athenian intellectual community was nothing short of profound. In the experiment, which even now rings of modern psychological experiments, he showed the impact of authority on average citizens, whom he had found were willing to commit unjust crimes themselves so long as instructed to do so by those in power and authority. While unknown at the time, his findings proved provocative for both the philosophical and the political scenes, the former quick to integrate the seemingly weak nature of man to power to their worldview and the latter to both leverage this newfound discovery and mitigate its disconcerting results to the ignorant but superstitious general populace. Indeed, Philippidas' works have themselves been accused of in the downfall of many major political figures and movements in ancient Greece. Despite this, Philippidas saw in his discovery a new facet of study into the mind and soul, particularly in their communal understanding of authority and leadership. Scholars have long studied the histories of great thinkers, leaders, and generals, but Philippidas himself sought to truly understand what constituted a great leader. It was of little surprise that his next study delved into the nature of leadership, or rather authority, and its effects on common men.

Next up: Stanford Prison Experiment
 
In my opinion, this excellent, suggestive and (with unusual thematic) piece of work will be best placed (and worthy to be nominated) or at least titled within the Vignette category rather than to belong the general forum... of course the final decision belongs to the author.
 
I don't think it is a foregone conclusion at all that the experiments would go the same way in ancient Greece, or that if they did, the dominant interpretation would be the same as we would given them. Look at recent work on the WIERD problem. For instance, we see it as a real problem that people do evil when commanded by authority, but I am not so sure that it would be so obvious a problem to the Greeks.
 
I don't think it is a foregone conclusion at all that the experiments would go the same way in ancient Greece, or that if they did, the dominant interpretation would be the same as we would given them. Look at recent work on the WIERD problem. For instance, we see it as a real problem that people do evil when commanded by authority, but I am not so sure that it would be so obvious a problem to the Greeks.

Because the Greek was a slave society and in consequence they had a very different sensibility/empathy than the modern internalized values of our western Judeo Christian tradition?
For didn't make mention of the differences in political organization and political values...
 
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