This thesis explores Socrates as the paradigmatic citizen through Eric Voegelin’s theory of consciousness. While scholars tend to ground the source of Socrates’ civic behavior in the self, I maintain that his daimonion is the very essence of his citizenship. Illustrating that spiritual openness endows him with the highest level of consciousness within the polis, I argue that Socrates’ efforts to democratize truth are the direct result of his adherence to divine authority. In doing so, I assert that he is neither a self-interested civic actor nor an atheist. By examining Platonic philosophy through the lens of Voegelinian thought I offer a new perspective of Socrates that addresses spiritual openness as the crux of his citizenship. Most importantly, however, this project illustrates the public philosopher’s contributive and participatory citizenship within the polis.
","abstract_html":"<p>This thesis explores Socrates as the paradigmatic citizen through Eric Voegelin’s theory of consciousness. While scholars tend to ground the source of Socrates’ civic behavior in the self, I maintain that his<em> daimonion</em> is the very essence of his citizenship. Illustrating that spiritual openness endows him with the highest level of consciousness within the polis, I argue that Socrates’ efforts to democratize truth are the direct result of his adherence to divine authority. In doing so, I assert that he is neither a self-interested civic actor nor an atheist. By examining Platonic philosophy through the lens of Voegelinian thought I offer a new perspective of Socrates that addresses spiritual openness as the crux of his citizenship. Most importantly, however, this project illustrates the public philosopher’s contributive and participatory citizenship within the polis.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Fontenot, Emma Christine"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":"Masters Thesis","degree_discipline":"Political Science, International Development, and International Affairs","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Marek Steedman","Troy Gibson","Miles Doleac"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2015,"date_issued":"2015-05-08T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2015-05-08T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:44:34Z","subjects":["Socrates","Citizenship","Voegelin","Strauss","Eros","Paradigmatic","Political Science","Political Theory"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/100","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Marek Steedman","Troy Gibson","Miles Doleac"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Fontenot, Emma Christine"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2015-04-10T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Political Science, International Development, and International Affairs"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Masters Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Socrates","Citizenship","Voegelin","Strauss","Eros","Paradigmatic","Political Science","Political Theory"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/100"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This thesis explores Socrates as the paradigmatic citizen through Eric Voegelin’s theory of consciousness. While scholars tend to ground the source of Socrates’ civic behavior in the self, I maintain that his daimonion is the very essence of his citizenship. Illustrating that spiritual openness endows him with the highest level of consciousness within the polis, I argue that Socrates’ efforts to democratize truth are the direct result of his adherence to divine authority. In doing so, I assert that he is neither a self-interested civic actor nor an atheist. By examining Platonic philosophy through the lens of Voegelinian thought I offer a new perspective of Socrates that addresses spiritual openness as the crux of his citizenship. Most importantly, however, this project illustrates the public philosopher’s contributive and participatory citizenship within the polis.
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