Below are two threads from other writers.
Replies: In your replies, pick your favorite feature of the Classical Body Politic in 2 of your classmates’ threads. You are required to post replies of 200–250 words EACH to 2 other classmates’ threads. In each reply, include at least 1 reference to the course readings and at least 1 Scripture reference. The replies must be in current Turabian format. Each reply post must be unique; merely posting the same reply in two places is not sufficient and may be treated as a form of academic misconduct. These should be personal replies, NOT summaries of what they wrote.
Replies: In your replies, pick your favorite feature of the Classical Body Politic in 2 of your classmates’ threads.
In addition to the thread, you are required to post replies of 200–250 words each to 2 other classmates’ threads. In each reply, include at least 1 reference to the course readings and at least 1 Scripture reference. Threads and replies must be in current Turabian format. Each reply post must be unique; merely posting the same reply in two places is not sufficient and may be treated as a form of academic misconduct.
Please write a 200-250-word personal reply to Klaytens’ thread (1 of 2):
The Body Politic
COLLAPSE
The term “body politic” is one that is somewhat ambiguous and open to interpretation. In general, it is in reference to a body of people that fall within a general jurisdiction, such as a nation state. Black’s law dictionary defines the body politic as “a group of people regarded in a political (rather than private) sense and organized under a common governmental authority” (Garner & Black 2014, p. 209). In this sense, especially using the United States as an example, there are multiple bodies politic within the United States generally. When we are referring to the United States as a whole, the body politic is comprised of the citizens of the United States, then we have individual states that are limited to those residents of the individual states, and on down to the county and city level within the individual states.
The head of the body politic is the overall leader in charge of making the majority of the decisions, much like the head on the human body, which is where the analogy comes from. This is commonly recognized when the term “head of state” is used to refer to a president, prime minister, monarch, or other leader of a particular country or political “body.” In the days of the Roman Republic, the term head of state was used to reference the king (Mebane, n.d.). “The head provided an apt comparison for singular authority because many considered it the locus of reason and hence commander of the body” (Mebane, n.d.). The metaphor dates back as far as 1500 BC, and in the 4th century BC in Plato’s Republic and the Laws, he articulated it to mean “fitness and well-being over illness, the latter condition occurring when different parts of the state fail to perform the functions proper to them” (Rollo-Koster 2017).
When we think of the human body and consider the human body’s ability to do “work,” the hands and arms often come to mind. In this sense, the arms of the body politic are the branches of government, the political arms which do the work that is proposed by the head. Much like the human body, the arms of the body politic do not operate on their own volition, they receive direction from the head.
This same analogy has been made in reference to the church, with the believers being referred to as the body of Christ. This is referenced several times throughout Scripture. In 1 Corinthians we read that “for as the body is one and has many parts, and all the parts of that body, though many, are one body, so also is Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:12-14 HCSB). Also, in Romans we learn that “now as we have many parts in one body, and all the parts do not have the same function, in the same way we who are many are one body in Christ and individually members of one another” (Romans 12:4-5 HCSB). This is an important analogy because it symbolizes the importance of the many parts working together as one whole.
Just as the human body becomes sick from time to time, so too does the body politic. This concept is manifest through civil unrest, policies that are destructive, poor leadership can result in the sickness in the body politic. Just as we remedy sickness within the human body, these sicknesses must be remedied in the body politic as well. Just as a sick body requires the action of administering a medicine or form of therapy, so too the body politic requires an active body to remedy poor decisions and policies implemented from the decision-making parts. A passive body politic will result in the manifestation of sickness. The body politic must not become complacent, otherwise “societal ills” will take over. This is an extremely important analogy that has its roots in history, and still applies today.
References
Garner, B. A., & Black, H. C. (2014). Blacks law dictionary. St. Paul, MN: Thomas Reuters.
Mebane, J. (n.d.). A Head on the Body Politic? Figuring Authority in Livy’s First Pentad. Retrieved from https://classicalstudies.org/annual-meeting/147/abstract/head-body-politic-figuring-authority-livys-first-pentad
Rollo-Koster, J. (2017, October 02). Body politic. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/body-politic
Please write a 200-250-word personal reply to Victors’ thread (2 of 2):
The Classical Body Politic
Classical Body Politic is a metaphor which is used to describe societal structure or political thought through analogy using the human body, and parts of the body as examples. For instance, the head. As the head gives one command over their own body, the head in body Politic represents the head of state. The one who rules over all.
Next would be the heart of the body. The single organ which unifies all of the functions of the human body is the next analogy made. Representing the unifiers of body politic are the counsellors and wise men. While the eyes and ears of the body politic are represented by the judges, provosts, and bailiffs, as they provide the body politic with the necessary vision it needs to survive.
As hands are used to protect the human body, they are used to defend the body politic. That is why the hands are linked to the knights which are depended upon to defend persons and property of the land.
The analogy of the legs is next. As legs of the human body are used for travel, the merchants who were constantly voyaging are associated with the legs of the body politic. Finally, all we have left of the body politic are the feet. Just as the feet of the human body provide support for the entire body, the laborers of the day are used as examples of the feet of the body politic, as those same laborers provide the support for the body politic.
The healthy part of the body politic was that social structure as defined became transparent It was a clear definition of political and social structure and every individual’s expected position within the body politic. As much as that transparency might have made body politic well, it could very well make it sick too. There is also the possibility of too many variables coming into play which would upset the dynamics of the classical body politic. The possibility of climbing the social ladder, and possibly not expected to be a foot, maybe now a hand, or an eye, etc. Any simple event to upset any one of the body parts would have the possibility of upsetting the entire body. 3 John 1:2 tells us, “Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.” (ESV) As scripture tells us to take care of our bodies, the same is true for the body in body politic.
Ryan,A, On Politics, New York, Liveright Publishing, 2012
Koster,J, Body Politic;Political Science, Encyclopedia Britannica,October 2, 2017, https://www.britannica.com/topic/body-politic