Thomas Aquinas College Lectures & Talks "Thucydides as a Philosopher"
Mar 25, 2026
Dr. John McCarthy, a tutor and lecturer at Thomas Aquinas College who studies classical political thought, explores Thucydides as a thinker. He traces realism, method, and rhetoric in Thucydides' histories. Short takes: debates over justice versus expediency, how crises reveal human nature, the Melian Dialogue and Sicilian hubris, and history as a guide to prudence.
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Thucydides Intends History As Philosophical Inquiry
- Thucydides aims for philosophical history by seeking universals in real events rather than poetic invention.
- He insists on rigorous inquiry and accuracy to make history an everlasting possession that teaches future prudence.
Speech Versus Deed Reveals True Motivation
- Thucydides teaches universals through the dialectic of speech and deed, using orations to reveal motives before actions confirm them.
- Nearly a third of his history is composed of speeches forming a 'school of statesmanship' for readers to compare rhetoric with outcomes.
Prudence Versus Justice Is Thucydides' Core Question
- Central to Thucydides is the debate whether statesmen should prioritize justice or expediency; he often shows expediency prevailing.
- Pericles and Athenian arguments justify empire as natural, invoking honor, fear, and profit over justice.