Abstract

Postmodernism has caused us to question our commitment to liberal democracy, and weakened our attachment to it. We remain committed to liberal democracy, but not whole-heartedly. We need, but do not yet have, a new theory of liberal democracy, one that is capable of responding to those problems with liberal democratic political thought which postmodern theorists have brought to our attention. In this dissertation I argue that the study of Protagoras' political thought as it comes to sight in Plato can help us respond to this problem, our postmodern predicament. For Protagoras' political thought offers considerable, albeit qualified, support to liberal democracy and is in many ways akin to postmodern thought. Its study can therefore provide us with a glimpse of what can not unreasonably be called a postmodern theory of liberal democracy. And I contend that a Protagorean theory of liberal democracy would be superior to postmodern democratic theory as it currently exists. ;I begin the dissertation by summarizing the thought of Jacques Derrida, perhaps the most prominent and serious representative of postmodernism, and then considering the problems to which his thought is exposed in an attempt to clarify what our postmodern predicament is. Having articulated more clearly the problem to which I suggest the study of Protagoras' political thought can help us respond, I then survey the scholarly literature concerning Protagoras and argue that there is a need for a new interpretation of Protagoras' political thought before turning to my own examination of the complicated and seemingly contradictory evidence we have regarding Protagoras' political opinions. I suggest that many of the tensions in Protagoras' political thought are only seeming tensions which can be resolved by understanding Protagoras' deepest theoretical insights. I therefore offer an account of the deepest stratum of Protagoras' thought and then reconsider Protagoras' political thought and its seeming tensions in light of his deepest theoretical insights. I conclude by reflecting on what a Protagorean theory of liberal democracy might look like, thereby attempting to show how Protagoras' thought can help us respond to our postmodern predicament without abandoning any of postmodernism's genuine insights