Cztery koncepcje zoon politikon. Uwagi dotyczące problematyczności politycznej natury człowieka
The Four Concepts of ‘zoon politikon’. Remarks Concerning the Problem of the Political Nature of Man

Summary/Abstract: The article examines four different models of understanding the concept of zoon political. It is presupposed that this classical notion can still serve as a means of description of the fundamental tenets of political life as it appears within contemporary political communities. The first model taken into consideration is called “the individualistic concept” and it generally tends to reduce the political space to the issue of economic management. The second model, “hegemonistic”, makes the public debate nothing more than a war of ideologies. The third model amounts to the “perfectionist view” and it seems necessarily involved in wise or just men’s looking down on their fellow citizens, so it carries the conviction that some people may be possessed of truth whereas in democracy there can be only various opinions about what is true or just. The fourth model, “deliberative”, is the most relevant one in the context of contemporary politics. Here the central, epitomic figure is Socrates, who does not possess the truth but is constantly seeking for it and searching possible answers in the realm of opinions, thus gaining excellence as humanly possible.

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