Athens vs. Jerusalem

"Our civilization is still split between a Hellenic cognition and aesthetic and a Hebraic morality and religion. One might say that the hand of Western (indeed of much Eastern also) has five ill-assorted fingers: Moses, Socrates, Jesus, Shakespeare, Freud. Plato's culture is entirely Socratic, by design, yet also Homeric, unwillingly. Between the "Republic" and ourselves comes Moses, Jesus, Shakespeare and Freud, and though we cannot abandon Athens, still less could we avoid our tongues' cleaving to the roofs of our mouths if we do not prefer Jerusalem to Athens."

-Harold Bloom, "Where Shall Wisdom Be Found?"

This notion has always intrigued me. This internal struggle occupies almost everyone of us save fanatics on either end. What most interests me is our general inability to see this conflict and recognize it for what it is. I don't care if you're from the Left or the Right- this conflict shapes your thoughts and perceptions at a precognitive level.

Let's look first at the Right. In reference to foreign policy, Hellenic thought prevails. Decisions are made primarily in terms of realpolitik. The tradition is intellectual, not emotional starting with Thuycidides, moving through Machiavelli and reaching modernity with Keenan and Barnett. As such, many policy decisions are deemed by those who disagree with them as immoral rather than poorly thought out. This Hellenic approach finds no foothold in domestic matters, though. In this area the Right prefers a policy set dominated by Jerusalem or rather, Judeo-Christian thought. This would seem incongruous and disconnected but I believe it is a defining element of Western Civilization.

The Left fairs no better through this lens. Instead, there priorities and policy drivers are simply reversed. In this camp, foreign policy decisions are based in perceived morality. What the Left is blind to is the fact that their morality is entirely rooted in the same Judeo-Christian ethics they routinely dismiss. "Let he without sin cast the first stone." "Turn the other cheek." The words of Jesus Christ seem to be the the Left's IR playbook. But again, in domestic matters, there is once again a shift in focus to Athens. The Left's belief that the sciences with save our society finds it's very roots in Greek thought. Sociology, psychology, and it's various siblings are all the children of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle.

I point this out only to say that this conflict exists in us and we must face it. Fanatics of any sort seem powerful because they do not possess this internal conflict. This lacking is the source of their power and their greatest limitation. I'm not particularly concerned with which mixing of Athens and Jerusalem is more effective at promoting human happiness. I only know that it seems as if we must have both. Too much of one or the other leaving something missing in the human psyche. As much as I loved Sam Harris' book, The End of Faith, I think his is a fruitless journey. Asking man to deny the his need for faith is the same as asking him to deny his thirst or lust. It exists and saying it's bad doesn't really help the issue.

Man needs a narrative. And the lower his complexity horizon and natural cognitive ability, the more he needs that narrative. But even those who don't believe in a God, when pressed, will often hope for a higher power of some sort. Something or someone who sees the big picture. I doubt that we will ever rid Man of his need to believe in something greater than himself no matter how great our understanding of the universe becomes. But I think this conflict is good. I believe that this internal struggle is where Truth and Wisdom is found. I don't believe that Athens and Jerusalem can be reconciled. Not yet anyway. But I'm not done looking.