Is Antigone's Execution Or Just?
Kourtney C
October 31, 2011
Phil110 Phil R 11-1150
Is Antigone’s execution just?
The question of justice comes up a lot within Greek tragedies. Throughout the book, The Republic, Socrates is trying to define justice and what it truly means. A famous philosopher, Martha Nussbaum, analyzes the idea of human ethical life according to the Greeks and understanding the cause of human tragedy. I will be relating Martha’s interview to the story of Antigone, answering the question of whether her execution was just or not. I do believe that Antigone’s execution was not just because there was an imbalance in the parts of the soul.
Antigone is impulsive, stubborn and doesn’t let anybody stop her from what she wants to do. She was caught trying …show more content…
to bury her brother, Polynices. Polynices and his brother Eteocles fought to be king and they were both defeated. King Creon, Antigone’s uncle, ordered Eteocles to be buried in honor and Polynices to rot on this earth. Antigone was furious of this and even though she knew the consequences if she were to bury her brother, she did it anyway. Creon believed that her brother, Polynices was a traitor to society and he deserved to rot on earth and not be buried. Antigone was furious because no matter what her brother did he is still family, and she felt that he deserved a proper burial.
Nussbaum explains in her interview that tragedy only happens when you are trying to live well and you deeply care about things you’re trying to do. She says you should try to care about things in a way that makes it a possibility that tragedy will happen to you. If you never trust anyone or if you don’t trust the political setting then it doesn’t hurt you when things go badly (but that is no way to live).
Antigone’s story relates to what Nussbaum says about tragedy because Antigone deeply cared about things and when Creon did that to her brother that was tragic.
Nussbaum would understand Antigone’s dilemma because before tragedy struck Antigone she was trusting of people and then when her Uncle wouldn’t give Polynices a proper burial she completely shut out a lot of people in her life and trusted nobody. On the topic of being an ethical human Nussbaum said, “Now, I think this idea- that often when we care about more than one thing, and care deeply, the very course of life will bring you around to a situation where you can’t honor both of the commitments-“(2). This relates to Antigone because she made a commitment to marry Creon’s son, Haemon but then she also made the decision to bury her brother Polynices, and she knew if she buried her brother that would lead to the consequence of death. Therefore, she was neglecting the commitment that she made to Haemon because she told him that they could no longer marry and that he must never speak to her again; she didn’t want to get him involved. Creon is king but he is so lonely because he has made many decisions that have caused a lot of society to hate him. And now he is put in a position where he might have to kill his own niece which would cause everyone to turn against …show more content…
him.
Nussbaum would understand Creon’s position because he is the leader, he is put under a lot of pressure to make decisions and do things that others won’t do.
In Nussbaum’s interview she talks about the political leader and how their role is important in society, she says, “And so they have the image often of the person as like a plant, something that is fairly sturdy, that has a definite structure, but that is always in need of support from the surrounding society. And the political leader in that image is like the gardener, who has to tend to the plant” (4). Creon has to make sure the society is just and anybody who is a traitor to the city must be executed. Creon is in a rough position because in The Republic there is a question of how can you determine who is just or unjust? Because the unjust who seem just are the ones that get rewarded and the ones that are truly just get neglected. This relates to Creon because he has to make these kinds of decisions and he could be executing people that are actually just. That is why at the end of the play he is left alone, drowning in his own
sorrows.
The three guards in the play are pretty humorous guys and treat being a guard as just their job. They don’t seem to have particular loyalty towards Creon other than following his orders and doing what he tells them to do. When they caught Antigone they joked about all having a party together and hoping that they might get a bonus out of this. Nussbaum would understand the guard’s position because they are just trying to live a liveable life. Which means they are preoccupied with the idea of a life that has many different parts, some parts of which people don’t have control over and need the support of the society. The guards are not only trying to protect the society and follow the orders of the king but they also have families to take care of and are trying to be moral people.
Of these three positions I would agree with Antigone’s because she went against something she deemed to be wrong and tried to make it right. Like Martha said, tragedy happens to good people. Antigone had to make a big decision between two important commitments; marrying her love, Haemon or bury her brother, knowing that she could be executed for this. She neglected Haemon and made it a priority to bury her brother no matter what the consequence was. Antigone no longer cared and felt that she could no longer live a happy life when a man she despised was ruling as king and just people were being executed.
Plato finally constructs a definition of justice which is a combination of the three parts of the soul- desire, reason, and spirit, corresponding to the virtues of the city- temperance, wisdom, and courage. Plato wants there to be a balance between the individuals of the city and the laws of the city. Taking this definition and applying it to Antigone’s execution I would have to say that it was not just. Even though Antigone told Creon that she wanted to die there was not a balance among the parts of the soul, the virtues or the players (individuals, rulers, guardians, workers, etc.). If any part takes over more than the rest, then the city or the individual will not be just. In this case the leader, Creon killed his own niece when he could’ve had the power to save her. Antigone’s desire to save her brother also overruled her desire to live and marry Haemon. Justice within Greek tragedies is something that many philosophers will be analyzing for a long time. It is sometimes hard to tell whether an action as just or unjust. In the circumstances of Antigone’s execution I would have to argue that it was not just. Martha made very good points about human ethical life according to the Greeks and human tragedy. It helped me get a better idea of the story of Antigone and I was able to apply things in Martha’s interview that related to the Greek tragedy of Antigone.
Bibliography
1. Allen, R.E. The Republic. Yale University: 2006. Print.
2. Moyers’, Bill. Martha Nussbaum: The fragility of goodness. New York: Public Affairs
Television: 1988. Interview.
October 31, 2011
Phil110 Phil R 11-1150
Is Antigone’s execution just?
The question of justice comes up a lot within Greek tragedies. Throughout the book, The Republic, Socrates is trying to define justice and what it truly means. A famous philosopher, Martha Nussbaum, analyzes the idea of human ethical life according to the Greeks and understanding the cause of human tragedy. I will be relating Martha’s interview to the story of Antigone, answering the question of whether her execution was just or not. I do believe that Antigone’s execution was not just because there was an imbalance in the parts of the soul.
Antigone is impulsive, stubborn and doesn’t let anybody stop her from what she wants to do. She was caught trying …show more content…
to bury her brother, Polynices. Polynices and his brother Eteocles fought to be king and they were both defeated. King Creon, Antigone’s uncle, ordered Eteocles to be buried in honor and Polynices to rot on this earth. Antigone was furious of this and even though she knew the consequences if she were to bury her brother, she did it anyway. Creon believed that her brother, Polynices was a traitor to society and he deserved to rot on earth and not be buried. Antigone was furious because no matter what her brother did he is still family, and she felt that he deserved a proper burial.
Nussbaum explains in her interview that tragedy only happens when you are trying to live well and you deeply care about things you’re trying to do. She says you should try to care about things in a way that makes it a possibility that tragedy will happen to you. If you never trust anyone or if you don’t trust the political setting then it doesn’t hurt you when things go badly (but that is no way to live).
Antigone’s story relates to what Nussbaum says about tragedy because Antigone deeply cared about things and when Creon did that to her brother that was tragic.
Nussbaum would understand Antigone’s dilemma because before tragedy struck Antigone she was trusting of people and then when her Uncle wouldn’t give Polynices a proper burial she completely shut out a lot of people in her life and trusted nobody. On the topic of being an ethical human Nussbaum said, “Now, I think this idea- that often when we care about more than one thing, and care deeply, the very course of life will bring you around to a situation where you can’t honor both of the commitments-“(2). This relates to Antigone because she made a commitment to marry Creon’s son, Haemon but then she also made the decision to bury her brother Polynices, and she knew if she buried her brother that would lead to the consequence of death. Therefore, she was neglecting the commitment that she made to Haemon because she told him that they could no longer marry and that he must never speak to her again; she didn’t want to get him involved. Creon is king but he is so lonely because he has made many decisions that have caused a lot of society to hate him. And now he is put in a position where he might have to kill his own niece which would cause everyone to turn against …show more content…
him.
Nussbaum would understand Creon’s position because he is the leader, he is put under a lot of pressure to make decisions and do things that others won’t do.
In Nussbaum’s interview she talks about the political leader and how their role is important in society, she says, “And so they have the image often of the person as like a plant, something that is fairly sturdy, that has a definite structure, but that is always in need of support from the surrounding society. And the political leader in that image is like the gardener, who has to tend to the plant” (4). Creon has to make sure the society is just and anybody who is a traitor to the city must be executed. Creon is in a rough position because in The Republic there is a question of how can you determine who is just or unjust? Because the unjust who seem just are the ones that get rewarded and the ones that are truly just get neglected. This relates to Creon because he has to make these kinds of decisions and he could be executing people that are actually just. That is why at the end of the play he is left alone, drowning in his own
sorrows.
The three guards in the play are pretty humorous guys and treat being a guard as just their job. They don’t seem to have particular loyalty towards Creon other than following his orders and doing what he tells them to do. When they caught Antigone they joked about all having a party together and hoping that they might get a bonus out of this. Nussbaum would understand the guard’s position because they are just trying to live a liveable life. Which means they are preoccupied with the idea of a life that has many different parts, some parts of which people don’t have control over and need the support of the society. The guards are not only trying to protect the society and follow the orders of the king but they also have families to take care of and are trying to be moral people.
Of these three positions I would agree with Antigone’s because she went against something she deemed to be wrong and tried to make it right. Like Martha said, tragedy happens to good people. Antigone had to make a big decision between two important commitments; marrying her love, Haemon or bury her brother, knowing that she could be executed for this. She neglected Haemon and made it a priority to bury her brother no matter what the consequence was. Antigone no longer cared and felt that she could no longer live a happy life when a man she despised was ruling as king and just people were being executed.
Plato finally constructs a definition of justice which is a combination of the three parts of the soul- desire, reason, and spirit, corresponding to the virtues of the city- temperance, wisdom, and courage. Plato wants there to be a balance between the individuals of the city and the laws of the city. Taking this definition and applying it to Antigone’s execution I would have to say that it was not just. Even though Antigone told Creon that she wanted to die there was not a balance among the parts of the soul, the virtues or the players (individuals, rulers, guardians, workers, etc.). If any part takes over more than the rest, then the city or the individual will not be just. In this case the leader, Creon killed his own niece when he could’ve had the power to save her. Antigone’s desire to save her brother also overruled her desire to live and marry Haemon. Justice within Greek tragedies is something that many philosophers will be analyzing for a long time. It is sometimes hard to tell whether an action as just or unjust. In the circumstances of Antigone’s execution I would have to argue that it was not just. Martha made very good points about human ethical life according to the Greeks and human tragedy. It helped me get a better idea of the story of Antigone and I was able to apply things in Martha’s interview that related to the Greek tragedy of Antigone.
Bibliography
1. Allen, R.E. The Republic. Yale University: 2006. Print.
2. Moyers’, Bill. Martha Nussbaum: The fragility of goodness. New York: Public Affairs
Television: 1988. Interview.