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Oikonomia: Ancient Greek Philosophers on the Meaning of Economic Life

Online ISBN:
9780226827353
Print ISBN:
9780226827346
Publisher:
University of Chicago Press
Book

Oikonomia: Ancient Greek Philosophers on the Meaning of Economic Life

Étienne Helmer
Étienne Helmer
University of Puerto Rico
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Published online:
19 September 2024
Published in print:
16 May 2024
Online ISBN:
9780226827353
Print ISBN:
9780226827346
Publisher:
University of Chicago Press

Abstract

Against a long interpretive tradition, this book claims that some of the main protagonists of ancient Greek philosophy such as Aristotle, Plato, Xenophon, and Philodemus of Gadara dealt with a specific, complex topic: a form of theoretical and practical knowledge about economic matters named oikonomia. Focusing mostly on the management of the household (oikos) and sometimes that of the city-state or polis, this form of knowledge concerns the management of material goods and persons at the intersection of technical considerations and notions of value. This dual dimension of oikonomia challenges the modern idea that the only legitimate economic knowledge is of a scientific nature and aims exclusively at maximizing profit.

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